Game Recap: Heat steal Game 1 from Bucks 130-117

After a strong start the Heat would take the lead and never let it go to steal Game 1 against the top seeded Bucks

First Half:

The Heat and Bucks were fairly even to start with both teams going back and forth. Surprisingly, Miami was able to grab a lead early with Herro getting on the board often. The Heat looked locked in after two straight play-in games, while the Bucks seemed lethargic early on. Miami’s defense on Giannis was exceptional forcing him out of the paint to pass out to Milwaukee’s wing players.

With the Heat scoring consistently, and Miami getting instant offense from Caleb Martin they were able to get their lead up to 10 on a 13-3 run, leaving Milwaukee reeling. The Bucks pushed back with Giannis and Matthews chipping away at the lead, but Jimmy did his best to cancel out their efforts with some spectacular buckets. Kevin Love also was able to draw multiple charges in the first, getting the Bucks in a little bit of foul trouble. Despite strong pushback by Brook Lopez, the Heat took a 9 point lead into the second quarter. 

Bobby Portis and caused some problems for Miami early in the second in the paint, but the Heat kept its composure getting offensive output from Max Strus (two back to back threes) as Bam faced double teams. After a hard fall in the first, Giannis exited the game (he would not return) but it didn’t stop Milwaukee with Middleton and Portis slicing through Miami’s lead on a 9-0 run to get within one.

The Heat answered back with a 7-0 run of its own led by Jimmy and Love to regain its lead. Love continued his offense hitting multiple threes. Holiday attempted to shoulder the offensive load for the Bucks with Giannis out, but Miami’s strong three point shooting and Jimmy’s constant offence kept the Bucks at bay and the Heat up 13 at the half. Herro unfortunately went to the locked room with an injured finger prior to halftime - this injury was later upgraded to a broken hand and he missed the rest of the game. Depending on how far Miami goes it’s probable that we won’t see Tyler until next season.

Second Half

Bam showed signs of life on offense to start the second half scoring well in the offense set and in transition. With Herro out, Duncan saw minutes and with both him and Strus on the floor, Miami’s spacing was excellent creating easy buckets. Lopez, Allen and Middleton made a push on a 7-0 run to get within seven. With Middleton catching fire and Portis hitting a well timed shot the Bucks got within three.

Thankfully, Bam doing work in the mid-range and Love’s hot shooting kept Miami afloat during the Bucks’ run. The Bucks didn’t go away though with Ingles doing work on both ends to get within six, but Kevin Love’s hot three point shooting (he had 18 points at this point) turned that into nine point lead once again. Duncan hit a big three as the quarter came to a close to give Miami a 14 point lead heading into the fourth.

The Heat started the fourth quarter strong with a big Jimmy slam and-one (he had 35 on the night), and had no intentions of slowing down. Still Milwaukee didn’t go quietly with Middleton, and Lopez, Matthews and Allen all working to chip away at Miami’s lead and get within single digits once again. The Heat were in familiar territory with things becoming “clutch” once again. Thankfully they stayed consistent with Gabe Vincent, Jimmy and Bam all delivering offensively. As the game came to a close it was Gabe who’d hit multiple daggers from three to steal home court advantage against the top-seed Bucks.