Miami Heat (44-38, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (58-24, first in the Eastern Conference)
Milwaukee; Sunday, 5:30 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Bucks -9; over/under is 219
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Bucks host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Milwaukee Bucks host the Miami Heat to start the Eastern Conference first round. Milwaukee and Miami tied the regular season series 2-2. The Bucks won the last regular season matchup 128-99 on Feb. 25. Jrue Holiday led the Bucks with 24 points, and Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 23 points.
The Bucks are 35-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. Milwaukee leads the NBA with 48.6 rebounds per game led by Giannis Antetokounmpo averaging 11.8.
The Heat are 24-28 in conference games. Miami has a 12-13 record in games decided by at least 10 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Holiday is shooting 47.9% and averaging 19.3 points for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo is averaging 17.8 points over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
Butler is averaging 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals for the Heat. Tyler Herro is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games for Miami.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bucks: 6-4, averaging 120.5 points, 46.4 rebounds, 29.1 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.0 points per game.
Heat: 6-4, averaging 113.0 points, 38.3 rebounds, 26.9 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.8 points.
INJURIES: Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo: day to day (knee), A.J. Green: day to day (foot), Pat Connaughton: day to day (ankle), Grayson Allen: day to day (ankle), Khris Middleton: out (knee).
Heat: Nikola Jovic: out (back).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
