MILWAUKEE – Giannis Antetokounmpo showed up to the postgame podium decked out as the Green Freak, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk. But it was calendar-driven – Halloween, y’know – because the game never got frenzied enough to trigger a real shirt-shredding Bruce Banner moment. Here are five takeaways from the Bucks’ 122-114 victory over the Heat:

1. Forget the fireworks, Dame merely shrugged

This was supposed to have extra juice for a Monday in October. The matchup brought together one team that had reportedly spent months coveting or at least imagining life with Damian Lillard vs. the one that actually landed him on the brink of training camp. Already, with three playoff clashes in four years, there was a sense of rivalry between the Bucks and the Heat. The Lillard outcome was supposed to dial up the intensity to the max.

It didn’t happen. Center Bam Adebayo (hip contusion) was absent for Miami. Khris Middleton is an injury-management tease of his old and allegedly future self. Antetokounmpo had his way attacking Heat bigs Thomas Bryant and Orlando Robinson.

And Lillard is just so coolly professional that he never admitted to nor showed any extra anything in facing the team he had once sought to join.

“It was like every other time I played against ‘em. I mean, it was really nothing,” said the veteran point guard, who scored 25 points on 7-for-14 shooting. “We all knew that it was a thing this summer, but nothing came of it. There really was no extra energy towards that, I don’t think, on either side.”

Damian Lillard 🤝 Jimmy Butler

Don't miss Heat/Bucks on the NBA App TONIGHT at 8:00 pm/et! pic.twitter.com/0i0I4PuDMs

— NBA (@NBA) October 30, 2023

2. One exception: Herro showed out

The Bucks are pleased “Dame Time” is set for the Central time zone now. The Heat are dusting themselves off from missing out on Lillard (and Jrue Holiday, the fall-back point guard in play after the Dame deal). But Tyler Herro, the springy Miami wing whose name and future whereabouts were bandied about much of the summer in trade rumors, played like a young man trying to prove, well, something to somebody.

Herro’s game-high 35 points kept Miami from submerging early and positioned for a feasible comeback. He turned around his early-season inefficiency – 66 points on 67 shots through Miami’s first three games – to do his damage on 12-for-21 shooting, including 5-for-9 on 3s, and 9-for-11 free throws.

He’s a Milwaukee guy (Whitnall High in suburban Greenfield) whose playoff opportunities got snuffed by a hand injury in the opening game against the Bucks last April. And there’s the Lillard trade chip on his shoulder too.

“He’s had a really productive five months,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You can see that he’s grown. He’s a much different player than he was last year. Starting during the playoff run, when no one was paying attention [to his rehab].”

3. It will be Khris Middlin’ for a while

When you look at Middleton’s stats line – 33 minutes, 11 points, five rebounds, nine assists – it seems solid. Until you remember that’s for two games, not one, with a DNP might in between.

Given that the Bucks’ smooth scorer is mired in a knee-injury management routine, it’s almost strange to hear teammates and coaches talk up his contributions so far. Any victories with limited Middleton probably drags out his full return even more.

“When he’s out there, we fire on all cylinders,” coach Adrian Griffin said. “He just calms us down. Giannis is the heart and soul [of the Bucks] but Khris is the glue. … Progress is day by day, but I really look forward to the day when I can really throw those guys out there for an extended amount of time.”

On his way out of the building late Monday, Middleton was asked if the Bucks or their fans should be worried about his slow ramp back. “Nah, nah, nah,” he said. “I wouldn’t say so.”

4. Coaches love a good bench

The wild swings in the game gave the reserves from both sides ample opportunities and, for the most part, they seized them. Milwaukee’s fat lead through three quarters, 97-73, opened minutes for Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, Jae Crowder and Cam Payne, and the subs outscored their Miami counterparts 38-10 to that point.

But those same Heat reserves flipped the script in the final quarter. Led by Duncan Robinson, Orlando Robinson and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., they outscored the Bucks’ backups 35-5 in the fourth, throwing a reasonable scare into the home team.

It all left Milwaukee pledging to close better next time, while Spoelstra explained that his bench guys earned the chance to steal the final 12 minutes.

“Our guys were changing the momentum and that sometimes can be frustrating for the other side,” he said. “They just want you to go away.”

5. New wrinkle to potential playoff matchup

These teams play twice more in the regular season, Nov. 28 back at Fiserv Forum and Feb. 13 in Miami. If recent history is any indicator, perhaps four to seven more meetings await in the playoffs.

But there are new wrinkles and fresh faces involved. Lillard runs more pick and rolls than the Heat have had to defend against Milwaukee, with most of its attention focused on Antetokounmpo’s bull rushes. Adebayo will be back at some point. Middleton presumably will reach full strength.

With Holiday gone from the clashes, Antetokounmpo might have to guard Jimmy Butler more, the way he did for a while Monday. And Butler might eventually give a darn, more than he seemed to Monday, at least in the postseason.

By the way, it’s OK to have rivals that, for however much mutual respect exists between them, don’t actually like each other. There was one loaded moment Monday, when Herro put up an idle shot after a whistle and Antetokounmpo swatted it. Herro clapped theatrically and “sarcastically,” the Bucks star said, prompting a few words from Antetokounmpo.

* * *

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.