NBA Playoffs – playoffs – working day fifteen
Unmitigated disaster for the Milwaukee Bucks, who have thrown away a game they had won and with it they fall in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat by 4 victories to 1. The fifth game was played at the home of the regular season leader, who had posted a record winning percentage in team history this year. The Bucks seemed to have the game under control, but they sank in the last quarter and fell in overtime (126-128).
With the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo on the track, the Bucks tightened in the second and third quarters and reached the last one with a 16-point lead (102-86). In the fourth, however, those from Milwaukee collapsed while those from Miami peppered them with triples. With a 25-9 run, they tied the game at 111 points and a chill ran through the stands.
Jimmy Butler, the star of Miami and the playoff, missed a 3-point shot that would have put Miami ahead and the Bucks took a 4-point lead with 14 seconds left. Again it seemed an almost insurmountable distance. With 8.4 seconds to go, Gabe Vincent scored from 3 and the Miami Heat were 1 behind.
The party went crazy. The Bucks drew a baseline, the referees called a non-existent foul that Miami successfully contested and was resolved with a jumper. After him, the Bucks were on the verge of losing the ball, but in the end the Miami team needed to cause the free throws. There were only 2.1 seconds left. Jrue Holiday made 1 of 2 shots for the Bucks, who were up two. There was almost no time, but with a tenth to go, Butler acrobatically equalized from under the basket and sent the game into overtime (118-118).
Miami smelled blood. And in the extension she claimed her victim, traumatized by what she had just experienced. Now the Heat will face the New York Knicks on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with home field advantage for the New Yorkers. The Knicks have dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1. This Wednesday they won a game in which their center Mitchell Robinson grabbed 18 rebounds and certified their classification, the first they have achieved in a decade. In the other conference semifinal, the Philadelphia 76ers play against the winners of the tie between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks.
The Heat qualified for the playoffs in the playoffs, the call play-in. It seemed one of the clearest playoffs, but for the sixth time in NBA history, the conference leader falls in the first round against the eighth. The Bucks, 2021 champions, had not lost in the first round since 2018. This year they expected it less than ever.
Jimmy Butler has emerged as the great protagonist. After the 56 points of his spectacular fourth game, the 33-year-old Miami forward was once again the top scorer this Wednesday. He has added 42 points, plus 8 assists and 4 rebounds. He was escorted by Gabe Vincent, with 22 points, including that key triple with 8 seconds to go, and above all, Bam Adebayo, with his triple double: 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo says goodbye with a performance worthy of what he is, one of the best players in the world, except for the details. He has scored 38 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, but has only made 10 of the 23 free throws he has taken. Khris Middleton has accompanied him with 33 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, but at the moment of truth, the team has collapsed. The trembling in the last quarter has no explanation for a team that was listed as a favorite to win the championship ring. Between the fourth quarter and overtime, the Bucks have made just 5 of their 25 shots from the field.
Already in the previous game they wasted a comfortable advantage and suffered a 30-13 partial against in the last six minutes. That sinking and the 16 points that he has thrown away this Wednesday are almost unbelievable in a team of his level.
The tie was twisted from the beginning for those from Milwaukee with the injury of Antetokounmpo, who fell flat in the first quarter of the first game and hurt his back. In the regular season, the Greek has scored 31.1 points and grabbed 11.8 rebounds per game, fifth and third in the NBA in those rankings. In addition, he has given 5.7 assists per game and his success rate has been 55.3%. That set of statistics (more than 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists with more than 50% accuracy) had only been achieved by Wilt Chamberlain in the entire history of the NBA.
After his injury, Miami surprised by taking the lead in the tie. The Bucks reacted in the second game with a record festival of triples that made up for the absence of their star. When the matchup traveled to Miami, the Heat pulled ahead again. The Bucks got Anteto back in Game 4 and seemed to have won him, but they lost him. The same has happened this Wednesday.
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