Bucks, with eyes on title, out in stunning collapse

The Bucks entered the playoffs boasting the NBA’s best record and believing they had a great shot at winning their second title in three seasons.

They instead are finished before May after suffering one of the most stunning firstround playoff losses in league history.

The top-seeded Bucks collapsed down the stretch for a second straight game, this time at home, and fell, 128126, in overtime to Miami on Wednesday, losing in five games to the eighthseeded Heat.

When he was asked after the game if this early exit made the season a failure, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo took issue with the question.

“There’s no failure in sports,” Antetokounmpo said. “There’s good days, bad days. Some days you’re able to be successful. Some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn. Some days it’s not your turn. That’s what sports is about. You don’t always win. Other people are going to win. And this year, somebody else is going to win. Simple as that.”

The Bucks are just the sixth No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 in the opening round. The five previous won at least two games in their series losses.

“There’s a ton of disappointment when your season ends, no matter how it happens,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s a hard feeling. It’s a disappointing feeling. I believe and trust those guys. We all got to be better.”

The way this season ended could make it particularly painful.

Milwaukee owned a 12-point lead in Game 4 before getting outscored, 30-13, in the final six minutes of a 119-114 loss in which Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored 56 points. The Bucks blew a 16-point, fourth-quarter advantage at home Wednesday as Butler scored with half a second left to force overtime.

The Bucks shot 5 of 25 from the floor and 12 of 20 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and overtime Wednesday.

“We had a lot of good shots, a lot of shots we typically make,” All-Star guard Jrue Holiday said. “Sometimes they don’t fall.”

Road Warriors

With the hostile crowd roaring and Sacramento making a big push, the Warriors did what they have done so often over their dynasty.

They silenced a crowd and came away with a back-breaking road win.

Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Draymond Green (21 points) had his highest-scoring game in more than five years and the Warriors earned the first road win of their series against Sacramento, beating the Kings, 123-116, Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead.

The Warriors won a road game for the NBA-record 28th straight playoff series, encompassing the entire era of Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson.

Leonard has tear in knee

Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard has a meniscus tear in his right knee, although his surgically repaired right ACL is intact.

The team had said Leonard sustained a right knee sprain after playing in the first two games of the Clippers’ firstround loss to Phoenix, but didn't provide further details.

He had an MRI in Los Angeles after Game 2, which showed the tear, according to Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations.

“Regardless of the treatment, Kawhi will be ready for next year,” Frank said Thursday.

The team has yet to decide on a course of treatment, he said. Rest or surgery are among the wide range of treatments for the common knee injury.