MILWAUKEE Bucks lived to fight another day after pulling off a 118-115 overtime victory over Miami Heat in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines).
Khris Middleton carried the fight for the Bucks with 36 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 19 markers before exiting with a right ankle sprain.
Down 100-94, the Bucks went on a 10-0 run behind Brook Lopez, Eric Bledsoe and George Hill to take a 106-104 edge. The Heat surged ahead 107-106 on a triple by Tyler Herro, but a free throw by Bucks’ Donte DiVincenzo sent the game to overtime.
Milwaukee surged to a 113-109 edge on overtime via back-to-back hits from Middleton. Miami rallied to within 112-113 on a triple by Herro, but Middleton responded with a triple to increase the lead to 116-112.
Herro answered with another triple to trim the deficit to 115-116, but two free throws by Middleton and a defensive stop by Wesley Matthews sealed the win for the Bucks.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers nearly wasted a lead as high as 22 points before pulling off a 117-109 win over Houston Rockets to level their Western Conference semifinals at 1-1.
The Lakers surged to an early lead behind LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Markieff Morris but the Rockets turned things around in the third period to take an 85-80 edge.
The Lakers got their acts together in the fourth quarter with conversions from Davis and James to put the fight away from the Rockets.
Davis tallied double-double 34 points and 10 rebounds, while James flirted with triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
The National Basketball Association holds all matches of its 2019-2020 playoffs at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States./PN
