With a crushing 115-100 defeat, the Milwaukee Bucks crumbled to a 3-0 deficit in their second round series against the Miami Heat today.
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Despite being the top-seeded team in the NBA, the Bucks have been chewed up and spit out by the Miami Heat on both ends of the floor. The Bucks held a commanding 12-point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Betting websites had the Heat as +350 outsiders at the start of the period!
Has any NBA team come back from a 3-0 series deficit?
No. The NBA is the only major American sports league in which no team has come back from such a series deficit in the playoffs. In fact, only 3 series have gone to 7 games after a team has taken a 3-0 lead. The Denver Nuggets in 1994 against the Utah Jazz, the Blazers in 2003 against the Mavericks and the Knicks in the 1951 NBA Finals against the Rochester Royals are the only teams to force Game 7s in such a situation.
Also Read: Which are the notable NBA 3-1 comebacks in history?
The Bucks were outscored by 27 in the 4th quarter, the worst points differential in a 4th quarter of a playoff game in the shot clock era (since 1955). @ESPNStatsInfo
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 5, 2020
As you can see from the tweet above, the Milwaukee Bucks’ meltdown in the 4th quarter was a record-breaking one. The idea of a top seed being dominated so badly in the 4th quarter of a must-win game is an alien one. It came true today after the Heat staged several fightbacks.
Erik Spoelstra has run rings around Mike Budenholzer with his coaching this playoffs. Giannis was in bits and pieces today, and there was only so much that Middleton and Lopez could do to carry the Bucks on the offensive end before they fell apart.
