ORLANDO – Jimmy Butler showed why Miami looked for him with loose firmness last summer, and Goran Dragic reminded the NBA that Luka Doncic is the only Slovenian star in the league.
Butler set a career-high playoff record, and Dragic scored 27 points when the Heat beat Milwaukee 115-104 on Monday in the first game of his Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Butler had 27 problems in the middle of the moment, adding 15 in the last quarter.He just took over when Miami did it.
His 3 problems with 3:01 playing in the final quarter gave Miami a 104-98 lead, and his next basket with 2:19 to pass led the score to 106-98.Butler made one basket after another in the last quarter., and for the third quarter component it earned 10 consecutive points.
Dragic scored at least 20 problems in miami playoff games.
At the moment, in consecutive series, the Bucks lost the first game, but now there’s a lot at stake and Miami is bigger than Orlando, the Bucks’ first-round enemy.
The master plan for the Milwaukee-Miami series is defined. Make sure the opponent gets 3 problems, check to restrict the problems in the paint and, in the case of the Heat, brake the Bucks star, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Heat, who didn’t lose in the playoffs, was going to execute his game plan a little better.After dropping 63 issues in the first half, the Heat held Milwaukee in 41 issues in the final two quarters.
Miami beat Milwaukee 25-14 on the foul line (the Bucks were 53.8% rotten from the line) in a domain that disappointed Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, and the Bucks allowed 42 painting problems after allowing the NBA’s 38.7 most productive problems in regular-season paint.
Bam Adebayo of Miami contributed 12 numbers and 17 rebounds.
For Antetokounmpo, it was a quiet match even though it was almost a triple-double: 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but he only controlled four of the 12 foul shots.
Khris Middleton had 28 problems, the most sensible Brook Lopez team had 23 problems and Kyle Korver scored 11 benching issues for Milwaukee.
Follow USA TODAY Sports NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt