Miami Heat survive Milwaukee Bucks in controversial Game 2 finish

Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat stunned the Milwaukee Bucks again in Game 2.

When the Milwaukee Bucks dropped their second Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, it was far too early to panic. After dropping Game 2 in their second-round series against the Miami Heat, however, it’s time to worry about the state of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

After trailing 38-29 at the end of the first quarter, Milwaukee faced an uphill climb the rest of the way. Slowly but surely they chipped away at the deficit, until a few bizarre last-minute sequences gave them some daylight.

Although the Heat led by six points with 19.8 seconds left, a quick dunk from Giannis Antetokounmpo with 15 seconds remaining pulled the Bucks within four. On Miami’s ensuing possession, Jimmy Butler — the clutch hero of Game 1 — found himself trapped in the Heat’s backcourt and falling out of bounds. He launched an aimless pass back toward the inbounder, which was intercepted by Brook Lopez and turned into a quick bucket.

The Bucks suddenly trailed by two with 8.5 seconds left and fouled Butler on the next possession with 7.7 seconds remaining. Butler only made one of his two free throws, giving the Bucks one more shot at forcing overtime as they trailed by three.

From there, it was pure pandemonium on the officials’ part, which requires its own in-depth breakdown.

What else did you miss in Game 2 between the Bucks and Heat?

LVP: Officials taking over late

What was shaping up to be an epic Game 2 finish was marred by a pair of inconceivably bad calls. With the Bucks down by three, Khris Middleton got a look at a triple that was off the mark … but Dragic was whistled for the foul on what looked like a picture-perfect, straight-up-and-down contest:

Middleton calmly sank all three free throws to tie the game, but the Heat still had the ball and a chance to win it in regulation with a last-second shot. Butler got the look in the corner, taking a fadeaway corner jumper with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Wesley Matthews draped all over him.

The officials again called a virtually non-existent foul.

While Giannis’ hand did make some contact with Butler’s midsection, the contact there was minimal and certainly not worthy of a foul call in that situation.

Alas, with the clock at double-zeroes and the call standing, Butler went to the line and sank both free throws to give Miami the Game 2 win. While justice was indirectly served after that terrible foul call on Dragic the play before, it was the least climactic way possible to settle a playoff game.

Be better, NBA officials. We’re not here to watch you.

Coaching move: Pulling out your MVP, with 7 minutes left, down 0-1, when he’s at 30 minutes

We hate to keep harping on this, but good Lord is Mike Budenholzer atrocious when it comes to playoff adjustments. In Game 1, he was way too conservative with his starters’ minutes, even as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton eventually got to 37 minutes for the night.

In Game 2, his terrible management of rotations was even more egregious, with Giannis sitting at just 16 minutes at halftime. It became downright indefensible in the fourth quarter, when Bud inexplicably pulled his MVP from the game with 7:28 remaining … and the Bucks trailing by nine points, already down 0-1 in the series, with Giannis only at 30 minutes for the game.

The Greek Freak quickly came back in at the 6:05 mark during a review of a possible flagrant foul, but even if Budenholzer had just left him in, Antetokounmpo –who finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds — only would’ve been at 37 minutes for the night.

SO WHY ISN’T THE LEAGUE MVP, WHO’S ONLY 25 YEARS OLD, PLAYING 40 MINUTES A GAME IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH HIS TEAM ALREADY DOWN IN THE SERIES? WHY, BUD? WHY??

MVP: Goran Dragic

In a series featuring Giannis, Jimmy Butler, Khris Middelton and Bam Adebayo, one could argue that through two games, the best player on the court has been Goran Dragic.

The Dragon has been back in full force throughout the bubble, but he’s been torching the Bucks backcourt in particular. His 27 points on 60 percent shooting in Game 1 were understandable with Eric Bledsoe out, but the return of Milwaukee’s starting point guard didn’t make too much of a difference in Game 2 either, as Gogi finished with a team-high 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, with 17 of those points pacing Miami in the first half.

Aside from Jimmy Butler’s scorching-hot fourth quarter in Game 1, Dragic has been the most consistent thorn in Milwaukee’s side in this series. If the Bucks can’t find a way to corral him, this 34-year-old deciding to throw it back to his All-NBA days with the Phoenix Suns could spell serious doom for the No. 1 seed in the East.