The Miami Heat shocked the basketball world on Sunday (April 16) after winning game one of their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat won the game 130-117 and were led by their superstar Jimmy Butler; with that said, two major injuries occurred in the contest as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyler Herro each exited the ballgame with injuries.
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The Heat came into this game after going 1-1 in the play-in tournament with a loss to the Hawks followed by a playoff-advancing clutch win against the Chicago Bulls. With that said, Miami clawed its way into the eighth and final spot of the Eastern Conference playoffs to face off against the top-seeded and consensus finals favorites, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite the noise from the media and basketball fans worldwide, Erik Spoelstra’s squad came into Milwaukee with grit and teamwork to pick up a massive 130-117 series-opening victory. The Heat were led by none other than Jimmy Butler; Butler finished the contest with a game-high 35 points to go along with eleven assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Butler was not alone, as each member of Miami’s team contributed to this big-time win; with that said, Miami received a tremendous contribution off the bench from NBA Champion Kevin Love.
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Love’s Heat playoff debut was nothing short of spectacular as the high IQ vet began the game by taking two charges alla Udonis Haslem; Love also drained four triples for Miami and totaled 18 points and eight rebounds for the Heat. Someone who had a slow start on the offensive end due to a lack of aggression was Bam Adebayo; however, Adebayo came out firing in the second half as the Heat’s big man scored 16 points in the second half, including a dominant ten-point third quarter against Defensive Player of The Year candidate Brook Lopez.
In this tremendous effort, Miami did suffer one critical loss as reigning Sixth Man of The Year award winner Tyler Herro suffered a broken middle finger and broken ring finger on his shooting hand, which will therefore keep him out for the remainder of the series as initial reports reveal he will likely miss 4-6 weeks.
Tyler Herro greeting his teammates after the Heat’s Game 1 win over Milwaukee.
He broke his hand in the first half. pic.twitter.com/aKvKRE5Qjj— Adriana Torres (@TorresAdrianaTV) April 17, 2023
As for Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a back injury towards the end of the first quarter and could not renter the game; with that said, x-rays on Antetokounmpo’s back came back negative, which is fantastic news. With The Greek Freak unable to play for the remaining three-quarters of the contest, Milwaukee’s other all-stars, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, stepped up tremendously as Holiday dished out a game-high sixteen assists to go along with sixteen points, seven rebounds, and only one turnover. As for Middleton, he ended the loss with 33 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Game two of this Eastern Conference showdown is set to take place on Wednesday night, and the good news for the Bucks is that their superstar does have a chance to play. As for Miami, the next-man-up mentality is in full force as the Heat will look for multiple guys, including Duncan Robinson and Victor Oladipo, to step up for the now-injured Herro.
DUNCAN ROBINSON!
FROM THE CORNER!
KABOOM!@MiamiHEAT | #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/auQxkaJ9gw— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) April 16, 2023
All in all, this was an exciting start to a series between these big-time rivals.
Let us know what you think about the Heat upsetting the Bucks in Game 1 of this east playoff series by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
Don’t forget: The Miami Heat take on the Milwaukee Bucks LIVE from Fiserv Forum WEDNESDAY 4/19 @ 9pm ET on NBA TV.
