Bucks and Lakers win first semifinals in NBA playoffs
Lake Buena Vista, United States, Sep 7 (efe-epa).- The Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers claimed their first victories in the semifinals of the NBA playoffs.
The two sides defeated the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets respectively in the Eastern and Western Conferences.
Forward Khris Middleton emerged as the Bucks’ leader and savior, scoring 36 points that allowed his team to win 118-115 over the Heat in game 4, stopping the team from being eliminated.
From the second quarter, the Bucks played without their star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who suffered a sprained right ankle in game 3.
They remain 1-3 down in the best-of-seven series with game 5 to be played on Tuesday.
Middleton scored a three-pointer with 6.4 seconds remaining in extra time to break the tie on the scoreboard and secure the Bucks’ victory.
He also provided eight rebounds, eight assists and 19 points after just 11 minutes.
Bucks’ Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe each scored 14 points while George Hill racked up 12.
Bam Adebayo hit a double-double with 26 points for the Heat as well as 12 rebounds and eight assists.
His teammate Duncan Robinson had 20 points while Jae Crowder had 18 and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler had 17 each.
