Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat square off in the second game of the Conference Semifinal series in the American Basketball League 2019-20.
Match Timing: September 3, 2020 (4 AM IST)
Team Preview
The Miami Heat continued their winning streak and draw first blood in the conference semifinal series against Milwaukee Bucks. The Southeast Division champions came after a four-game sweep over Indiana Pacers in the Playoff series and they outplayed Bucks as the road team to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Bucks led by 11 points in the high-scoring first quarter but Heat bounced back with taking 2nd quarter 23-31. They continued their domination in the game and took final quarters 23-32 and 18-23 to win the game 104-115.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with scoring 40 points and Goran Dragic contributed 27 points. Bam Adebayo scored a double-double with 12 points plus 17 boards. Middleton paced Bucks with scoring 28 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo netted a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists in the loss. Bucks had a better field goals percent with 49.3, including 16 out of 35 from 3-points range but they missed 12 of 26 free throw attempts while Miami shot 46.4 percent from the floor, including 12 out of 31 from beyond the arc. Miami dominated the offensive rebounds 34-46.
The heat comes second in the league in scoring defense as they allow 101.4 points per contest. Bucks stands fourth in rebounding with 47.7 boards per contest and placed second in the league by handing out 26.5 assists per game. The Bucks might come back strong to square the series. Bucks need more from Antetokounmpo who had just 12 field goal attempts in 37 minutes and Middleton also requires a similar show on Wednesday.
Possible Starting Lineup
Milwaukee Bucks
Eric Bledsoe (PG), Wesley Matthews (SG), Khris Middleton (SF), Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Miami Heat
Goran Dragic (PG), Jimmy Butler (SG/SF), Duncan Robinson (SG/SF), Jae Crowder (PF), Bam Adebayo (C)
Key Players
Milwaukee Bucks
Khris Middleton (SF): 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists
Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF): 28.5 points, 15 rebounds, 6.5 assists
Miami Heat
Goran Dragic (PG): 23.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, five assists
Jimmy Butler (SG/SF): 23.8 points, five rebounds, 3.6 assists
