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WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021 Bucks thrash Heat to go 2-0

Nuggets bounce back to even playoff series with Blazers

LOS ANGELES: The Khris Middleton added 17 points produced an exhibition of three-point including three three-pointers as six shooting to crush the as the Bucks players made double-digit totals. Denver Nuggets bounced back to level Dewayne Dedmon led the Miami scorers their NBA first round playoff series with with 19 points from the bench, while victory over Portland on Monday. Goran Dragic added 18. Bam Adebayo erupted for five threes in was restricted to 16 points, while Jimmy the first half and Butler was held to just 10. Heat coach finished with 31 points to give the Bucks a Erik Spoelstra said the team would need resounding 132-98 win over last year’s to make a big improvement for game NBA Finals runners-up. Overall, the Bucks three in Miami on Thursday. made 22 of 53 three-point attempts, with “They’re a great first quarter team Antetokounmpo kicking off the rout with a when they get it going and clicking,” 28-foot pullup from outside the arc for the Spoelstra said of the Bucks. “This game first points of the game. just got out of hand so quickly, but you After an overtime thriller in game one do have to respect what they did tonight. on Saturday, the Bucks were in no mood They were really explosive in those first to leave anything to chance in game two, and third quarters.” erupting for 46 points in the first quarter alone. The Bucks made 15 of 29 three- Nuggets bounce back point attempts in the first half, surging In Denver, Nuggets ace Nikola Jokic into leads of more than 30 points at vari- served up a 38-point display as the third ous stages of a one-sided encounter. seeds overpowered the Portland Trail They maintained a healthy cushion Blazers by 128-109. Jokic made 15 of 20 throughout, with the Heat unable to get from the field with eight rebounds and within 20 points of the Bucks after five assists as Denver battled back to briefly clawing their way back to a 19- level the series at 1-1 after being jolted point deficit early in the second quarter. by the Blazers in Saturday’s opener. Antetokounmpo added 13 rebounds and Portland talisman led six assists, while Forbes finished with 22 the scoring with 42 points but it was not points off the bench. enough against a rugged Denver MILWAUKEE: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks in the third quarter against the Miami Heat during Game Two “After game one I didn’t look at the defense. Six Denver players cracked of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat at Fiserv Forum on Monday in stat sheet,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the double figures, with Jokic receiving Milwaukee, Wisconsin. — AFP end of the day a win is a win. All I care scoring support from Michael Porter about is winning the game, putting my with 18 points and Paul Millsap with 15. “In game one we didn’t create open series moves to Portland for game like we like it,” Jokic said. “When they teammates in a position to win a game. It Aaron Gordon finished with 13 points shots. It was a tough night for us. But three on Thursday. “They’re a talented started picking up the aggressiveness, feels good when guys are knocking down while Facundo Campazzo and Monte today our bench was good, everybody team, a dangerous team, but we can we did it too. We kind of meet their shots. We were seeing the ball go in, we Morris chipped in with 12 apiece. “The contributed. It was a real team effort.” fight at least,” said Jokic, who was aggressiveness. Maybe we were a lit- were making stops, it felt good. We’ve difference tonight was we created open Jokic said Denver will need to pro- encouraged by Denver’s aggressive tle bit higher, but we were still con- got to stay locked in for game three.” shots,” Serbian star Jokic said afterwards. duce a stronger defensive effort as the approach against Portland. “It seems trolling it.” — AFP