Happy Birthday Jason Kidd!
Khris Middleton gave his coach, Jason Kidd, a great birthday present and he played the role of ‘hero’ for the Milwaukee Bucks on a night they needed a big win to solidify their standings in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Bucks won the jump ball thanks to the long reach of Zaza Pachulia. The ball ended up in the hands of Jerryd Bayless who did the right thing, down 2 with the ball at home. He attacked the rim and went right at the heart of the Miami Heat defense, trying to either get the layup to go or draw the foul.
Neither happened.
The ball bounced around, almost went out of bounds but Zaza once again used his long arms to save the ball, flip it back to Middleton who was hovering around the 3 point line and then pulled the cord with no remorse.
With Dwyane Wade lurking and almost no time remaining, Middleton released a beautiful jumper, Wade almost blocked it but with no luck as Middleton’s shot went right in and the celebration in Milwaukee ensued.
Middleton struggled all night, scoring 13 points shooting 5-17 from the field, good for 29% on the night and 2-8 from 3 which is a struggle for him compared to his last 10 games in which he’s averaging a shade under 19 points per game, shooting 47 percent from the field and just about 50 percent from 3.
The Bucks currently have the 6 seed in the East and now lead the Heat by 2.5 games for the spot, so tonights game was huge. Plus, to put the cherry on top, the Bucks have swept the season series against the Heat.
