Giannis Antetokoumpo is one of the most formidable power forwards in recent times in the NBA. Any NBA fan would know that he has been the instrumental force behind all the stunning wins of the Milwaukee Bucks, since joining them in the 2013 NBA draft. In fact, he was the instrumental player in the 2021 NBA Champion triumph of the Bucks. Therefore, one section of NBA enthusiasts believed that the Bucks would be vulnerable without the service of Giannis.
However, the Bucks proved the doubters wrong, as they breezed past the Miami Heat in their second encounter of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Giannis was out of the game due to an injury. He left the court with a bruised lower back early in the second quarter of Game 1 of the ongoing series. Ultimately, the Bucks ended up losing the game to Miami 130-117. However, in the second game, they turned the tide around with a stunning team performance. Therefore, if you wish to know more about the striking comeback of the Bucks against Miami, then this article is the perfect stop for you.
Lopez Dominated The Bucks Vs Miami Game 2
Antetokoumpo was not the only man missing out on the game for the Bucks. He was joined by guard Wesley Matthews. Matthews strained his right calf during the first game of the series and thus was unavailable for the second showdown. On the other hand, the Heats also missed the service of Tyler Herro, who will be unavailable for the entire season, with a broken arm. Therefore, both the teams had some major missing.
However, in the beginning, phase of the game, the Bucks adopted the same tactic as they did some times back when they had to play without their star power forward. They started to pass the balls quickly to Brook Lopez. Lopez previously helped the Bucks outplay the Atlanta Hawks in the fifth game of 2021 the East finals in the absence of Antetokoumpo. At that time, he scored a career-high 34 points.
However, the performance of Lopez was not something worth talking about in the first game of the present series against Miami, with just 10 points to his name. But again in the absence of Giannis, he stepped up scoring 14 points in the first quarter of the game alone. He ended the game with 25 points. The success of Lopez inspired the others in the team as they went past Miami by 138-122.
A Rain Of Three-Pointers
In the second game against Miami, the Bucks ended up touching the NBA record for 3-pointers in a postseason game. They scored 25 of the 49 three-pointer attempts. Apart from Lopez, Jrue Holiday added a stunning 24 points, along with a surprising 22 points by Pat Connaughton. In fact, he scored 6 out of a total of 10 attempts from outside the arc.
In matters of scoring from outside the arc, another prominent performer in the game was Joe Ingles. He scored 5 out of his six attempts from outside the arc, ending the game with 17 points. As a result, with only 5:29 left in the second quarter, the Bucks took a lead of 62-41. Again in the third quarter, the Bucks went clear of their rival by 36 points. However, the Heats claimed the fourth quarter 37-20 and ended the game with a respectable scoreline.
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