76ers Playoff Watch: Miami Heat Fall Short to Undermanned Bucks

The Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks met for Game 2 of their first-round series on Thursday night.

The Miami Heat stunned the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 last weekend. Heading into the 2023 NBA Playoffs as the eighth seed after going in as the top dogs in the previous season, the Heat had something to prove last weekend.

Of course, the injury to Milwaukee Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo had a little something to do with the Heat’s success in Game 1. As Antetokounmpo went down with a back injury, he missed the majority of the first game.

Although the Heat came out victorious, they took a loss in the health department as well as their sharpshooting guard Tyler Herro suffered a broken hand. Heading into Game 2, the Heat didn’t have Herro on board, as he’s set for surgery later this week.

As for the Bucks, they toyed around with Antetokounmpo’s playing status before ultimately ruling him out for the night. In the absence of the former MVP, the Bucks came together and received a stellar effort from everybody involved in the high-scoring battle.

Bucks’ big man Brook Lopez led the way by scoring 25 points off of 17 shots. The All-Star guard Jrue Holiday was right behind him, as Holiday drained ten of his 19 shots for 24 points.

The sharpshooting reserve Pat Connaughton had himself a night off the bench as he knocked down six threes and scored a total of 22 points.

On Miami’s end, Jimmy Butler scored 25 points in 28 minutes of action. He was the only member of the Heat to exceed 20 points on the night. In Game 1, Butler could will Miami to a victory. In Game 2, that wasn’t the case.

The Bucks controlled the matchup for most of the night, even leading by as many as 36 points. The game wrapped up with a final score of 138-122 in favor of the Bucks. Now, the first-round series is evened at 1-1. The two teams will meet for Game 3 on Saturday.

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Eastern Conference Scoreboard

1. Bucks vs. 8. Heat — Series Tied 1-1

2. Celtics vs. 7. Hawks — Celtics Lead 2-0

3. Sixers vs. 6. Nets — Sixers Lead 2-0

4. Cavaliers vs. 5. Knicks — Series Tied 1-1

Next Up for 76ers:

The Philadelphia 76ers will visit the Brooklyn Nets for Game 3 on Thursday night.