Miami Heat blown out by Bucks in Game 2, series even at 1-1

The Miami Heat caught a break when Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out for Game 2, but instead of capitalizing they’ll leave Milwaukee with the series tied 1-1.

What happened?

The Heat lost to the Bucks, 138-122, on Wednesday in a game that was pretty much the inverse of Miami’s surprising Game 1 win.

After shooting 60% from 3-point range in last weekend’s win to open the series, the Heat shot just 30.8%, going 8 for 26 from distance before garbage time in the fourth quarter. On the flip side, after making just 24.4% of their 3s in Game 1, the Bucks shot 51% from beyond the arc in their win. Overall, the Heat were outscored 75-48 from 3-point range.

This one was decided early, with the Bucks going into halftime with an 81-55 lead, then pushing that lead to 33 points going into the fourth quarter.

Behind the numbers

This is more expected based on the regular-season averages of both teams. Miami shot 34.8% from 3-point range, the fourth-worst mark in the league. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s 36.8% clip ranked in the top 10.

Without Giannis, the Bucks were led by Jrue Holiday (24 points) and Brook Lopez (25 points) and still managed to score 52 points in the paint. After an underwhelming effort in Game 1, the Bucks unsurprisingly ratcheted up their energy in Game 2.

The Heat were without Tyler Herro, who broke his hand in Game 1, and started Duncan Robinson in his place. Robinson failed to make an impact, but few players on the Heat did.

Other than Jimmy Butler (25 points on 8 of 12 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes) and Bam Adebayo (18 points on 9 of 16 shooting, five rebounds in 25 minutes), only Gabe Vincent (16 points) managed to score in double-digits before garbage time.

But it wasn’t just the 3-point shooting. The Heat executed very little of their game plan, failing to create enough turnovers or get enough rebounds to win the possession battle.

What they’re saying

Adebayo: “It’s time to protect home court.”

Butler: “I would like to be up 2-0, but that’s in the past now. So we’re takin’ it to the crib, and we’ve gotta handle business on our home floor.”

What’s next

The pressure has shifted to the Heat as the series heads to Miami on Saturday (7:30 p.m.), and Giannis is potentially on the way.