LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks grabbed a 3-0 stranglehold lead in their first-round playoff series with a 113-84 thrashing of the Miami Heat on Thursday.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton have carried the offensive load for the Bucks in the series, but Thursday they also got plenty of help from their supporting cast as six Milwaukee players finished in double figures.
Middleton scored 22 points, Jrue Holiday had 19 points and 12 assists, and Brook Lopez chipped in 13 points for the Bucks, who are on the verge of sweeping the Heat who reached the NBA Finals last season.
Antetokounmpo has put up a total of 62 shots in the three games and is 17-for-27 on free throws.
Milwaukee can wrap up the best-of-seven series with a win in game four on Saturday in Miami.
One of the biggest differences in the Eastern Conference series is the top players on the Bucks have consistently outplayed Miami’s key duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
Butler finished with 19 points and Adebayo had 17 for the Heat, who were clobbered for the second straight game. They have lost by an average of more than 30 points over the last two games.
The Heat haven’t been the same since they lost game one 109-107 on a Middleton jumper with less than a second left in overtime.
Milwaukee seems determined to erase the memory of being beaten by the Heat in two previous playoff meetings in 2013 and last year.
© Agence France-Presse
