Antetokounmpo, Lillard bounce back as Bucks douse playoff rival Heat

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Damian Lillard added 25 as the Milwaukee Bucks bounced back from a 17-point loss against the Atlanta Hawks to take down the visiting Miami Heat 122-114 on Monday (Tuesday, October 31, Manila time).

The Bucks’ bench was also key in this one, particularly in the first half. Bobby Portis scored 16 (14 in the first half), Cameron Payne added 11 and Milwaukee’s bench outscored Miami’s 30-6 in the first half.

Tyler Herro shined for the Heat in his home state of Wisconsin, scoring 35 points with eight rebounds to lead the way, while Jimmy Butler, who returned after missing Saturday’s game in Minnesota due to rest, added 13 points.

Milwaukee led this game by as much as 25 points in the fourth, but Miami was able to mount a comeback with a 13-2 run that brought their deficit down to just nine with less than five minutes to play.

The Heat would get the deficit down to six, but Milwaukee took over from there, thanks to a layup from Antetokounmpo and an alley-oop assist to Brook Lopez, who finished the layup to put the Bucks up 11 and put the game out of reach.

This was also the first matchup for Lillard against the Heat after requesting a trade to Miami this offseason and instead being sent to Milwaukee. Coming off a game in which he scored just six points, he added four assists and five rebounds on top of his 25 points.

The Bucks have won each of the last seven matchups against Miami at home in the regular season as the teams have split the season series each of the previous two seasons, not including the Heat’s five-game series win in last season’s first round of the playoffs. – Rappler.com