After dropping the first three games in the series, the Milwaukee Bucks were staring at elimination against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Bucks lost NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle.
But Khris Middleton took over, scoring 21 of his 36 points in the third quarter, then making a huge 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime as the Bucks knocked off the Heat 118-115.
Antetokounmpo scored 19 points in only 11 minutes before departing. Brook Lopez and George Hill added 14 points each as the Bucks forced a game five on Tuesday.
Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Heat. Duncan Robinson added 20 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler had 17 each.
The Heat coughed up 12 straight points in the final quarter as the Bucks erased a 12-point deficit to eventually force overtime.