Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday combined for 49 points, Bobby Portis stepped in for injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and contributed a double-double and the Milwaukee Bucks rebounded from an opening loss to thump the visiting Miami Heat 138-122 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday.
Four other Bucks scored at least 16 points to allow Milwaukee to break even in its two opening home games before the best-of-seven moves to Miami for Games 3 and 4 beginning Saturday.
Both teams played without a star player injured in the Heat’s 130-117 triumph in Game 1. But while Antetokounmpo was a late scratch for Game 2 with a sore lower back, Miami’s Tyler Herro has been ruled out for the series with a broken right hand.
Lopez led all scorers with 25 points, while Holiday finished with 24 as part of a double-double with a game-high 11 assists. Jimmy Butler had 25 points to pace the Heat, and Bam Adebayo added 18 points.
Grizzlies 103, Lakers 93
Xavier Tillman recorded a career-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Memphis overcame the absence of injured Ja Morant to produce a victory over visiting Los Angeles.
The result evened the best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece. Game 3 will be played Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots and Desmond Bane added 17 points for the second-seeded Grizzlies. LeBron James had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Rui Hachimura added 20 points off the bench for the seventh-seeded Lakers.
Nuggets 122, Timberwolves 113
Jamal Murray scored 40 points, Nikola Jokic had 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and host Denver beat Minnesota to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series. Game 3 will be Friday in Minneapolis.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 16 points and Aaron Gordon had 12 points and 10 rebounds for top-seeded Denver. Anthony Edwards had a franchise-playoff-record 41 points for the No. 8-seeded Timberwolves, hitting 14 of 23 shots — including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and Mike Conley added 14.
Minnesota scored 40 points in the third quarter to lead 89-87 entering the fourth. Denver went on an 8-0 run to open the final quarter, grabbing a 95-89 lead before Minnesota moved in front 99-98. But the Nuggets scored the next six points and never trailed again.
–Field Level Media
