The Miami Heat brought in 17,000 fans to help them turn the series and get right back in the first round, but failed miserably.
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What a difference a year makes. After getting embarrassed by the Heat in the second round of the playoffs last season, the Bucks are now the ones making their opponent look silly. On Thursday night, they put together an impressive performance from start to finish, beating the Heat 113-84 to take a 3-0 lead in the series.Â
The Bucks are making things look easy, especially since Game 1. Defensively they’ve been terrific, holding the Heat to under 100 points in all three games. The Bucks have been dominating the board since Game 1, and Game 3 was no exception.
Khris Middleton led the scoring effort with 22 points for the Bucks along with eight rebounds and five assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted another big performance with 17 points, 17 rebounds alongside five assists. Point guard Bryn Forbes followed up his 22-point effort with 6 of 9 from the three-point range with another good performance scoring 11 points.Â
Jrue Holiday’s shot making ability and to create off the dribble was the Bucks’ best option to attack the mismatches and he’s had a lot of success in this series.
Miami kept the lead around the 14-point mark until Khris Middleton led the takeover in the latter part of the third. The Bucks caught absolute fire and built a 26-point lead after some incredible shooting. Bucks shot 7 of 11 from deep in the third quarter as compared to 5 of 20 in the entire first half.
While the Heat were able to cut the lead to around 20 a couple of times, the Bucks quickly stomped on their throats and ran the lead up to 32 with 4 minutes to go on the clock. Milwaukee is now one game away from sweeping the Heat.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo didn’t play at their All-Star level Thursday night. While Butler made some early mid-range jumpers at times, appearing like the only somewhat bright spot of the Heat offense on Thursday. Butler led the Heat with 19 points on 7/17 from the field, managing just 3 points in the second half.
The Heat shot 37.8% in the game and managed a mere 84 points, thanks to frigid shooting and strong Bucks defense. Meanwhile, the Bucks shot a 57.1% with 8 of 16 from beyond the arch in the second half as they took control.
