Takeaways and details from Heat’s blowout loss in Game 2 on record-setting night for Bucks
The Miami Heat made a statement by stealing home-court advantage in Game 1 over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. But the Bucks responded with their own resounding statement in Game 2.
Even with superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo out because of a lower back contusion he sustained in Game 1, the Bucks crushed the eighth-seeded Heat 138-122 on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum to even the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series 1-1.
The Bucks led Game 2 by as many as 36 points, as the Heat allowed the most points it has ever given up in a playoff game in franchise history. Milwaukee also shot an incredible 25 of 49 (51 percent) from behind the arc to set a new NBA record for the most made threes in a playoff game.
“They had some good clean easy looks at the beginning and then once they got on a roll, they were hitting some tough stepbacks, stuff at the end of the clock,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Anytime there was kind of a momentum shift, they seemed to knock down a big one. So you have to credit them with that. We had an idea that they were probably going to shoot 50-plus [threes]. They answered the bell on that and then some.”
The Bucks controlled Game 2 from start to finish, pulling ahead by as many as 32 points in the first half on their way to entering halftime ahead 81-55.
The Bucks shot 60 percent from the field and 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) on threes in the first two quarters to set a new franchise record for the most points scored in a playoff first half. Milwaukee’s 81 points also marked the most the Heat has ever allowed in any playoff half in franchise history.
The Heat opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 19, but the Bucks used a 31-14 run to push its lead up to 36 later in the period. The Heat and Bucks emptied their benches in the fourth quarter.
The Heat’s biggest lead of the night was three and it came in the first two minutes of the game.
Heat star Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 shooting on threes and 7-of-10 shooting from the foul line in 28 minutes before exiting the lopsided loss for good with 2:33 left in the third quarter.
Butler’s co-star Bam Adebayo finished with 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 0-of-1 shooting from the foul line in 25 minutes.
Without Antetokounmpo, center Brook Lopez and guard Jrue Holiday led the Bucks. Lopez totaled 25 points, and Holiday contributed 24 points, five rebounds and 11 assists in 33 minutes.
Game 3 of the series is Saturday at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., ESPN and Bally Sports Sun).
Five takeaways from the Heat’s Game 2 loss to the Bucks on Wednesday:
The Heat could not take advantage of Antetokounmpo’s absence in Game 2.
After sustaining a lower back contusion in the first quarter of Game 1 and exiting that contest after just 11 minutes of action, Antetokounmpo missed Game 2. His status for the remainder of the series remains up in the air, but the Bucks sent a statement by dominating the Heat without him on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo was upgraded from doubtful to questionable for Game 2 before ultimately being ruled out a few hours before tipoff.
“He’s gotten better each day,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said during his pregame media session when asked why Antetokounmpo was upgraded to questionable on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s improving, which gives us optimism that he might be able to play. If you’re not questionable, then it’s not an option. So the only way to give us the optionality of him playing was to make him questionable and he’s continued to improve. But organizationally and taking and working with him and the sports performance group, the decision was made he’s out.”
The Bucks started forward Bobby Portis in Antetokounmpo’s place.
Coincidentally, Antetokounmpo has only played one full game against the Heat this season. He missed two of the four regular-season matchups because of left knee soreness and left another after just six minutes of action because of a knee injury before exiting Sunday’s Game 1 after just 11 minutes of action and then sitting out Wednesday’s Game 2.
The Heat has posted a 3-2 record against the Bucks this season in the five games that Antetokounmpo has either left early or missed entirely. In the only game against the Heat this season that Antetokounmpo was available for the entire way, the Bucks won 123-115 on Feb. 4 at Fiserv Forum.
Milwaukee is 12-8 this season in games that Antetokounmpo has missed.
The Bucks won behind a historic shooting night from three-point range.
The Bucks hit 25 threes to set a new NBA record for the most made threes in a playoff game.
That led to the Bucks outscoring the Heat 75-48 from beyond the arc.
“They jumped us,” Spoelstra said. “You have to give them credit for that.”
This has been a winning formula for the Bucks, as they improved to 48-11 this season in games they’ve outscored their opponents from three-point range in.
Pat Connaughton shot 6 of 10 and Joe Ingles shot 5 of 6 from deep off Milwaukee’s bench. In addition, Holiday shot 4 of 10 on threes, Portis shot 3 of 4 on threes and Khris Middleton shot 2 of 5 on threes.
This ultra-efficient shooting display came after an underwhelming one Game 1, when the Bucks shot just 11 of 45 (24.4 percent) on threes.
“They got a lot of guys that can shoot. Credit to them for making shots,” Heat forward Duncan Robinson said. “The efforts probably weren’t what they needed to be, obviously, to disrupt some of those shots. But they can fill it up. We’ve seen it before, especially in this building.”
Despite being outscored by nearly 30 points on threes, the Heat actually didn’t have a bad shooting night. Miami finished the Game 2 loss 16 of 36 (44.4 percent) from three-point range.
The Heat fell to 9-3 this season when shooting better than 44 percent on threes in a game.
Including Game 1 when the Heat shot a season-best 15 of 25 (60 percent) from deep, Miami has combined to go 31 of 61 (50.8 percent) from three-point range in the first two games of the series.
Considering the Heat closed the regular season with the NBA’s fourth-worst team three-point percentage at 34.4 percent, that’s about as good of a shooting start to the playoffs as Miami could have hoped for.
The Bucks were the bigger team and played like it in Game 2, scoring on the Heat repeatedly around the rim.
Even without the 7-foot Antetokounmpo, the Bucks were still the much bigger team. Milwaukee went with a starting frontcourt that included the 6-foot-11 Portis and 7-foot-1 Lopez against a starting Heat frontcourt of the 6-foot-9 Adebayo and 6-foot-5 Max Strus.
The Bucks made the adjustment to make sure they took advantage of that, outscoring the Heat 52-42 in the paint.
The Bucks emphasized their size advantage early, totaling 26 paint points on 11-of-15 shooting at the rim in the first quarter. Milwaukee had more shots at the rim in the opening quarter of Game 2 than it did in all of Game 1, when it finished 12 of 13 from that area of the court.
“It seemed like they definitely emphasized that, playing inside, out and they kind of got everything,” Robinson said. “Paint points and threes. That’s tough when they’re getting both.”
Lopez was the catalyst, scoring 24 of his 25 points in the paint. Most of his shots came at the rim, where he finished 8 of 10 from.
Lopez made his presence felt from the start, scoring 14 points with the help of 6-of-7 shooting at the rim in the first quarter.
As a team, the Bucks closed Game 2 shooting 19 of 27 at the rim. The Heat finished 15 of 18 at the rim.
“We’ll watch the film and adjust and figure out for next game,” Strus said.
After Tyler Herro broke his right hand in Game 1, the Heat started Robinson in Herro’s place in Game 2.
The Heat opened Game 2 with its 27th different starting lineup of the season: Gabe Vincent, Robinson, Strus, Butler and Adebayo.
In fact, this five-man combination played just 11 minutes together in the regular season.
On Wednesday, this lineup was outscored 18-14 in the opening 6:19 of the game before the Heat made its first substitution.
Robinson, who started because of his three-point shooting ability, did not attempt a three in his six-minute stint to open the contest. He was also called for two fouls and traveling during this short stretch to begin the game.
After being subbed out with 5:41 left in the first quarter, Robinson did not play again in the first half.
But Robinson was back on the court to open the second half and also played the entire fourth quarter when both teams emptied their bench in the lopsided game.
Robinson scored all of his Game 2 points while playing the entire fourth quarter, finishing the loss with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range in 26 minutes.
The Heat’s new starting group was outscored by three points in 12 minutes together on Wednesday.
Robinson used to be a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup, but Wednesday marked just his second start of the season. He has played off the bench since losing his starting spot late last season and has found himself completely out of the Heat’s rotation at times this season.
Spoelstra was non-committal when asked after the game whether Robinson will continue starting in Herro’s place for the rest of the series.
“It is different without Tyler,” Spoelstra said. “We just have to figure out what makes the most sense and we’ll get to work on that.”
With the Heat searching for a spark, Heat guard Victor Oladipo was subbed in early.
Oladipo, who did not play in Game 1 of the series and received seven DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) over the final 12 regular-season games, played 12 minutes in Wednesday’s first half.
Oladipo recorded seven points and two rebounds while shooting 3 of 6 from the field and 0 of 2 from three-point range in his 12 first-half minutes. Unfortunately for the Heat and Oladipo, Milwaukee outscored Miami by 27 points during that time.
Oladipo re-entered for his first minutes of the second half with 2:33 left in the third quarter and played the final 14:33 of the game.
Oladipo finished Wednesday’s loss with 15 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
The rest of the Heat’s bench rotation in Game 2 included Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love and Caleb Martin before the bench was emptied in the fourth quarter.
This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 11:20 PM.
