No Giannis Antetokounmpo meant more of Damian Lillard.
He set the tone early and the Bucks staved off a furious Heat rally in the second half for a 106-103 escape in East Group B play of the NBA Cup, Wednesday (PH time).
He dropped 25 of his team-high 37 points in the opening half alone and finished with 12 assists and eight threes to go 3-0 in the tournament.
SO. TOUGH. 😤
— NBA (@NBA) November 27, 2024
Lillard's got 25 in the 1st half! 🔥🔥 https://t.co/ik8KxO3lWP
Antetokounmpo missed his second game of the season and first in the in-season tournament with a left knee effusion.
Brook Lopez added 13 markers while AJ Green chipped in 12 for the Bucks, who are now 7-1 in their last eight games after starting the season at 2-8.
Terry Rozier hit a clutch triple as the Heat made it a single possession game at 103-104 with 29 seconds left to play.
Terry Rozier's triple cuts it to 1!
@Bucks 104@MiamiHEAT 103
— NBA (@NBA) November 27, 2024
29.0 seconds left on TNT 🏆🚨 #EmiratesNBACup
After a Bucks turnover, Miami had a chance to win the game but Tyler Herro's three-point attempt rolled out.
Milwaukee’s win meant the Toronto Raptors have been officially eliminated from the NBA Cup.
Jimmy Butler had 23 points in a losing effort for the Heat, who fell to 1-2 and trailed by as many as 22 points but could not complete the comeback.
Herro added 18 markers while Bam Adebayo contributed 16 and Rozier scored 17 off the bench.
Milwaukee wraps up their NBA Cup group stage campaign against fellow unbeaten Detroit Pistons (2-0) on Wednesday, December 4 while Miami caps off against the Raptors (0-2).
