It seems like the Milwaukee Bucks have played close games throughout the whole first month of the season.

They have given the ball to Damian Lillard in those games, and they have watched as their star point guard accomplished the main reason Milwaukee signed him: winning several games in the last seconds. However, with the game in the last moments, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo informed newly appointed head coach Adrian Griffin that they needed to take a different approach against the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

“As the game was coming to an end, I was watching Dame make a few huge threes and trying to get a play for him again when Giannis said, ‘Hey, we gotta go to Khris (Middleton)'” according to Griffin. They resemble twins as well. They read each other and they have such great chemistry, and he was right. Really brought this home, Khris, dude, down the stretch.

After missing the most of the second half of the Bucks’ game against the Washington Wizards on Friday due to left Achilles tendon soreness and the whole game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, Middleton only played 23 minutes in his return to the court. Both Antetokounmpo (33 points) and Lillard (32) nearly doubled Middleton’s scoring total (17 points) on the night, but no one was more important to the Bucks’ closing effort than Middleton in the 131-124 win over the Heat.

With the victory, the Bucks finished the In-Season Tournament group play atop East: Group B with a 4-0 record. The Bucks, who are ranked first in the East, play the Knicks on December 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

During the Bucks’ opening possession in less than three minutes of the fourth quarter, Lillard and Antetokounmpo went in a middle pick-and-roll, but Antetokounmpo’s screen forced Bam Adebayo to switch. The Heat’s perennial All-Defensive center held up well on that switch against Lillard and eventually swatted a floater out of bounds with just two seconds left on the shot clock.

From there, the Bucks ran one of their regular out-of-bounds plays, which created a tough look for Middleton in the corner, but he hit the shot fading away out of bounds into the Bucks’ bench.

“I anticipated that (Khris) would at least attempt to outmuscle (his opponent), and the player was close to making the shot,” said Lillard, who also dished out nine assists. “Although I haven’t played for his squad, I have seen games and I know he feels at ease in those circumstances. He is obviously a gamer.

I knew we were going to get that shot as soon as I saw him opening up. He sprinted through the pass and made a hard shot; all I wanted to make sure of was that I could get it to him. That’s what skilled athletes do.With a two-point advantage, the Bucks attempted to stop the Heat at the other end of the court, but they were unable to do it once more as they allowed 125.3 points per 100 possessions to a team without Jimmy Butler. 

But when Adebayo’s midrange shot rimmed out, they were able to maintain their two-point advantage this time. Immediately after the Bucks got the defensive rebound, Antetokounmpo began to command play.Antetokounmpo instructed Lillard to bring the ball up to the floor, then told Brook Lopez to take his spot on the right elbow, knowing that Adebayo, the Heat’s most dangerous defender, would be pinned to him the entire possession. Meanwhile, he pulled Adebayo away from the action and into the right corner of the play.

Middleton and Lopez faced rookie forwards Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Caleb Martin in a two-man game with the entire left side of the court to themselves, with Adebayo positioned as far away from the action as possible and Lillard occupying the closest help defender. Middleton worked alone against Jaquez as the rest of the Heat defense was distracted, and he was able to get to one of his preferred spots on the floor.With Adebayo earning a foul on a drive and making two free throws, the Bucks were unable to stop them on the ensuing possession; yet, neither their offensive communication nor their faith in Middleton wavered.

The Heat increased their pressure and stopped Lillard from getting the ball with the game on the line. Rather of pressuring, Lillard simply instructed Middleton to inbound the ball to Beasley, allowing him to raise it while the others found their positions.Eventually, Beasley found Middleton on the right wing to get the Bucks into their set, and the two teammates who had been with the longest, Beasley and Middleton, displayed their synergy with a play that only they could make.It was a bold pass.

Antetokounmpo turned to watch the pass after Middleton made a spectacular shot from the right wing, just reaching the free throw line.”It’s confidence and simply understanding where the high jumper is. I know not many guys will be able to jump and compete with Giannis at the rim if I get it over him since Bam was on me,” Middleton remarked. So I placed it in a high-grabbing position for him. He will almost certainly get it or receive a foul similar to what he did.

To Antetokounmpo’s view, Middleton was only following his usual advice in these circumstances.

Antetokounmpo added 10 rebounds and five assists to his 33 points. “We’ve talked about it many times, just throw it in a place that only I can get and I’m going to try to go get it,” he said. “There will be times when the ball is too high for me to catch, but I can guarantee that no one else will catch it beside me.”

However, that pass was not typical. It was flawless.

The timing of Middleton’s throw was perfect. with precisely the appropriate amount of arc to clear Adebayo’s head at the 3-point arc. and the ideal pace to enable Antetokounmpo to sprint and leap without losing any ground and maintain his entire momentum in the direction of the basket. And just at the ideal height where, had Jacquez not fouled, Antetokounmpo would have been able to catch it and dunk it.

Tossing that jump ball up there in such a way makes that play, in my opinion, one of the most amazing ones, said Lillard. It wasn’t a wide open play, but he knew just one player would be able to catch the ball, so you have to take that kind of a risk because of their synergy. He knows with whom he is playing.

Griffin, like Lillard, is still relatively new to Antetokounmpo and Middleton’s combination, but he is aware of how strong their bond is and how difficult it is to replicate their level of synergy.

Regarding their relationship, Griffin remarked, “I trust them completely.” They have engaged in certain activities, such as simply reading each other, that we have never talked about. They seem to have known one other for a very long time because of their closeness. They are experienced in crucial situations, so you may put your trust in them. Coach, you have faith in them. I have total faith in them to carry out the play to the end because they have undoubtedly practiced it hundreds of times.

With 1:18 left, Antetokounmpo made both of his free throws to give the Bucks a four-point advantage, but the game was far from over for the team.

Adebayo scored on the ensuing possession to trim the lead for the Bucks to two, but three seconds into the next possession, Josh Richardson fouled Lillard, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was given a technical foul for contesting the ruling, giving Lillard three free throws. The Bucks’ point guard made all three of his shots to give the team a five-point lead, but the Heat responded once more, cutting the advantage to three points to force a final crucial possession.

The ball wound up in Middleton’s hands once more despite the Bucks’ attempt to employ Lillard and Antetokounmpo’s two-man game. And to effectively cement the victory for the Bucks, the 12-year NBA veteran skillfully countered an out-of-control closeout and found Lopez for a slam.

The play embodied everything Antetokounmpo wants to see from the Bucks in crunch time, even though it did not finish with him and Lillard.

According to Antetokounmpo, “I think it kind of helps the flow of our offense.” “We don’t necessarily have to start our attack with Dame and Giannis; we can pick and roll instead. We can play from there by going to Khris and Giannis, then swinging to Dame and Brook. That, in my opinion, is when we are all acting as a team. Everyone is touching the ball, there’s more enthusiasm, and I believe that will increase our effectiveness.

The Bucks don’t have to depend on just one playmaker because they have a number of them on their roster. The Bucks can swing the ball to the other side of the court and trap defenders with another potent playmaker in Middleton, who has also amassed a solid clutch-time résumé over the past ten years, if teams overplay against Lillard in the clutch.

Following the game, Lillard said he thought that Tuesday’s match was the first time that he and Middleton had actually split the closing responsibilities in Milwaukee.

According to Lillard, “that was the first time me and him were communicating the way we did down the stretch.” You provide it. I am going to be involved. And “I’m going to throw it ahead to you if I come off.” You know, just go for a catch, ‘Dame. You deliver it. You must take the initiative. To wrap up the game, there was a lot of conversation.

And I believe that times like that are essential. He is the kind of man who can perform like he did tonight, so we absolutely need that. And as for me, I’m shifting and going after them as soon as I see the time drop to less than three or four minutes. Therefore, having that conversation and back and forth with him was excellent.

Ultimately, the Bucks would likely prefer to just make more defensive stops and routinely defeat opponents by double digits. While playing in fewer close games will likely save them some physical strain over the course of the season, practices cannot replicate the experience the Bucks had in Miami on Tuesday. As the Bucks work to develop the chemistry necessary to make a long playoff run this season, they will only grow better and move forward as a team when they observe new defensive coverages, identify them on the fly, and communicate the best strategies to attack those defensive coverages.

For the first time, on Tuesday, Middleton and Lillard demonstrated their ability to work together in crunch time and give the Bucks even more energy to win games.

When two players can create their own shots, Antetokounmpo remarked, “it’s like heaven for me. Down the stretch, I don’t have to make something happen; I can just be like the guy that sets the screen and rolls and kind of plays the second side and plays behind the defense.” It’s excellent. That is how it has been my entire career. Jrue (Holiday) and Khris were able to accomplish that in the previous few years, and now Khris and Dame are able to do it as well.

As the playoffs approach, opponents may find their paradise turned into hell for Antetokounmpo.