Butler, Heat pull away from Bucks for 3-0 lead

[September 05, 2020]    Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 30 points as the fifth-seeded Miami Heat took a 3-0 Eastern Conference semifinals series lead over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks with a 115-100 win on Friday night in the NBA bubble near Orlando.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA's reigning MVP, had 21 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks for Milwaukee. However, he shot just 7-for-21 from the floor, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) goes for the ball against Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson (55) and guard Goran Dragic (7) during the first quarter in game three of the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 in the series is set for Sunday afternoon. No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

Miami, which is 7-0 in the playoffs this year, also got 20 points and a team-high 16 rebounds from Bam Adebayo. Jae Crowder made a big contribution with 17 points, sinking 5 of 11 3-point attempts.

Milwaukee got a team-high 22 points from Brook Lopez plus 18 points from Khris Middleton.

Miami played without reserve center Kelly Olynyk, who has a knee injury. But the Heat, who used 10 players, still had enough depth to win, with rookie Tyler Herro providing 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Milwaukee led 30-29 after the first quarter. The Bucks shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the period, including 4-for-6 on 3-point tries. Miami shot 47.6 percent, including 7-for-15 from long distance. There were five lead changes and four tie scores in the period.

The Bucks used a 12-3 second-quarter run to lead by as many as 10 points, settling for a 57-50 advantage at halftime. Antetokounmpo was held to seven points in the half, missing all four of his 3-point attempts. But Middleton (14 points) and Lopez (13 points) led Milwaukee's first-half charge. Meanwhile, no Heat player scored in double figures in the opening half.

Miami went on a 10-0 run to take a 67-66 lead with 5:53 left in the third, but Milwaukee responded with a 21-8 surge and took a 87-75 advantage into the fourth.

The Heat trailed by 11 early in the fourth quarter before a 14-2 run gave them a 94-93 lead after two Butler free throws with 6:16 left in the fourth.

The Bucks last led at 99-98 after an Antetokounmpo dunk with 4:41 to go, but they managed just one point over the remainder of the game with the Heat outscoring them 17-1 down the stretch.

--Field Level Media

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