A lot has been said about Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard stepping up in crunch time for the Milwaukee Bucks during Tuesday’s hard-fought win against the Miami Heat. These two, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, of course, deserve a lot of the credit for bringing Milwaukee home against a shorthanded yet unrelenting Miami side.
Khris Middleton Vocal on Milwaukee Bucks’ Mindset Vs. Heat
It wasn’t all about offense, though. After all, basketball is played on two ends. This is exactly what the Bucks exhibited as they not only made their shots in crunch time, but they also locked down the Heat on the defensive end when it mattered the most.
This resulted in Milwaukee holding off Miami, 131-124.
“Communication, attention to detail, staying locked in on shooters, rotations, all that,” Middleton said of the Bucks’ mindset on defense during the final minutes of play, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We made tons of mistakes throughout the game so we were fortunate enough to learn what not to do anymore, so hopefully we can figure out how to do that sooner in the games, but it’s coming.”
The Bucks took their defense to another level in the dying moments of the game. It was a total team effort that allowed Milwaukee to pull away from their opponents, en route to mounting a 2-0 season series lead over their East rivals.
More importantly, though, as Middleton said, Milwaukee showcased their defensive capabilities in crunch time against the Heat — an aspect of their game that seemed to be lacking to start the season.
The Bucks are figuring things out, and the rest of the NBA better be ready.
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