The last time these teams met, the Miami Heat stunned the best Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs en route to the NBA Finals.
The Bucks clearly circulated on their calendar on Tuesday.
Milwaukee opened Tuesday’s rematch on a 12-0 run en route to a 46-26 lead at the end of the first quarter. By the time it was over, Milwaukee had a 144-97 victory and set a new NBA record with 29 three-pointers.
TNT cuts away from blowout
The blowout was so severe that TNT – which broadcast the game nationally – threw in the towel when the Bucks extended their lead in the third quarter to 93-62.
“There are a lot of games in the NBA, ten of which are actually,” said Brian Anderson, announcer of play-by-play, when the broadcast returned from the commercial break. “It does not appear to be one of them.”
He tossed it to studio presenter Ernie Johnson.
“Call us only if it’s about 15 or 20,” Johnson replied before chatting with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal as they watched other league games.
They started the Philadelphia 76ers game against the Toronto Raptors and took the round from there and watched several games from the busy NBA page.
They also watched the video of Stephen Curry shooting three-pointers in a gym.
Bucks-Heat never got to 15 or 20 again. TNT still did the broadcasts. Although it did kick in halfway through the fourth quarter after the Bucks set the new record for three-pointers in a game.
Every goat except Giannis connected from a distance
Rugby guard Sam Merrill defeated the Bucks’ 28th hat-trick of the night by 6:07 to break the record. He was the 12th Bok to connect at long range in the effort.
In fact, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only player in the entire Bucks series who did not connect from distance. The reigning MVP was one of the few Bucks players not on fire and hit three of the nine goal-scoring attempts while scoring nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Bucks star’s outing was no problem for his teammates. Seven Bucks players passed in double figures, led by Khris Middleton’s 25 and Jrue Holiday’s 24.
Holiday led the 3-point barrage with a long-range 6-out-10 effort. Donte DiVincenzo added five advanced three-pointers, and Middleton picked four. Seven Bucks players connected at least two three-pointers when the Bucks shot a scorching 29-of-51 (56.9 percent) from long range.
Tyler Herro led Miami’s effort by 23 points. The Heat played without Jimmy Butler, who was sidelined by an ankle injury. But he did not save them from this 47-point wedding.
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