basketball
NBA: Milwaukee threatens early playoff exit
Milwaukee’s superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t avoid losing to the Miami Heat. photo
© Marta Lavandier/AP/dpa
The Milwaukee Bucks are close to an early exit from the NBA playoffs. Dennis Schröder and the Los Angeles Lakers, on the other hand, have the next round in mind.
Main round winner Milwaukee Bucks is threatened with a quick end in the playoffs of the North American professional basketball league NBA.
The regular-season best team lost the first round of game four at the Miami Heat 114-119 and is already 3-1 down in the best-of-seven series. Miami is only missing one win to reach the quarterfinals.
The outstanding player was Miami’s Jimmy Butler with 56 points, which not only set a personal career best, but also set a franchise record for his team in the playoffs. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the previous two games through injury, returned with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for a triple-double with double digits in three categories. However, he could not prevent the defeat.
“We knew what we were capable of, even though nobody outside of this building, outside of the team, outside of the organization believed in us,” said Butler. Meanwhile, Miami was already 14 points behind. The team from Florida had not yet made up such a significant deficit in the current season.
Schröder and Lakers before moving on to the next round
For the Los Angeles Lakers around superstar LeBron James and the German national player Dennis Schröder, moving into the next round is also within reach. In game four, the Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 after overtime and also lead 3-1. James dominated the game with his 20 rebounds and 22 points. Schröder contributed twelve points.