Khris Middleton, Bucks Set Single-Game 3-Point Record in 144-97 Rout vs. Heat

It won't make up for last season's playoff loss, but the Milwaukee Bucks earned some revenge on the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

Milwaukee defeated Miami 144-97 at AmericanAirlines Arena in an Eastern Conference playoff rematch. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday led the way for the victors, who are still looking for consistency amid a 2-2 start to the campaign but set an NBA record with 29 made threes in the dominant performance.

The Heat were playing without Jimmy Butler and fell to 1-2 despite a solid showing from Tyler Herro. They have yet to look like a championship contender in the season's early stages.

Notable Player Stats

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, MIL: 9 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB, 3 STL
• Khris Middleton, F, MIL: 25 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL, 4-of-5 3PT
• Jrue Holiday, G, MIL: 24 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB, 3 STL, 6-of-10 3PT
• Donte DiVincenzo, G, MIL: 17 PTS, 5-of-6 3PT
• Tyler Herro, G, MIA: 23 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB
• Bam Adebayo, C, MIA: 12 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST

Giannis' Teammates Drain Threes in Dominant Victory

Tuesday represented Milwaukee's first shot at Miami since its playoff loss, and it wasted no time sending a message.

The Bucks scored the game's first 12 points, jumped out to a 21-3 lead and poured in 83 points in a dominant first half. Miami had success against Milwaukee during the playoffs by clogging the lane to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo's penetration, but his teammates were ready to take advantage of the resultant space.

The visitors hit 15 threes in the first half alone, with Brook Lopez and Middleton each converting four-point plays. Middleton, Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo and Holiday all caught fire early, while even Bobby Portis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo connected from deep in an incredible display of shooting.

Giannis largely took a backseat scoring-wise, although he dished out plenty of assists to the shooters and turned heads when he went coast-to-coast for a monster dunk.

While it is dangerous to draw too many conclusions from a regular-season game—especially one in which the opponent's best player missed—this was exactly the type of performance Milwaukee needed against a fellow Eastern Conference contender.

Stopping Antetokounmpo will be priority Nos. 1, 2 and 3 for any opponent in the playoffs, so the Bucks' supporting cast needs to take advantage of the open looks and knock them down. Adding a veteran leader like Holiday who can score himself and make sure his teammates are in the right position should also provide something that Milwaukee was missing in the playoffs last season.

If the Bucks shoot even close to how they did Tuesday, they could come out of the Eastern Conference.

Solid Showing from Tyler Herro Nowhere Near Enough for Heat

While Butler, who was sidelined with an ankle injury, is Miami's go-to option in crunch time and two-way star who can impact the game on either end, part of what makes this team a threat in the Eastern Conference is its overall depth.

That was on full display during the Christmas Day win over the New Orleans Pelicans when six players scored in double figures, and Butler was not one of them. The formula is still there to compete against elite teams such as Milwaukee with Bam Adebayo's versatility, Goran Dragic's spark off the bench and shooting from Duncan Robinson and Herro.

Herro was apparently the only one who received the message Tuesday.

The Kentucky product did what he could to keep his team within striking distance with 20 points in the first half. He did much of the ball-handling without Butler and hit from the outside, weaved his way through the defense and helped set up others.

It was nowhere near enough, though, as the game was over by halftime.

Both teams largely went through the motions as they played out the string following intermission, but Herro's performance at least gave Miami something to build on going into Wednesday's game.

He played well even with Holiday hounding him as the Heat's go-to playmaker, and he should be even better when Butler returns and takes some of the defense's attention off him.

What's Next?

These teams face each other again in Miami on Wednesday.