Heat Take 2-0 Over Bucks Lead In Bizzare Game Two

On social media last night, it became popular to point out that the last minute of the games between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder took 16 minutes of real-time.

While both were interesting games the real controversy came between the Bucks and Heat, there were a series of questionable calls at the end of the game but specifically on the last two possessions. After cutting an eight-point deficit with two minutes left to three with seven seconds left, Heat guard Goran Dragic was called for a foul on Khris Middleton‘s three-point attempt. This was a ghost foul at best with very slight if any contact being made. But after Middelton made all three free throws, the referees inserted themselves again by calling an even worse foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo on a shot by Jimmy Butler while time expires. This led to the third time in NBA history that a player would take free throws with time expired during a playoff game. It was tied at 114 when the foul was committed, and Butler made both to give the Heat a 116-114 win.

This was a crushing blow to the Bucks who came into the playoffs with the best record in the league and now are in the difficult position of having to win four of the next five games if they want to advance to the conference finals. Miami is a tough team with a lot of weapons, and it will take a herculean effort to come back from this.