The Miami Heat opened their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. They knew it would be tough, but could they pull out a win?
The Miami Heat came into Game One of their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks knowing that had a tough one on their hands. With the way that the last series panned out for the Bucks, with them having to wrestle with the Magic a little harder than they imagined, it was also imagined that they would come out on Monday with fire up under them.
They did just that. Although it didn’t necessarily show in the form of Giannis Antetokounmpo dominating things, the Bucks were firing on all cylinders. Even though Giannis was being held down pretty good by the Heat, Khriss Middleton obviously relocated his stroke prior to the game.
A back and forth affair for much of the game, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter where the Miami Heat saw their first lead. On the back of Jimmy Butler, they took that slither of light and ran through the cracked door.
If the Miami Heat were going to win Game One against the Bucks, they would need a big Jimmy Butler game. They got just that.
The story of this game was Jimmy Butler himself though. What he basically did was remind everyone that he is a superstar of the highest caliber as well.
He had started to heat up a bit in the first round, relative to how poor he has been shooting this season, but Monday saw him take it up another slight notch. On his way to a 40 point, four rebounds, two-assist finish, he shot 13-20 from the field and 2-2 from deep.
Jimmy was magnificent for the Miami Heat on Monday. He made the defensive plays you can always count on him for, while he hit shots when the Miami Heat needed them the most.
Again, he was the preeminent superstar on Monday night that the Miami Heat knew they were getting when they landed him this past summer. Game Two will be tougher and if Game One is any indication, the Heat will be ready.