NBA Playoffs Day 3: Bucks Rout Heat, Nuggets Even Series With Blazers

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Milwaukee Bucks Bryn Forbes
Milwaukee Bucks - Bryn Forbes

After two days of competitive basketball over the weekend, the third day of the NBA Playoffs saw two blowouts as the Milwaukee Bucks extended their series lead and the Denver Nuggets evened theirs.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of both games:

Eastern Conference 

(3) Bucks 132, (6) Heat 98 – MIL leads 2-0 

The first game of the day was over before the first quarter even finished. The Bucks raced out to a 14-point lead in the first five minutes and never looked back, en route to a dominating 132-98 victory at the Fiserv Forum on Monday night.

Milwaukee hit 22 three-pointers – with 15 in the first half – in the win and led by as many as 36 points at one point.

Bryn Forbes set the tone early as he knocked down six three-pointers and finished with 22 points on the night. That was a big help to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks with 31 points and 13 rebounds.

”That was a huge part in me coming here,” Forbes said. ”You know that there would be these opportunities and we would be in the playoffs. … It’s just great to be in this position, be in the playoffs again and have an opportunity and stage.”

Milwaukee led 46-20 at the end of the first quarter and 78-51 at halftime. From there, it was just a matter of the game ending.

Goran Dragic had 18 points for Miami, while Dewayne Dedmon had 19 points and nine rebounds.

Western Conference

(3) Nuggets 128, (6) Trail Blazers 109 – Series tied 1-1

The final game of the night was a blowout as well with the Denver Nuggets easily coasting to a 128-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers to even up their best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

Denver used a strong second quarter, outscoring Portland 42-36, and overcame a three-point shooting barrage from Damian Lillard to get the win. Nikola Jokic 38 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 18 for the Nuggets as the series now shifts to Portland for the next two games.

”They picked up the aggressiveness and we did it, too,” Jokic said. ”We met their aggressiveness, maybe even a little bit higher.”

Portland was led by Lillard’s game-high 42 points and CJ McCollum added 21 in the loss.

”They outplayed us top to bottom – other than Dame’s,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. ”We have to be more aggressive, there’s no question.”

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