Bayless' jump-ball win crucial for Bucks' playoff push
MILWAUKEE — Jerryd Bayless doesn't remember the last time he was a participant in a jump ball prior to Milwaukee's game against the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
The Bucks' backup guard says he's rarely involved in a jump ball. Jump balls receive little attention during practices, especially this late in the season. It's not like teams are regularly working on their best jump-ball play, though Bucks coach Jason Kidd said there are a few times you try to run a play off a won jump ball.
But with 10.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter and trailing the Heat by two points, the Bucks needed Bayless to win a jump ball at Milwaukee's foul line against Miami's Michael Beasley, who is six inches taller than the 6-3 Bayless.
"It's probably the first jump ball I've had in, like, three years," Bayless said. "It doesn't happen a lot."
Bayless controlled the tip — "I've got bounce, man," Bayless joked — and directed the basketball to Khris Middleton, who quickly gave the ball back to Bayless. Bayless missed a driving layup, and players scrambled for the rebound. Milwaukee center Zaza Pachulia saved the ball from going out of bounds with a desperation pass to Middleton.
Standing at the three-point line, Middleton launched a three-pointer — he was just 1-for-7 before that shot — and made it as time expired, giving the Bucks a much-needed 89-88 victory over the Miami Heat.
Miami wanted this win, badly. Had the Heat won, they would've trailed Milwaukee by just a half-game for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was not shy about Miami's ambitions earlier in the day at the team's shootaround at Marquette University.
"We want to keep moving up rather than just trying to sneak in just for the sake of momentum," he said.
Milwaukee needed this win, perhaps more than Miami needed it. The Bucks were in a free fall, entering the game on a six-game losing streak and losing 13 of 17 since the All-Star break. At one point, they were close to catching Washington for the fifth seed. Now, they're fending off Miami for the sixth seed.
The Bucks have lost some close ones during that stretch, too, ones that can crush a young team. They've had two overtime losses and another one-point loss.
If there's disappointment about this stretch, Kidd has minimized it and continued to get effort from his team.
Milwaukee was headed for another loss on Tuesday. It trailed Miami 81-65 with 9:53 to play. The Bucks had little offense and were turning the ball over frequently. But they got back in with defense, allowing just nine points in the fourth quarter.
The Bucks' Greek-Turkish-Georgian front line each had a double-double in points and rebounds: 16 points and 10 rebounds for Giannis Antetokounmpo; 19 points and 11 rebounds for Ersan Ilyasova; and 14 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for Pachulia.
Instead of a half-game lead over Miami, it's a 2½-game lead. It offered some breathing room, and the Bucks still have a difficult schedule: Indiana, Golden State, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Orlando and Cleveland are their next seven games.
Seventh-place Miami is one game ahead of Boston, 1½ games ahead of Charlotte and two games ahead of Indiana in the crazy race for the final two spots in the East. Miami doesn't have an easy schedule either: Boston, Atlanta, Detroit, San Antonio, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Charlotte, Chicago and Toronto before finishing against Orlando and Philadelphia.
That's why Tuesday's game was important. That's why the Bucks needed Bayless to win the jump ball.
"Bayless, being the veteran, knew he had to get up before Beasley," Kidd said.
Bayless had to time the jump perfectly. If he jumps too early, it's a violation. No player can tip the ball until it reaches its highest point.
"You have to watch the refs and how they throw it," he said. "Every ref throws it differently."
Still, he had to outleap Beasley.
"I thought I could," Bayless said.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.
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