Jimmy Buckets is Clutch: Bucks vs. Heat Game One (August 31, 2020)
The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat began their second round matchup in this one, both with very high aspirations. While the Bucks came in as the overwhelming favorites, the Heat took the regular season series, so this was bound to be a closely contested series.
The first quarter started and both teams were hot shooting the ball. As solid as they both are defensively, the game was looking like a complete offensive battle. Goran Dragic (27 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast), who had been amazing in the first round, continued that early on. On the other hand, Brook Lopez (24 pts, 2 blk) was looking great for the Bucks in the first, bullying Kelly Olynyk (4 pts, 2 reb) in the paint and on from three.
While the Bucks did manage to beat the Magic in five games, Khris Middleton (28 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl) struggled big time in that series. He came out of the gate with guns blazing in this game, though. He looked like he was back to his old self, taking and making all the shots the Bucks need him to make if they want to win a championship.
Jimmy Butler (40 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl) was playing well as the leader of his team, but it was Giannis Antetokounmpo (18 pts, 10 reb, 9 ast) who had his team rolling in this one. Antetokounmpo looked unstoppable in the first. He was a freight train in transition, a big body in the half court set, and a great passer who got his team good looks. That’s a lot off production without even mentioning his elite defense. He and Lopez had the Bucks up by 11 after one.
The Heat started to chip away at Milwaukee’s lead in the second. Bam Adebayo (12 pts, 17 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl) was overpowering Antetokounmpo in the post, but each move ended in a miss. He was having a very unlucky quarter to say the least, despite the Heat’s success overall as a team.
Miami was constantly in the game, despite Milwaukee’s amazing offense. The Heat were failing to convert on some of their easier opportunities, especially at the rim. If they had converted some of those they could have been leading or at least tied up in the second, instead of being consistently down by a couple possessions. However, although they were down for the majority of the quarter, they were far from out.
Miami was a constant thorn in Milwaukee’s side. No matter how well Middleton and the Bucks played, the Heat were right there with them. The Bucks took a 63-60 lead into halftime.
Middleton and Antetokounmpo continued to help the Bucks try and stay one step ahead of the Heat. Middleton was especially on his game in this one, as it seemed that no one could stop him from getting his buckets. Combine that with Antetokounmpo’s usual dominance and Mike Budenholzer had his team running the way he intended to.
That being said, Butler was ready to go to war. He was driving, shooting, and doing absolutely everything in his power to keep the Heat in this game. While he and Dragic were leading the way in the scoring column, they were finding production from a few of their role players, too. Jae Crowder (9 pts, 9 reb) specifically was on fire from deep.
Miami’s defense was starting to come down hard on Middleton and Antetokounmpo in the third. Whenever one was on the bench, the Heat would smother the one who was in the game and vice versa. Add that with the stellar play of Butler and Dragic and Miami had managed to claw their way to a six point lead going into the fourth.
Neither team was having a great offensive showing early in the fourth. The Heat seemed somewhat discombobulated on offense, but the Bucks weren’t taking full advantage of it. I won’t completely blame the offenses, though, because both squads were playing very intense defense as well.
Neither team was giving an inch on either side of the floor. By the time the quarter was midway through, there had only been 13 points scored between both teams. This lack of scoring continued on throughout the remainder of the quarter, with the defense being ramped up on both sides.
Butler was in his bag in the final quarter. He took over and showed that while he may not be the focal point of the offense normally, he’s there to come up in the clutch. A flurry of buckets from Jimmy Buckets himself had the Heat feeling themselves late in this game. Then a huge three from Tyler Herro (11 pts, 3 reb) with just over a minute and a half left gave them an eight point lead over the Bucks.
Budenholzer lost his challenge in the fourth, and Butler responded by nailing yet another bucket in the face of Milwaukee. After that, while the Heat’s defense was clamping down hard on the Bucks, Middleton somehow managed to get open for a corner three. If Butler could continue his hot streak, he had an opportunity to put things away for Miami with around a minute left.
An overturned call gave Milwaukee the ball back with enough time to make it a game. Antetokounmpo had the ball in his hands and all Miami had to do was get a stop. Luckily for them they didn’t have to. The reigning MVP and current DPOY turned the ball over on his own.
Butler went down the floor on the ensuing possession and got a bucket in the paint. He then followed it up by getting a steal immediately after, got fouled, and nailed both of his free throws. He was single-handedly killing the Bucks.
Thanks to Butler and their amazing defense, the Heat were able to claw their way back into this game and get a 115-104 win over the Bucks.
