Bucks dominate Heat in Game 2 despite Giannis Antetokounmpo missing contest due to back contusion

The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t end up needing Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday night.

The Bucks, who ruled out Antetokounmpo due to a back contusion, absolutely dominated the Miami Heat in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series. The Bucks cruised to a blowout 138-122 win at Fiserv Forum, which evened up the series 1-1 as it heads to Miami later this week.

Antetokounmpo went down in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Heat after making contact with Heat veteran Kevin Love while driving to the rim. He fell hard onto the court and rolled over in pain, but remained in the game and shot free throws after drawing a foul on the play.

He left the game soon after, however, and was ruled out just before halftime of the 130-117 loss. He had just 6 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes.

Antetokounmpo didn’t practice at all on Monday or Tuesday, and was upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s contest at Fiserv Forum. His initial MRI came back clean, too.

While that’s a good sign, and coach Mike Budenholzer has been hopeful all week about a quick return, Antetokounmpo clearly isn’t there just yet. How long the Bucks will be without him, though, remains to be seen.

The Bucks had no issue getting past the Heat without Antetokounmpo. After a close few minutes to start the game, Milwaukee flew ahead to a 31-point lead just before halftime. The Bucks then cruised to the 16-point win behind a huge showing from Brook Lopez, who dropped 25 points while shooting 12-of-17 from the field. Jrue Holiday added 24 points and 11 assists, and Pat Connaughton finished with 22 points off the bench.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 25 points in the loss. Bam Adebayo added 18 points and five rebounds, and Gabe Vincent finished with 16 points.

Game 3 of the series is set for Saturday in Miami.