Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat both lost star players in the opening round playoff game at Fiserv Forum, won by the visitors 130-117. Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with four minutes left in the first quarter when he fell hard to the floor on a drive in the lane. While he got up to shoot his free throws, he left to get treatment. He returned for just a minute in the second quarter but the team said his back contusion forced him out the rest of the game. His injury came early and Miami’s came late when Milwaukee native and Whitnall High School product Tyler Herro dove for a loose ball and fractured his right wrist. While the Bucks hope Antetokounmpo will return for the rest of the series, Herro will not.
The Bucks were already down 24-12 when Giannis went down and they never recovered despite a solid 33 points from Khris Middleton and 21 from Bobby Portis. Miami was led by Jimmy Butler with 35 while Bam Adebayo added 22. Milwaukee was able to close the double digit gap on several occasions, pulling to within 78-75 in the third quarter but the Heat answered every charge with a run of their own.
Miami outscored the Bucks in the paint 62-46 and an even bigger disparity came from beyond the arc. The Heat shot 59.5% from the floor overall and 60% (15 of 25) from three point range while the Bucks managed only 11 of a whopping 45 three point attempts (24.4%).
Jrue Holiday posted a 16 point, 16 assist double-double but the rest of the offensive output wasn’t enough. Grayson Allen has 12 and Brook Lopez only managed 10 as the Bucks surrendered home court advantage in the opening game. Antetokoumpo’s status for game two on Wednesday night remains in doubt but there’s no doubt top seeded Milwaukee is in for a first round battle now.
The NBA’s Board of Governors has given it’s approval to Marc Lasry’s sale of his 25% share of the team to Jimmy and Dee Haslam for a reported 3.5 billion dollars. The Haslems also own the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Wes Edens is still considered the team’s primary owner and the Haslam’s have indicated he will continue to be the governor of the franchise at the league level.
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