The Miami Heat had a perfect start against Milwaukee Bucks as they won by 115-104 to take a 1-0 lead in the semifinals of Eastern conference. The Bucks had a good start to the match but the Heat was able to turn the tables in the second half of the match.
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler had a fabulous game and they were too hot to handle for the Bucks. Adebayo recorded his second straight game with 15+ rebounds and more than five assists, thus becoming the first Heat player to do it in the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, Butler was not at his best in the first half. The 30-year old could only score 12 points in the first half and five of those came from the free throw line. However, the Heat and Butler were able to bounce back in the second half as the Bucks’ lead was narrowed down to three points.
Butler made a roaring comeback in the second half as he registered 28 points, to finish with 40 points in the match. Butler was brilliant with his dunks and the Bucks’ defense had no answers to his skills.
Ergo, Butler was instrumental in turning the game on its head in the last two quarters and the Heat was able to make the comeback. Jimmy finished the game with 40.0 points and thus became the first Heat player to achieve the feat since LeBron James in 2014.
In fact, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James were the only two Heat players to have scored 40 points in a playoffs match before Jimmy Butler.
With a total of 40 points in the match, Butler leapfrogged his best playoff performance of 36 points, which he had scored for the Sixers in the last season.
The second match of the series will be played on Thursday.