Miami Heat’s LeBron James (6) dunks against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April. 28, 2013, in Milwaukee. Giving chase are Bucks’ Brandon Jennings (3), Ersan Ilyasova (7), of Turkey, and Heat’s Shane Battier.MILWAUKEE – Miami’s Big Three finally have their sweep.
LeBron James scored 30, Ray Allen had another big game against his old team and the Miami Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 88-77 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. It’s the first time the Heat have swept a playoff series since James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami three years ago.
And the Heat didn’t even need Wade to do it. The guard missed a postseason game for the second time in his career and first since 2005 due to three bone bruises on his right knee.
But the Heat still advanced handily, winning their fourth straight game by double digits. Wade will get plenty of time to rest now, too. The Heat will face the winner of the Brooklyn Nets-Chicago Bulls series – Chicago leads 3-1 – but the next round won’t begin until next Saturday.
Allen had 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Udonis Haslem added 13 points and five rebounds, and Mario Chalmers kicked in eight rebounds and six assists.