Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

The Bucks stuck around against the Heat in the first half of Game 1 (the Bucks were only down by seven points at halftime) mostly because of Brandon “Bucks Win In Six” Jennings, who had 18 points at halftime.

However, the Heat flipped the proverbial switch in the second half, with LeBron (27 points), Wade (16 points), and Chris Bosh (15 points) taking charge.  However, the most impressive Heat player was probably Chris Andersen, The Birdman.  While he didn’t have the profound statistical night that LeBron had (a near-triple double: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) he made all the hustle plays: timely offensive rebounds, unselfish assists, and his own dunks of the tip-back and lobbed variety.

By the end of the third quarter, after the Heat had pulled out to a double-digit lead, this game was pretty much over.  And when Rashard Lewis came into the game (the Heat’s #2 human victory cigar, behind Juwan Howard) for LeBron James, you knew this game was absolutely 100% over.

Looking ahead to Game 2, while the Heat dominated the Bucks in nearly every statistical category, they still gave up 22 points to Monta Ellis and 26 points to Brandon Jennings.  While the duo shot only 18-39, for portions of the 1st half, the Heat had trouble guarding Brandon Jennings off of the pick and roll.  I expect that the Heat will go back to the drawing board and devise some better defensive schemes to deal with the Bucks pick and roll, now that they have seen it.

To highlight just how terrible the Bucks were

• They shot 26.9% from three point range, though the Heat were also unimpressive from three point range, shooting only 30%.
• They made only 60% of their free throws.
• They were out-rebounded 31-46.
• They only had 14 assists to Miami’s 22 assists.

Game 2 is on Tuesday, April 23rd at 7:30PM in Miami.

Apr 15, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Miami Heat point guard Norris Cole (30) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

It must be the flattop right?

Norris Cole was the Man as he had a LeBron-esque near-triple double: 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.  He also stole the ball from Kyrie Irving, with three seconds left and the Heat clinging to a 96-95 lead, as Kyrie was driving to the hoop for a game-winning shot.  There are even rumors he changed the oil on the Heat’s bus and repaired an engine on the team’s plane, but nothing has been confirmed

With LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Chalmers, Battier, and Haslem out with injuries or resting, Erik Spoelstra probably could have taken some reps at shooting guard considering he is only two years older than JUWAN HOWARD, Miami Heat starting forward.

That’s right, Juwan Howard actually started an NBA game this year, at age 40.  He had 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 19 minutes of action, and sat Norris Cole down on his lap during a timeout and told him some basketball war stories from the Cretaceous Period.

The game was close in the first half, with the Cavs leading 52-49.  But after Miami’s third quarter, where they outscored the Cavs 31 to 19, I thought the game was really over…until the Cavs came out like gangbusters in the fourth quarter.  Kyrie Irving hit clutch shots, including a clutch three with less than five minutes left to pull the Cavs within four.

While Miami shot better than the Cavaliers (50% FG vs. 45.3% FG) out-rebounded the Cavs (45 vs. 38) and had more assists than the Cavs (25 vs. 20), Miami turned the ball over way too much(17 times, while the Cavs only turned the ball over five times).  This is expected as Ray Allen and Norris Cole, natural shooting guards, were handed the keys to the offense.

Additionally, Miami had a paltry 28 points in the paint — the Cavs had 50 points in the paint, and the Cavs started Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson, and Alonzo Gee; I guess that’s what you get when your starting forward (Howard — 40 years old) is only seven years younger than the combined ages of the opposing starting forwards (Thompson is 22 years old, Alonzo Gee is 25 years old).