76ers Playoff Watch: Heat Will Face Elimination Game After Beatdown vs. Bucks

The Miami Heat were looking forward to possibly catching a break as their seven-game series versus the Milwaukee Bucks came to South Beach on Thursday night. The first two games in Milwaukee didn't go Miami's way.

Although the first matchup last Saturday was a tight one that needed overtime to settle for a winner, the Bucks managed to come out on top. A couple of nights later, Miami and Milwaukee met once again, and it seemed the Heat used up all of their energy in Game 1 as Miami came out flat in Game 2.

The Bucks won their first two playoff games at home this year after defeating Miami 132-98 in Game 2. Hoping Monday's rematch would be a fluke, the Heat hoped they could take the series to Miami and take advantage of being back at home for the next two matchups.

However, it's becoming more clear that Game 1's tight matchup was looking more like the fluke, while Game 2's results were mirrored on Thursday night. Once again, the Bucks came out firing in Game 3, outscoring Miami 26-14 in the first quarter.

When the second quarter rolled around, Miami finally woke up and engaged in a shootout with the Bucks as Jimmy Butler put up nine points in nine minutes. Despite going blow for blow with Milwaukee in the second quarter, the Bucks' first-quarter dominance gave them a notable cushion going into halftime as they led the Heat 49-36 at the intermission.

At the start of the second half, the Bucks looked like the much better team once again. Khris Middleton led Milwaukee's lineup in scoring with 10 points in nine minutes, which helped the Bucks put up nearly 40 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Heat by 13 points.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, it was clear where the game was headed. After roughly seven minutes in the final quarter, the Bucks started clearing their bench to get the key players some rest after a dominant performance.

Miami could've gotten right back into the series had they stole a win in Game 3, but it wasn't even close. The Bucks picked up another win over the Heat, dominating them on their own court 113-84. Now, the Bucks are up 3-0 in the series as Miami will face elimination in Game 4, which is set to occur on Saturday afternoon.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.