The HEAT drew first blood in last year’s playoff series with the Bucks, but this time the shoe is on the other foot.
Despite drilling a postseason franchise-record 20 treys, Miami fell to Milwaukee 109-107 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Fiserv Forum and now trail 1-0 in the Eastern Conference First Round.
Things were nip and tuck throughout, as there were a whopping 17 lead changes and 16 ties.
SHOP
Check out some takeaways below.
1. Duncan Ties A Franchise Record…Again
Let’s just say that Duncan Robinson was a big reason why the HEAT set a postseason franchise record.
In fact, he kicked things off with a trey and never looked back.
From there, Robinson continued to utilize screens effectively and move very well off the ball to keep the Bucks on their heels.
As a result, he tied a postseason franchise record himself (for the third time) with seven treys, and none were as huge as this one in OT:
And on the flip side of the ball, the 27-year-old did all he could on Khris Middleton, including the play where Middleton hit the game-winner with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime. Sometimes you just have to live with the result.
When it was all said and done, Robinson amassed 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field (all from deep) and a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from the line, two rebounds, two assists and a plus-two rating.
2. Goran Strong Down The Stretch
Though Goran Dragić had some nice sequences in the first half, he really kicked things into high gear after the break and scored from everywhere on the floor.
Of course, pull-up middys were part of the equation, but so were catch-and-shoot treys, including this clutch one off a great effort play from Bam Adebayo to tie the game at 107:
Playoff Dragon at his finest.
In all, Dragić tallied a team-high 25 points (18 in the second half and overtime period combined) on 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-10 from distance, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
3. Jimmy Forces OT
With about seven seconds to go in regulation and Miami down two, Jimmy Butler received the ball on the right elbow with Giannis Antetokounmpo guarding him.
Butler then did this:
Aggressive drives like that were commonplace for Butler, as the 31-year-old attacked the basket and took some hard falls, but he didn’t shoot it as well as he’s accustomed to overall.
On the defensive end, though, Butler was his usual free safety self and guarded multiple guys like Jrue Holiday, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough in the end.
Butler finished with 17 points on 4-of-22 shooting from the field, including 2-of-9 from downtown, and 7-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe, 10 rebounds, a game-high eight assists, two steals and a game-high one block (tied with Trevor Ariza, Tyler Herro and Donte DiVincenzo).
Game Note:
-Victor Oladipo (right knee surgery) and Ömer Yurtseven were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-After Game 2 on Monday, the HEAT will head home to host the Bucks in Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Tickets for both games at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.