Second straight collapse caps Bucks’ stunningly early exit

MILWAUKEE(AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks entered the playoffs boasting the NBA’sbest record and believing they had a great shot at winning theirsecond title in three seasons.

They insteadare finished before May after suffering one of the most stunningfirst-round playoff losses in league history.

Thetop-seeded Bucks collapsed down the stretch for a second straightgame andfell128-126in overtime to Miami on Wednesday, losing 4-1 tothe eighth-seeded Heat.

When he wasasked after the game if this early exit made the season a failure,two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo took issue with thequestion.

“There’s nofailure in sports,” Antetokounmpo said. “There’s good days, baddays. Some days you’re able to be successful. Some days you’re not.Some days it’s your turn. Some days it’s not your turn. That’s whatsports is about. You don’t always win. Other people are going towin. And this year, somebody else is going to win. Simple asthat.”

The Bucks arejust the sixth No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 in the opening round.The five previous won at least two games in their serieslosses.

“There’s aton of disappointment when your season ends, no matter how ithappens,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s a hard feeling.It’s a disappointing feeling. I believe and trust those guys. Weall got to be better.”

The way thisseason ended could make it particularly painful.

Milwaukeeowned a 12-point lead in Game 4 before getting outscored 30-13 inthe final six minutes of a119-114lossin which Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored 56 points. TheBucks blew a 16-point, fourth-quarter advantage at home Wednesdayas Butler scored with half a second left to force overtime.

The Bucksshot 5 of 25 from the floor and 12 of 20 from the foul line in thefourth quarter and overtime Wednesday.

“We had a lotof good shots, a lot of shots we typically make,” All-Star guardJrue Holiday said. “Sometimes they don’t fall.”

The Bucks hadthe ball while trailing by two in the final seconds of overtime,but the clock ran out before a driving Grayson Allen attempted ashot.

Milwaukee hadtimeouts remaining when the game ended. Budenholzer said he didn’tregret not calling a timeout in the closing seconds of overtime. Hedid regret not calling one after Butler’s tying basket in the finalsecond of the fourth quarter.

“We need tocall a timeout there,” Budenholzer said.

Budenholzerled the 2021 Bucks to the franchise’s first title in half acentury, but his tenure also has featured plenty of postseasondisappointments.

The Buckshave owned the NBA’s top playoff seed three times duringBudenholzer’s five seasons as coach. They haven’t even reached theleague finals any of those years.

Milwaukeeblew a 2-0 lead in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals to theeventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors. The 2020 Bucks lost 4-1 toMiami in a second-round series that bore numerous resemblances tothis year’s matchup, with Butler carrying the Heat to an upset.

This exit isthe most disappointing of all, with the Bucks unable to even makeit out of the first round.

The seriesstarted ominously enough with Antetokounmpo exiting a Game 1 losswith a bruised lower back. The two-time MVP missed Games 2 and 3before coming back to record a triple-double in Game 4.

Antetokounmpohad 38 points and 20 rebounds Wednesday, though he also shot 10 of23 from the free-throw line. He declined comment on how much hisback was bothering him these last two games.

“It doesn’tmatter,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s over. We lost the series.”