Middleton winner lifts Bucks over Heat, Nets rally to beat Celtics

Khris Middleton nailed a clutch two-pointer with less than one second remaining as the Milwaukee Bucks snatched a thrilling 109-107 overtime victory against the Miami Heat in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff opener on Saturday.

Middleton kept his composure superbly to drain the decisive jump shot from 18 feet with just 0.5 seconds on the clock, handing the Bucks a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round series.

Middleton's dramatic winner marked the final act of a pulsating battle between the two Eastern Conference rivals, who also met in last year's playoffs with the Heat winning that series 4-1.

Heat talisman Jimmy Butler had taken the game to overtime at the end of the fourth quarter, driving to the basket to make it 99-99 as time ran out at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.

But Middleton's late winner settled the game in overtime and gives the Bucks the chance to take a grip on the series with game two at home on Monday.

Middleton led the Bucks scorers with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who appeared to be struggling with a sore left arm, adding 26 points with 18 rebounds and five assists.

The Bucks were almost left to rue another shaky performance from the free throw line from reigning NBA MVP Antetokounmpo, who made only six of 13 free throw attempts for a 46.2% completion percentage.

Jrue Holiday added 20 points for Milwaukee while Brook Lopez finished with 18 points as the Bucks scraped home.

Goran Dragic led the Miami scorers with 25 points, while shooting guard Duncan Robinson finished with 24 points. Butler, the star of Miami's run to the NBA Finals last season, finished with 17 points.

In Brooklyn, Nets rallied from a 12-point second-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 104-93.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 32 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Nets, who had 29 points from Kyrie Irving and 21 from James Harden.

It was just the ninth time all season that the Nets' "Big Three" played together, and Durant acknowledged it took them awhile to settle in before a crowd of 14,391 at the Barclays Center.

Consecutive three-pointers from Harden, Irving and Durant in the opening minutes of the third quarter saw the Nets gain a lead they wouldn't relinquish. They led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 22 points. Marcus Smart added 17 and Kemba Walker had 15 for a Boston team that will try to fight back in game two in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

In the West, the fifth seeded Dallas Mavericks rallied late in the fourth quarter to down the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers 113-103 at the Staples Center.

Mavs star Luka Doncic scored a 31-point triple double with 10 rebounds and 11 assists as Dallas pulled away to win after trailing by three points with five minutes remaining.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 points while Dorian Finney-Smith added 18 as the Mavs took a 1-0 series lead against the Clippers, who beat Dallas in six games at the same stage of the playoffs last season.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers scorers with 26 points, with Paul George adding 23.

In the late game, Damian Lillard scored 34 points to power the Portland Trail Blazers to a 123-109 win over the Denver Nuggets in the opener series.

Lillard finished with five threes as the Blazers hit 19 of 40 shots from three point range. Carmelo Anthony and Anfernee Simons added four each as the Blazers outscored Denver by two dozen points in three point shooting. CJ McCollum added 21 points and Anthony scored 18.

Nikola Jokic, who is in the running for league MVP, led Denver with 34 points, and Michael Porter chipped in 25.

NBA PLAY-OFF (1/8-finals)

EAST

Milwaukee Bucks 109 - Miami Heat 107 (AOT) (Bucks lead 1-0)

Brooklyn Nets 104 - Boston Celtics 93 (Nets lead 1-0)

WEST

Los Angeles Clippers 103 - Dallas Mavericks 113 (Mavs lead 1-0)

Denver Nuggets 109 - Portland Trail Blazers 123 (Blazers lead 1-0)

© Agence France-Presse