One of the biggest sensations is perfect! Top favorite Milwaukee Bucks is out

The top favorite is out: The Milwaukee Bucks are in a tight duel with the Miami Heat. In the end, however, the champion of 2021 has to admit defeat – and involuntarily writes history.

The unthinkable has happened!

The best team of the regular season surprisingly failed in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks also lost game five of the series against the Miami Heat and must bury their chances of a third championship title early.

With a narrow 126:128 after overtime, the team of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo lost to the Florida franchise and lost the series 1:4. Meanwhile, the Heat made their mark in the history books: Only five teams had previously managed to knock out number 1 directly from the first round of the playoffs as number 8 on the seed list.

The Denver Nuggets (1994 against Seattle), the New York Knicks (1999 against Miami), the Golden State Warriors (2007 against Dallas around Dirk Nowitzki), the Memphis Grizzlies (2011 against San Antonio) and the Philadelphia 76ers (2012 against the Chicago Bulls). The Heat are also the first team to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in tournament and survive a round there.

Antetokounmpo fought the loss with a total of 38 points and delivered a tremendous performance with 20 rebounds, which, however, also had a huge flaw.

The Greek went to the free-throw lines for 23 attempts – and carried a measly ten (!).

The Bucks looked like certain winners for a long time, but lost an eight-point lead in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter and had to go into overtime. From then on, the Heat took over the command. Jimmy Butler was Miami’s top scorer with 42 points, building on his historic game four performance.

“We are an indestructible team. We always stick together, no matter what,” Butler underlined the team spirit of his team at the PK.

Meanwhile, the “Greak Freek” took the end relatively calmly. “There is no failure in sport. There are good days, bad days. Some days you’re able to be successful, some days you’re not. (…) You don’t always win,” explained the two-time MVP.

The New York Knicks also reached the second round early. They gave the Cleveland Cavaliers no chance again with 106:95 and in the end confidently secured the progress with a 4:1 in the series.

It was the Knicks’ first win of the playoff series since 2013. German player Isaiah Hartenstein contributed a point to the win.

The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, must continue to fight for a place in the second round of the playoffs. The Memphis Grizzlies won game five with a 116-99, reducing it to 2-3.

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LeBron James in particular had a weaker day and did not deliver as usual with a mixed hit rate and just 15 points. The German national basketball player Dennis Schröder even got no point at all. In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers finally gave up the game with a 19:2 run by the Grizzlies.

Defending champions Golden State Warriors celebrated a 123-116 win over the Sacramento Kings. The team around Stephen Curry (31 points) is now 3:2 ahead.