[jwplayer iSQVM3BJ]
Jimmy Butler scored a new playoff-career-high on Monday with 40 points, Goran Dragic had 27 points and the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Butler scored 27 points alone in the second half, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead Miami to the 115-104 victory. Butler shot 13-of-20 from the field and made both of his 3-pointers as the Heat limited Giannis Antetokounmpo to 18 points.
While Butler and Dragic led the Heat, the team also received key contributions from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. The rookie scored 11 points and drained a clutch 3-pointer with just a minute and a half left to help seal the win.
Soooooo COLD
đ¶đ @raf_tyler pic.twitter.com/4GlqOlIdvt
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) September 1, 2020
The Heat gave up 40 points to the Bucks in the first quarter but tightened up and limited Milwaukee to 64 points the rest of the way. Miami also held Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee to 24 points in the paint, down from their average of 43.6 per game in the playoffs.
Overall, the Heat outplayed the top-seeded Bucks in the first game as they improved to 5-0 in the playoffs after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round. Herro showed once again that no moment is too big for him and came up with the clutch shot late.
Game 2 is scheduled to tip-off Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
[lawrence-related id=21822,20297,22126]
[vertical-gallery id=14282]