Faced with draft Bucks (7 lost balls) after a week without playing, the Heat, behind 14 points from Jimmy Butler, quickly took a 14-point lead (29-15). With Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench with two quick fouls. it is the duo Khris Middleton – Bobby Portis who takes responsibility by launching a 27-14 which brings Milwaukee back in the game (43-42).
Jimmy Butler stops the bleeding with a lay-up before continuing with an interception, and two assists for Kevin Love at three points (55-44). With the exit of Antetokounmpo, Butler drives the point home by attacking the Bucks racket relentlessly to return to the locker room at +13 (68-55).
Despite the exit of Tyler Herro due to a broken hand, Bam Adebayo raises his voice to keep the Heat at +14 (78-64). It is again Khris Middleton who rings the alarm clock of the Bucks. An 11-0 brings them down to -3, but Miami does not crack (78-75). On the contrary, Kevin Love, Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson allow them to create a new gap before the last quarter (102-88).
The Bucks will return several times to -8 but each time the Heat have found the parade, in particular at 3-pointers, to repel their opponent’s last stand. Miami therefore logically pockets this Game 1 and recovers the advantage of the field!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Giannis Antetokounmpo is out through injury. With less than two minutes to play in the first quarter, Kevin Love provokes an offensive foul from Giannis Antetokounmpo and the latter falls badly on his back. He immediately went to the locker room. The Greek returned to the field but after 90 seconds the Bucks finally announced that their star would miss the rest of Game 1. Milwaukee seemed to play it safe with the double MVP. However, it will be necessary to check its availability for Game 2.
– Tyler Herro breaks his right hand. On an innocuous action just before half-time, Herro dove on the floor to try to catch the ball and unfortunately broke his right hand. It’s a big blow for the Heat. Herro is the second Miami creator behind Jimmy Butler. With Herro unavailable for the rest of the series, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson will have to step up to fill the gap created by the injury to Miami’s second leading scorer.
– The key to Miami’s victory: the circle attack. In the wake of Jimmy Butler, the Heat attacked the Bucks racket throughout the game. They won that duel 62-46, and that aggressiveness towards the circle allowed them to create plenty of award-winning open shots. Little seen in this area all season, the Heat finished the game 15 of 25 from 3-point range to punish opposing defensive assists. With 59% success, including 60% from 3-pointers, Miami achieved the best performance of its season at the best time, while the Bucks had the worst three-point success percentage of the season (24%).
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jimmy Butler. The Heat star set the tone for his team from the opening minutes of the game, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, and 24 of his 35 points before the break. Butler also delivered 11 assists, took 5 rebounds, and intercepted 2 balls.
✅ Bam Adebayo. 22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. Adebayo raised his voice in the second half to compensate for Tyler Herro’s injury and replace Jimmy Butler.
✅ Kevin Love. 18 points and 4/7 to 3-pointers for the veteran. Each time the Bucks returned, Love responded with a long-distance banderilla. He also grabbed 8 rebounds.
✅ Khris Middleton. In the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Middleton took responsibility. He finished the game with 33 points on 12/20 shooting and 9 rebounds.
✅ Bobby Portis. Like Middleton, Portis tried hard to try and get the Bucks back in the game. He finished the game with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
⛔ Jrue Holiday. The Bucks point guard blackened the stat sheet with 16 assists and 7 rebounds, but he was clumsy, with 16 points on 18 shots. Without Giannis, the Bucks needed his scoring.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 2still in Milwaukee, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday (2:00 a.m.).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
