Giannis' Game-Ending Foul on Jimmy Butler in Bucks vs. Heat Explained by Ref

Crew chief Marc Davis explained his decision to call a shooting foul against the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo as time expired in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday night, which allowed the Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler to hit the game-winning free throws.

Davis stated the reasoning for the call was similar to one made against Miami's Goran Dragic just seconds earlier that briefly allowed the Bucks to tie the game at 114:

The game had 10 points scored inside the final 15 seconds as Milwaukee's comeback attempt included a 7-1 run to tie the game before losing on the foul at the buzzer.

Since Butler's shot was released before time expired but the foul occurred after the buzzer, the Heat star was allowed to shoot two free throws with no time on the clock to give Miami a 2-0 series lead over the Eastern Conference's top seed.

Antetokounmpo discussed the foul afterward:

Butler said he felt it was the right call based on the reigning NBA MVP touching him on the follow-through.

"It was an iso. Goran made a helluva pass on the inbound; then just wait for the clock to go out," Butler told reporters. "A step-back jumper and I got fouled, pushed me in the back. Can't deny that, and then I knew I had to make one out of two, so I ended up, I think I made both of them and we win."

His free throws put the Heat in a terrific position to upset the Bucks. Teams with a 2-0 series lead in the NBA playoffs have gone on to advance 93.6 percent of the time, per Land of Basketball.

Controversial call aside, Milwaukee has allowed Miami to make 29 threes on 38.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the first two games, something that must change for Milwaukee to come back.

Game 3 is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip off Friday on TNT.