GIANNIS Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the host Milwaukee Bucks to a wire-to-wire 132-98 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night (Tuesday in Manila).
The Bucks used their most prolific 3-point shooting in the first half of the season to bury the Heat early and take a 2-0 lead in the series, which shifts to Miami for the next two games starting on Thursday night (Friday in Manila).
The Bucks’ scoring output was the most points the Heat ever allowed in a playoff game.
Milwaukee made 22-of-53 attempts from 3-point range, led by Bryn Forbes, who scored 14 of his playoff career-high 22 points in the first quarter while going 4-for-5 from long distance.
The Bucks made only 5-of-31 3-point attempts in Game 1.
Pat Connaughton also made 5-of-9 triples off the bench and finished with 15 points.
Milwaukee led by as many as 28 points in a first quarter in which they outscored the Heat 46-20 and set a franchise playoff record by making 15 triples in the first half. The Bucks’ 78 first-half points was also a postseason franchise record.
The Bucks made 10 3-pointers and 18-of-25 shots overall in the first quarter and shot 48.9 percent for the game. The Bucks also went 18-for-20 from the free throw line.
In the other game, Nikola Jokic scored 38 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 18 and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The Nuggets evened the best-of-seven series 1-1 with help from Paul Millsap (15 points), Aaron Gordon (13), Monte Morris (12) and Facundo Campazzo (12).
Game 3 is Thursday night (Friday in Manila) in Portland.
Damian Lillard scored 22 of his game-high 42 points in the second quarter and added 10 assists for the Trail Blazers. CJ McCollum scored 21, Norman Powell had 15 and Jusuf Nurkic grabbed 13 rebounds.
It was a testy game that featured four technical fouls and two flagrant fouls.
Denver led by 12 at halftime and stretched the margin to 81-66 on a basket by Campazzo.
The Trail Blazers got within 10, but the Nuggets scored seven straight to lead 91-74.
The hosts pushed the gap to 20 on a 3-pointer by Gordon late in the third, but the Trail Blazers hit two from deep in the final 30 seconds to get within 101-87 heading into the fourth.
