Giannis-less Bucks dominate Miami in Game 2 win

Milwaukee evened its first-round series against Miami with a dominating 138-122 Game 2 win at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night.

Playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo (back), the Bucks looked just fine on their way to scoring 81 points in the first half. That set a new franchise playoff record for points in a half and Milwaukee didn’t let up after the break, especially from the outside. The Bucks shot 51.5% from beyond the arc and tied the NBA playoff record with 25 3-pointers. Six guys made at least two, and that included Grayson Allen going 4-for-8, Joe Ingles hitting 5-of-6 and Pat Connaughton draining 6-of-10.

Miami made a run in the fourth quarter, trimming Milwaukee’s lead from 33 to 14 at one point but the hole was too deep to completely dig out from.

Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez combined for 40 points in the first half for Milwaukee and the duo finished with 24 and 25 points, respectively. Holiday added 11 assists and five rebounds.

Bobby Portis got the start in place of Antetokounmpo and filled the stat sheet up. He had 13 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal. Allen scored 16 points, while Ingles and Connaughton combined for 39 off the bench.

Miami got 25 points from Jimmy Butler and 18 points from Bam Adebayo. Reserve Caleb Martin had 15 points.

The series is now tied 1-1 and heading back to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday.