Bucks humiliate Heat 132-98 for 2-0 series lead

It would have been easy to say the Miami Heat didn’t see this coming, Monday night’s 132-98 playoff thrashing at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

The reality is the Heat entered well aware of the possibility, handed a 47-point loss by the Bucks the first week of this season.

Because the Bucks clearly have not forgotten about losing 4-1 to the Heat in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals, doing everything in their means to smash the Heat’s confidence Monday night in moving to a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven opening-round playoff series.

The Bucks’ lead was 26 at the end of the opening period, 27 at halftime, moving into the 30s from there, with anyone and everyone putting it to the Heat, from Giannis Antetokounmpo going for 31 points and 13 rebounds, to Bryn Forbes closing with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Milwaukee also got 17 points from Khris Middleton and 15 assists from Jrue Holiday.

From the Heat, there again was far too little from Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, with Butler closing with 10 points and Adebayo 16, hardly filling the box score elsewhere, just as they struggled in the Heat’s 109-107 Game 1 overtime loss Sunday.

The Heat highlight? A career-playoff-high 19 points from reserve center Dewayne Dedmon. The Heat also got 18 points from Goran Dragic, who could potentially emerge as a Game 3 starter.

The Bucks closed 22 of 53 on 3-pointers, outrebounding the Heat 61-36.

The series now shifts to AmericanAirlines Arena for Thursday night’s 7:30 p.m. Game 3.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:

1. Horrendous start: The Bucks led 46-20 at the end of the first period, a first quarter when they shot 10 of 15 on 3-pointers and outrebounded the Heat 17-4.

It was the most points in any postseason quarter by an opponent in the Heat’s 33 seasons, and the most 3-pointers ever in a quarter against the Heat, tying the most by an NBA team in a postseason quarter.

The 26 points tied the largest lead at the end of a first quarter in NBA playoff history.

And it also felt oddly familiar: On Dec. 29 at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Bucks led the Heat 46-26 at end of the first quarter. They won 144-97 that night.

The Bucks’ torrid 3-point start came after they shot 5 of 31 on 3-pointers in Game 1.

2. Hideous half: And it kept going from there, with the Bucks up 78-51 at the intermission, the highest-scoring playoff half ever by a Heat opponent.

The Bucks closed the first half 15 of 29 on 3-pointers, with a 31-14 rebounding advantage, with Butler and Adebayo combining for two first-half rebounds.

The Bucks’ 30 field goals, 22 assists and 31 rebounds all were single-half all-time playoff highs by a Heat opponent.

3. Bryn . . . who?: For all of Antetokounmpo’s dominance in the paint, Forbes was just as dominant on the perimeter, opening 7 of 8 from the field and 5 of 6 on 3-pointers.

That was after he was limited to five points in Game 1 on 2-of-5 shooting, with the Bucks scoring only 15 bench points in Sunday’s series opener.

“That’s what I do,” Forbes said. “I didn’t change. It was a bad shooting game for us last game, about time something fell.”

Forbes had 19 points at the intermission.

4. Statement made: As for Antetokounmpo, his statement came early, when he scored seven of the Bucks’ first 12 points.

After failing to be named a finalist for this season’s award after being voted NBA Most Valuable Player the past two seasons, Antetokounmpo appears poised to make a postseason statement instead.

He stood with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists at halftime, hardly needed for much more.

5. Flagrant fight: About the only fight for the Heat was of the flagrant variety, called for a pair of flagrant fouls in a 78-second span in third quarter.

First, Trevor Ariza was called for a flagrant against Antetokounmpo 2:01 into the third period, with the Heat down 27, when he drove the Bucks forward into the stanchion and then shoved his way up against Antetokounmpo’s chest.

Then, with 8:41 left in the third, Kendrick Nunn was called for a flagrant for denying Middleton a landing spot on a 3-ponit attempt.

Later in the third, Dragic was called for a technical foul for fouling Middleton after a whistle.