The Milwaukee Bucks are still alive after scoring their first win in the second round agains the Miami Heat. Will the Bucks win again and force a Game 6? Or will the Heat wrap it all up this coming Tuesday? Check out our preview of this game below.
The Heat will have to wait for at least another game to try to finish off the series. That’s after they suffered a 118-115 loss to Milwaukee in Game 4 on Sunday. The Heat had an 8-point lead at one point in the fourth quarter, but that was erased by a 12-0 run by the Bucks. Tyler Herro tried to salvage the game for Miami with a barrage of threes in the fourth, but he’ll just have to try again on Tuesday. Nevertheless, there was nothing for the Heat to be particularly feel bad about that loss. They still shot 36.2 percent from deep, hitting 17 of 47 3-point attempts. Bam Adebayo led the charge for Miami with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Duncan Robinson went 6 for 12 from behind the arc and finished the game with 20 points. Herro came off the bench and supplied Miami with 11 points. The loss also featured Miami’s first defeat agains the spread in the playoffs.
The Heat, who are shooting 38.3 percent from long range since the start of the postseason, are 7-1 against the spread in their last eight games.
The biggest question right now for the Bucks is whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will play in Game 5. The Greek Freak exited Game 4 with a right ankle sprain and did not return after playing just 11 minutes. Despite the short time he was on the floor, Antetokounmpo managed to score 19 points and grab four rebounds. Antetokounmpo reportedly was wearing a protective book while leaving the arena on Sunday, which was not a good sign for his availability in Game 5. If Antetokounmpo fails to suit up in the next game, the Bucks will have to ask for Khris Middleton to lead the team — again. Middleton is coming off his best game of the playoffs, as he scored 36 points on 12-of-28 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers on Sunday, to help the Bucks stave off elimination.
The Bucks, who are averaging 113.0 points per game in the playoffs, are 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games as the home team.
