Heat push past Giannis-less Bucks
The Milwaukee Buckswere without their leading man. The Miami Heat were looking for one.
For a good part of Tuesday night’s 103-94 Heat victory at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, that was the story of the game.
Eventually, playing in the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo proved too muchfor the Bucks to overcome.
And eventually, the Heat’s depth again proved just howgood the sum of Erik Spoelstra’s parts can be.
So make it make 8-1 for the Heat this postseason after closing out the Bucks 4-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, in the wake of a 4-0 first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers.
Up next is theHeat’s first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since the Big Three days of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
TheHeat’s next opponent could be determined as soon asWednesday, with the Boston Celtics up 3-2 on the Toronto Raptors in that best-of-seven series.
The Eastern Conference finals are scheduled to begin Sept. 15, with the NBA reserving the right to move up the start date.
Neither team provided a dominant presence, which was far more necessary for the Antetokounmpo-less Bucks, who got 23 points fromKhris Middleton.
For the Heat, there were 17 points from Jimmy Butler, 17 from Goran Dragic, 16 from Jae Crowder, 14 from Tyler Herro, 13 from BamAdebayo and12 fromKelly Olynyk. Butler also had10 assists.
Five degrees ofHeat fromTuesday night’s game:
1. The closing case: As was the case for the Heat in Sunday’s overtime loss, it was a harrowing finish. This time, a 3-pointer by Middleton with 3:13 to play drew the Bucks within 89-85, after Milwaukee previously trailed by12.
A pair of Butler free throws followed, as did a dunk by Bucks center Brook Lopez, leaving Milwaukee within 91-87.
Butler then worked his way back to the foul line, making both free throws to put the Heat up 93-87. But Lopez countered by making only one of two free throws.
A Dragic jumper then put the Heat up 95-88with1:14left, withtwomoreButler free throwfollowing with 46.7 left.
2. Uneven ride: The Heat went down 13 early and trailed 28-19 at the end of the first quarter.
A 33-9 surge then helped theHeat push to a 52-46 halftime lead.
The lead then was stretched to 12 in the third period, but the Bucks pushed back within 73-65 going into the fourth.
2. Bench brigade: The Heat pushed back from their early 13-point deficit through the play of their bench.
At halftime, when the Heat led 52-36, the Heat stood with a 22-6 bench scoring edge, with Olynyk, Herro, KendrickNunn and Andre Iguodala all contributing.
The only Bucks reserves to score in the first half were Marvin Williams and Kyle
Korver, each with a 3-pointer.
For the Heat, Herro just kept going from there.
4. Butler boost: Responding from a shaky start that included three early turnovers, Butler was up to nine points, six rebounds and four assists at halftime, the steadying influence the Heat needed over the opening two periods.
Along the way, Butler passed Luol Deng for 25th on the Heat’s all-time playoff scoring list.
Still, it also was a somewhat passive performance by Butler’s standards— at least until the close — with Butler without a freethrow attempt over the opening two periods.
4. No Giannis: Antetokounmpo went through pregame warmups before he was listed as inactive due to the right ankle he sprained in each of the previous two games.
“He’s kind of has been continuing to do everything to continue his rehab, make himself available,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said pregame.
Instead, the Bucks had to revert to the perimeter-based lineups they utilized in their Sunday Game 4 overtime victory, with guard Donte DiVincenzo starting in place of Antetokounmpo.
Spoelstra said his team prepared for both possibilities, with
Antetokounmpo listed as questionable until about an hour prior to Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. tipoff.
“I think the most important thing iswe have to bewhowe are,” Spoelstra said.
The Bucks went into Tuesday 5-5 in Antetokounmpo’s absence this season.
5. Appreciativemoment: Spoelstra said the fact that he is coaching playoff basketball during a pandemic leaves him in awe of the NBA’s efforts.
“Absolutely this is an extraordinary
experience and opportunity,” he said. “Even just the life experience I think is really remarkable and extraordinary.
“I’ve said this many times: I guess four or five months ago, if you asked any of us if this bubble would be put together andwe’ll be able to finish our season and complete the playoffs and have an opportunity to compete for a title, I think based on what was happening around the world with the pandemic, you would have said that’s kind of ambitious and if not crazy. Herewe are now.”