Season is running out on the Milwaukee Buck

By Arnie Leshin 

No team National Basketball Association has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs and that’s where the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the best overall record, stand.

On Friday night, the 4th-seeded Miami Heat won its third straight in this Eastern Conference semifinals, 115-110,  and it was rousing 40 points in the fourth quarter that brought this one at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

In the Western Conference semis, the 4th-seeded Houston Rockets came away with a commanding 112-97 win over the No.1-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in game one.

This one was close for awhile, with Houston up 29-28 after one quarter, increasing it to 63-55 at halftime, and 85-79 after three quarters, but upped the margin with a 27-18 fourth quarter.

James Harden led the way with the game-high 36 points,  P.J. Tucker took down nine rebounds, and Russell Westbrook handed out six assists to go with 24 points.

For the Lakers, who also lost game one versus the 8th-seeded Portland Trailblazers, got the team-high 25 points from 7-foot Anthony Davis, and he scrubbed the boards for 14 rebounds. LeBron James added 20 points and dished out seven assists.

Meanwhile, Miami looks for an unprecedented sweep. Led by Jimmy Butler’s game-high 30 points and 20 points and 16 boards from Bam Adebayo, the Heat was red-hot in the final quarter, taking over for the final time with a 14-0 run that put the game out of reach for the frustrated Bucks.

Brook Lopez had a good game for Milwaukee with the team-high 22 points, and teammate Giannis Antetpkoumnpo, the league’s Most Valuable Player and number one Buck, turned in 21 points, took down 16 rebounds, and contributed nine assists.

Today, the Boston Celtics meet up with the defending champion Toronto Raptors with a 2-1 lead in this Eastern Conference semifinals, and in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Clippers handily won game one over the Denver Nuggets and they, too, play tonight.