Milwaukee, April 27 (US): Jimmy Butler scored 42 points, and the Miami Heat pulled off a stunning second-biggest lead in the fourth quarter before winning 128-126 in overtime Wednesday night in Game 5 to pull off an upset at the top-seed Bucks. in the Eastern Conference Playoff Round 1 series.
The Associated Press reports that two nights after beating the Bucks 30-13 in the final six minutes of a 119-115 victory in Miami, the Heat made another big comeback and tied the game on a layup by Butler with half a second left in regulation.
Miami went on to become the sixth No. 8 seed to beat the top seed. The last time that happened was in 2012, when the Philadelphia 76ers featuring current Bucks guard Jrue Holiday took advantage of Derrick Rose’s knee injury to beat the top-ranked Chicago Bulls.
The Heat advanced to the second round with the fifth-seeded New York Knicks, who completed a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier Wednesday. The first game is on Sunday in New York.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Gabe Vincent added 22 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 20 rebounds for the Bucks, though he only shot 10 of 23 on his free throw attempts. Khris Middleton added 33 points.
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Cleveland: Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, RJ Barrett added 21, and New York beat Cleveland to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the first time since 2013.
The Knicks easily dominated the series and playoffs even after Julius Randle aggravated his left ankle injury and missed the second half. The fifth-ranked Knicks meet Miami in a series that begins on Sunday.
Bronson averaged 24 points in the series and led New York in scoring in all four wins while holding off Donovan Mitchell for the second straight season. Last year, Bronson was with Dallas when he got the best of Mitchell.
Mitchell scored 28 points and Darius Garland 21 with the Cavs, who won 51 regular season games, but his inexperience showed during their first playoff series in five years.
The Cavs were pushed around and outscored in all four losses, including 48-30 in the clincher. New York center Mitchell Robinson finished with 18 rebounds and 11 attacks.
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Sacramento: Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Draymond Green scored its highest in over five years, and Golden State won the first road game of their series against Sacramento to take a 3-2 lead.
Green had 21 points and seven assists in his first game in Sacramento since being ejected and later stopped for a streak on the chest of Domantas Sabonis in the game two loss.
Golden State can now attempt to end the series with a fourth straight home win Friday night.
Klay Thompson added 25 points, Andrew Wiggins 20 and Kevin Looney had a career-high 22 rebounds.
Dearon Fox scored 24 points despite a broken index finger on his hand, and Malik Monk and Sabonis added 21 points each for Sacramento.
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Memphis: Desmond Bane scored 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and Memphis avoided elimination, sending the Western Conference series back in the first round to Los Angeles.
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Yaren Jackson Jr. scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the second seed Grizzlies, who cut the lead of the seventh seed Lakers to 3-2. Game six is on Friday night.
LeBron James started 1-of-7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest rebound after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in Monday night’s overtime win in Los Angeles and became the oldest player in NBA history to record 20. At least a point and 20 rebounds in a playoff game.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 19 rebounds.
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