Jimmy Butler scored 42 points as the Miami Heat staged another stunning comeback to knock the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks out of the NBA playoffs in overtime on Wednesday.
Butler, who scored 56 points in Monday’s dazzling Game Four win, had another stellar performance as eighth-seeded Miami took a 4-1 series lead with a 128-126 victory.
This is only the sixth time in NBA history that an eighth seeded team has eliminated a No. 1 seeded team from the playoffs.
IPL 2023: orange cap Check out the full list of batsmen with the most runs here
Yet the Bucks — who finished the regular season at the top of the Eastern Conference with the best record in the NBA — were doomed to another fourth-quarter slump as Miami celebrated at Milwaukee’s Fisher Forum arena.
Milwaukee, which blew a two-point lead in Monday’s Game-Four loss to Miami, led by 16 points early in the fourth quarter on Wednesday.
But with a crucial win in sight, the Bucks’ fragility was once again exposed as Miami began to build on the lead.
The Heat outscored Milwaukee 32–16 in the fourth quarter, with Butler catching a sensational alley-oop to tie the game at 118–118 with only 0.5 seconds left on the clock.
Miami then led throughout overtime with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo dropping a costly foul with 40 seconds remaining in overtime that allowed the Heat to take a 128–124 lead.
New York knocks down the Cleveland Cavaliers
The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 on Wednesday to take a 4-1 series lead and advance to the NBA Eastern Conference playoff semifinals.
Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and RJ Barrett scored 21 as the Knicks pulled off a clinical wire-to-wire win to book their spot in the next round.
The win was New York’s first playoff series win since 2013.
Needing a win on their home court to stay alive, Cleveland was left chasing the game after the Knicks led 33–26 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cavs were never able to claw back that deficit, as the Knicks balanced offense continued to score throughout time.
Cleveland managed to get within six points in the fourth quarter, but the Knicks immediately went on a 10–2 run to take the game away from the hosts.
Six Knicks players finished in double figures, with Emmanuel Quickle scoring 19 and Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson 13 each.
The only sour note for New York was an injury to Randle, who left the game late in the second quarter after appearing to roll his left ankle.
Randle had problems with his left ankle after spraining it in March, though he returned for game one of the series with Cleveland.
Memphis Grizzlies Coming Back Against LA Lakers
Ja Morant led a spectacular second-half rally as the Memphis Grizzlies kept their NBA playoff campaign alive with a 116-99 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Memphis, down 3-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference series after losing game four, looked in control after blowing a 17-point lead in the first half in front of its raucous home fans at FedEx Forum. ,
But the hosts appeared to falter in the third quarter after the Lakers pulled closer to one point in Memphis at 75–74 early in the second half.
Yet it was stint for Morant to lead a devastating 19–2 run to close out the third quarter that effectively sealed the win for the Grizzlies, who led 94–76 going into the fourth quarter.
Morant finished with 31 points and 10 assists on 13-of-26 shooting while Desmond Bain led Memphis scoring with 33 points.
Afterwards, Morant said that the Grizzlies were inspired by their loud home crowd.
“It’s our home floor, our home crowd and we feed off their energy. It’s what we do it for,” Morant said.
“Coming out here and defending the home floor is something we take pride in and something we plan to do.”
Meanwhile the Lakers were left chasing the game after a rare off night from James.
The Lakers superstar – the hero of Monday’s epic Game-Four win in Los Angeles – finished with just 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting, with just one three-pointer from nine attempts.
IPL 2023 Mark sheet: Check Team Standings, Team Points, Wins, Losses and orange cap, purple cap
With James struggling to get going, it was left to Anthony Davis to keep the Lakers in the hunt.
The Los Angeles center finished with 31 points and 19 rebounds.
The sixth match of the series will be held in Los Angeles on Friday.
read all Latest sports newscheck out orange cap And purple cap holder details here
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)