NBA Playoffs 2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo's triple-double powers Milwaukee Bucks to series sweep over Miami Heat

Scott Rafferty

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NBA Playoffs 2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo's triple-double powers Milwaukee Bucks to series sweep over Miami Heat image

The brooms are out.

Powered by Giannis Antetokounmpo's triple-double and Brook Lopez's game-high 25 points, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Miami Heat in Game 4 to complete the series sweep and advance to the second round.

The Bucks get revenge on the Heat after Miami stunned Milwaukee in five games in the 2020 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

For more on the game, some thoughts at the buzzer...

1. Injury report

In case you missed it, the Bucks announced after Game 3 that Donte DiVincenzo will miss the remainder of the playoffs with a torn ligament in his left ankle.

DiVincenzo started in all 66 games he appeared in with the Bucks this season, averaging 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals on .420/.379/.718 shooting splits. He was averaging 2.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals through three games of this series.

With DiVincenzo out, Pat Connaughton got the first start of his postseason career.

2. Getting out in transition

A story early in this one: Miami's ability to get out on the break.

It's not something we saw much of in the first three games of this series. In Game 1, the Heat scored two fastbreak points. In Game 2, they scored nine fastbreak points. In Game 3, eight fastbreak points.

In Game 4, the Heat had 13 fastbreak points in the first half alone.

They were able to punish the Bucks for going an ice cold 6-for-21 from 3-point range and being sloppy with the ball to the tune of eight turnovers, taking a 64-57 lead at the half.

3. Wheeling and dealing

The Heat limited Antetokounmpo to five points on 1-for-7 shooting in the first half, but the two-time MVP showed off his passing chops with a team-high seven assists.

Similar deal with Jimmy Butler. The five-time All-Star had a little more success than Antetokounmpo on the scoring front with 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting, but it was his game-high eight assists that stood out.

Antetokounmpo's best assist was a no-looker to Jrue Holiday in transition and Butler's was a slick alley-oop to Bam Adebayo.

4. The flood gates open

Welcome to the Khris Middleton show.

Following a quiet first half, in which he missed four of his shot shot attempts, Middleton came alive in the third quarter with 12 of Milwaukee's 34 points. He shot 4-for-8 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

The Bucks took their first lead of the game off of Middleton's free throws and never looked back.

Antetokounmpo was held to just three points in the frame but he continued to distribute at a high level, handing out six assists to bring his total to 13 in the game. Not only does that mark a new career high for him in the playoffs, it's the first time Antetokounmpo has recorded double-digit assists in a postseason game.

Adding 20 points and 12 rebounds to his 15 assists, Antetokounmpo became only the third player in franchise history to record a triple-double in the playoffs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Paul Pressey.

5. The human flamethrower

Bryn Forbes continues to shoot the lights out.

After scoring 22 points in Game 2, Forbes went off for 22 points off the bench in Game 4. He caught fire from the perimeter yet again, going 7-for-14 from 3-point range.

Forbes was at his best in the second quarter, when he scored 13 of his 22 points.

Forbes ended up shooting 16-for-33 from deep in the series. The Bucks can only hope there's more of that to come.

6. What's next

The Bucks will face either the Brooklyn Nets or Boston Celtics in the second round.

The Nets won the first two games of the first-round series but the Celtics came out victorious in Game 3 behind 50 points from Jayson Tatum.

Game 4 between the Nets and Celtics will take place in Boston at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Scott Rafferty

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Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.