5 things learned from Bucks-Heat Game 3

The fourth quarter was an unmitigated disaster

Milwaukee was playing like the Milwaukee of old, leading by 12 – 87-75 – after three quarters. Then came the fourth and nothing, and we mean nothing, went right. Miami clawed back and got into the lead before the Bucks got it back (for what would be the final time) with 4:41 on a Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk to make it 99-98. Milwaukee didn’t make a field-goal attempt the rest of the way – going 0-for-10 – while scoring a lone point on an Eric Bledsoe free throw (and he missed his other attempt, naturally). The Heat had 19 free-throw attempts in the quarter and made 17 – or four more points than the Bucks had the entire final period. That’s right, the Bucks had 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Butler steps it up

Milwaukee saw it in Game 1, and it happened in Game 3 as well. Miami’s Jimmy Butler rises to the occasion and brings out his best in the fourth quarter. He didn’t enter until there was 9:40 left in the game and all he did was post 17 points (again, four more than the Bucks had as a team), two rebounds, two assists and a steal in the quarter. Milwaukee didn’t have anyone who came close to matching his intensity.

The pace was good … for a while

Milwaukee led the NBA in possessions per game (108.5) and points per game (118.7) during the regular season. Through three quarters it looked as though the Bucks would be near their season average in possessions, but a slog of a fourth put them at 100, well below their norm. But that’s nothing unusual this series as in the first two games Milwaukee’s possession total (by formula) was 99.4 and 100.1.

A shortened bench didn’t work

Head coach Mike Budenholzer basically used only three subs – Donte DiVincenzo, George Hill and Marvin Williams, perhaps in an effort to get a little stronger defensively. Kyle Korver played just five minutes. Neither Pat Connaughton nor Ersan Ilyasova saw the floor. DiVincenzo provided a bit of a spark. After getting limited time this postseason, he played 21 minutes and finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. He was also the only Bucks player to have a positive box score plus/minus (+2).

The party’s not over but the car is getting warmed up

No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit in 139 previous tries. Needless to say the Bucks face an uphill climb. Antetokounmpo appearing to be somewhat limited after hurting his ankle in the first quarter didn’t help. But Miami has had his and Milwaukee’s number all season – the Bucks are 0-5 against the Heat this year when Butler plays. Not to pile on, but one other thing that’s killed Milwaukee is its defense is predicated on stymying opponents on 2-point attempts, daring teams to beat them from 3. In the games, Miami been up to the challenge, making 38.7%, 37.8% and 38.3% of its shots from downtown (opponents were at 35.5% against the Bucks this season). All of the above is not a recipe for success. We saw the “real” Bucks for a bit in Game 3. Unfortunately, they need to play that way every quarter from here on out to have any semblance of a chance.