Bucks' Mike Budenholzer explains why he didn't call late timeout before being eliminated from playoffs by Heat

Benyam Kidane

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Bucks' Mike Budenholzer explains why he didn't call late timeout before being eliminated from playoffs by Heat image

The No. 1-seed Milwaukee Bucks will be using the offseason to mull over missed opportunities as their season came to a crashing finish after being eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. 

After leading by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, the Bucks appeared to be on course for victory in Game 5 after Jrue Holiday's free throws put them in front by four points with 14 seconds to play in regulation.

One Heat made three and a Bucks missed free throw later, Miami was able to pull off a miraculous inbounds play for Jimmy Butler to get his game-tying shot off with 0.5 seconds remaining.

The Bucks had a timeout at their disposal and could have advanced the ball, however, head coach Mike Budenhlolzer opted against using it, admitting postgame that he should have done so.

"Yeah we need to call a timeout," he told reporters.

It got worse from there.

Down the stretch of overtime, armed with two timeouts, Budenholzer again opted to let it play out as Giannis Antetokounmpo hauled in a rebound with eight seconds on the clock and the Bucks trailing 128-126.

After Antetokounmpo's path to the rim was cut off and Middleton couldn't get a shot off, the ball landed with Grayson Allen on the 3-point line, who drove to the basket but failed to get his shot off in time, bringing their season to an end.

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Why didn't Bucks' Mike Budenholzer call timeouts at the end of Game 5?

Postgame, Budenholzer attempted to explained his rationale to reporters 

"Giannis attacked; Giannis got the ball to Khris; Khris attacked, that's how we always play," Budenholzer said. "It's been very good for us and we weren't able to convert it tonight."

For the second game in a row, the same questions are being asked about Budenholzer's clock management. 

MORE: Middleton and Lopez free agency spells trouble for Bucks' offseason

TNT's Charles Barkley went in on Budenholzer after Milwaukee's Game 4 collapse when it surrendered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead allowing Miami to rally to a 119-114 win to push the Bucks to the brink of elimination. 

"I have a problem with Milwaukee," Barkley said. "They never called a timeout. You can't let a team score 13 straight points and don't use a timeout. I didn't understand that at all.

"Okay, you got a 12-point lead and you let them get it six, you let them get eight, you gotta call a timeout to stop the momentum. Clearly, the crowd was going crazy."

Milwaukee's playoff exit also places them on the wrong side of history as it becomes just the sixth No. 1 seed to be eliminated in the first round.

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.