98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks have been bounced from the 2020 NBA Playoffs. And their exit, which came at the hands of the Miami Heat in Tuesday’s Game 5, came with Antetokounmpo watching their exit as a spectator.
Injured in Sunday’s Game 4 victory, the 26-year-old Antetokounmpo tried to go through a pregame warmup prior to Tuesday’s contest, but was ultimately ruled out, leaving the Bucks down one MVP.
And while the Bucks fought valiantly, carrying a nine-point lead into the second quarter, the pressure from Miami turned out to be too much, with the Heat never looking back after grabbing the second-quarter lead in what finished as a 103-94 final.
The Heat had six players finish in double-digit scoring by the night’s end, with Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic’s 17 points leading the way for Miami, while Jae Crowder’s 16 were the third-most among Heat shooters.
For the Heat, it’s the club’s first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2014, where they’ll await the winner of the second-round series between the Celtics and Raptors, which the C’s currently lead three games to two.
This could be a huge break for the C’s should they advance, as the Celtics went 2-1 against the Heat during the regular season, with Boston’s only loss to the Heat coming inside the Orlando bubble by way of a 112-106 final on Aug. 4.
The C’s will look to join the Heat in round three on Wednesday night, with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff against the Raptors in Game 6. That would set the teams up for their first postseason showdown since their third-round meeting in 2012.
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