Bucks vs. Heat score, takeaways: Milwaukee tops Miami in Game 2 after tying record for 3-pointers in a quarter
The Milwaukee Bucks made quick work of the Miami Heat on Monday night after a record-tying first quarter as Milwaukee knocked down 10 3-pointers in the opening frame, matching the NBA playoff record set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. After 12 minutes of action at Fiserv Forum, the Bucks owned a 26-point lead and they never looked back as Milwaukee ultimately dominated Miami throughout the game to come away with a 132-98 victory.
In the end, Milwaukee knocked down 22 3-pointers as a team with Byrn Forbes leading the charge from beyond the arc with six made 3-pointers of his own. While Forbes led all bench scorers with 22 points, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who paced the Bucks on the offensive end as he finished the win with 31 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. On the other end of the spectrum, the Heat struggled mightily from beyond the arc after setting a franchise playoff record for made 3-pointers in Game 1. That cold spell proved to be enough to decide this one as Miami was never really in it after the opening eight minutes of play.
With the win, Milwaukee takes a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series. Things will shift to Miami for Game 3, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night with TNT handling the broadcast. Here are the three most important takeaways from Milwaukee’s Game 2 victory.
The Bucks are switching so much more now that no single defender is ever responsible for what an opposing scorer does, but Antetokounmpo has exceeded all expectations against Butler so far, and that switching has protected him from chasing Butler over screens, an area in which he struggles.
Nuggets beat Blazers 128-109 to even series
Jokic scored 38 points to overcome a 3-point shooting barrage from Damian Lillard and the Nuggets evened the first-round series by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 on Monday night in a chippy Game 2.
“They picked up the aggressiveness and we did it, too,” Jokic said. “We met their aggressiveness, maybe even a little bit higher.”
Jokic also had eight rebounds and five assists, which was four more than he dished out in Game 1 when the Blazers made sure the big man didn’t beat him with his pinpoint passing.
The third-seeded Nuggets had few answers for Lillard early on as the dynamic playmaker scored 32 of his 42 points in the first half. His eight 3-pointers before intermission tied an NBA playoff record for most in a half. Lillard finished 9 of 16 from 3-point range.
