Trevor Ariza #8 of the Miami Heat is called for a flagrant 1 foul in the third quarter against Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during Game Two of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on May 24, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Quinn Harris/Getty Images/AFP
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.
The Bucks used their most prolific 3-point shooting 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.
The Bucks’ scoring output was the most points the Heat ever allowed in a playoff game.
😤 31 PTS, 13 REB for @Giannis_An34 to put the @Bucks up 2-0! #NBAPlayoffs
Game 3 – Thursday, 7:30pm/et, TNT pic.twitter.com/HagN3jvOR2
— NBA (@NBA) May 25, 2021
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.
Antetokounmpo, who also had six assists and three steals, shot 12-for-23 from the field, and Jrue Holiday totaled 11 points and 15 assists. Khris Middleton finished with 17 points.
🦌 15 DIMES for @Jrue_Holiday11
🦌 #NBAPlayoffs career-highBucks seek 3-0 lead Thursday on TNT pic.twitter.com/62oQXyps7V
— NBA (@NBA) May 25, 2021
Dewayne Dedmon finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Goran Dragic scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Heat.
Bam Adebayo had 16 points and Jimmy Butler finished with 10 points as the Heat trailed by as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter.
Duncan Robinson, who hit 7-of-13 shots from long distance in Game 1, shot 2-for-6 on Monday to finish with 10 points.