Even with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo missing most of the game with a sprained right ankle, the Bucks extended their season to a Game 5. Khris Middleton scored 21 of his 36 points in the third quarter, then made a huge three-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime and the Bucks topped the Miami Heat 118-115 in Game 4 of their series Sunday.
“Just keep fighting,” said Middleton, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists. “That’s all my teammates did.”
Miami still lead the series 3-1 but will surely spend the next two days lamenting how this one got away. The Heat gave up 12 straight points in the final period, wasting what was an eight-point lead in a closeout game.
Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Miami. Duncan Robinson scored 20 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler each finished with 17 for the Heat.
Antetokounmpo aggravated his sprained right ankle with 10:18 left in the second quarter, rolling it inward – just as he did in Game 3 on Friday – as he tried to drive past Miami’s Andre Iguodala. He tumbled to the court, grabbing the ankle and screaming in pain.
He took the free throws; without doing that, he would not have been permitted to return. But at halftime, the Bucks delivered the word that he would not be back.
His game was over. The Bucks’ season wasn’t.
Middleton did all he could to keep the Bucks afloat, scoring 21 points in the third quarter – the highest-scoring quarter of his career.
And in the end, the Bucks had done enough to keep hope alive.