Butler beats Bucks without time left

HEAT 116, BUCKS 114

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jimmy Butler made two free throws with no time remaining after the Miami Heat wasted a six-point lead in the final seconds yet found a way to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-114 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Butler rattled in the first, which was the only one that mattered, then made the second for the final margin. He got fouled by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo with about a tenth of a second left on a jump shot from the left corner.

Referees sent Butler to the line, with no one else on the lane, as some Heat teammates knelt at midcourt.

“In the judgment of the officials, the foul occurred, I guess, at some point when he landed,” Milwaukee Coach Mike Budenholzer said. “In the judgment of the officials, there was enough to warrant a foul.”

And just like that, the Heat became the first No. 5 seed in NBA history to take a 2-0 series lead over a No. 1 seed.

Goran Dragic scored 23 points, Tyler Herro added 17 off the bench and Jae Crowder had 16 for Miami.

Bam Adebayo scored 15 points, Butler and Duncan Robinson each had 13, and Kelly Olynyk added 11 for Miami — which is 6-0 in this postseason.

Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who were down by six with 27 seconds left but tied it. Khris Middleton scored 23 points for Milwaukee, the last three of those coming when Dragic was called for fouling him with 4.3 seconds left.

Milwaukee got 16 apiece from Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe, and 14 from George Hill.

Miami’s lead was 90-86 entering the fourth — and Milwaukee had the lead back on the very first possession of the final quarter.

Middleton was fouled on a three-point try, made the first two free throws, and the rebound of the third was controlled by the Bucks. Kyle Korver made a three-pointer to cap a five-point possession for Milwaukee, which had the lead for the first time since 14-13.

The Heat were undeterred. They scored 13 of the next 15 points to not only reclaim the lead, but push it to 103-93 on a three-pointer by Crowder with 7:50 left.

MIAMI (116)

Butler 3-8 7-8 13, Crowder 5-13 2-4 16, Adebayo 4-8 7-8 15, Dragic 8-18 3-4 23, Robinson 4-9 2-3 13, Olynyk 4-6 0-0 11, Iguodala 1-2 2-3 4, Jones Jr. 1-2 0-0 2, Herro 6-13 2-2 17, Nunn 1-2 0-0 2. Totals

37-81 25-32 116.

MILWAUKEE (114)

G.Antetokounmpo 10-18 9-13 29, Middleton 6-15 11-12 23, B.Lopez 5-8 3-4 16, Bledsoe 6-14 3-3 16, Matthews 2-8 0-0 4, Korver 1-2 3-3 6, Williams 1-6 2-2 4, Connaughton 1-4 0-0 2, DiVincenzo 0-1 0-0 0, G.Hill 5-9 2-2 14. Totals 37-85 33-39 114.

Miami .................. 38 28 24 26 — 116 Milwaukee ............. 29 31 26 28 — 114 3-Point Goals—Miami 17-45 (Dragic 4-8, Crowder 4-12, Olynyk 3-4, Herro 3-8, Robinson 3-8, Butler 0-2), Milwaukee 7-25 (B.Lopez 3-5, G.Hill 2-4, Korver 1-2, Connaughton 0-2, Matthews 0-2, Middleton 0-3, Williams 0-4). Fouled Out—Miami 1 (Adebayo), Milwaukee None. Rebounds—Miami 38 (Adebayo 9), Milwaukee 50 (G.Antetokounmpo 14). Assists—Miami 22 (Butler 6), Milwaukee 16 (Middleton 8). Total Fouls—Miami 26, Milwaukee 25.

ROCKETS 104, THUNDER 102

James Harden made up for a miserable shooting night with a big blocked shot, Russell Westbrook scored 20 points and Houston edged Oklahoma City in Game 7 of their first-round series.

Houston prevailed to set up a second-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers that begins Friday despite Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer, going 4 for 15 from the field.

The frantic final seconds of a game that was tight throughout had Houston take the lead for good at 103-102 when P.J. Tucker scored with 1:25 remaining. After changes of possession, the Thunder got the ball to Lu Dort, who attempted a three-pointer that Harden blocked with 4.8 seconds left.

Robert Covington made a free throw with 1.4 seconds to go and Harden was whistled for fouling Danilo Gallinari before the ball was inbounded, giving the Thunder one free throw and the ball. But Gallinari missed the free throw and the Thunder turned it over on the last inbounds pass.