Hit 117-130: Antetokounmpo fell, Miami split with unstoppable Butler

The premiere of the 2023 NBA Playoffs did not go as expected by the Bucks and the Heat. The Milwaukee team lost Giannis Antetokounmpo early after a bad fall to the ground injuring his lower back, and the Miami team saw Tyler Hiro leave with a broken hand, but they broke the series in the first round (130-117). – AP Jimmy Butler She hid her stress from the regular season finale and Championship Play-In for now.

The Stags know how to turn a line, they’ve done it on several, everyone predicted that after going seven days without a game Milwaukee wouldn’t be in a good rhythm, but no one could have predicted what happened with Giannis. Khris Middleton did a great job scoring goals, Bobby Portis did the same, Jrue Holiday was amazing creatively but not executively, and Mike Budenholzer just couldn’t hold on on what was a really bad night.

On the other hand, Erik Spoelstra will have to find a way to fill the void left by Hero, a 20-point-per-game player. He knows this is going to be tough, but as long as Jimmy Butler plays with motivation, the Heat will have a good chance of pulling off an upset in the series. Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love were the two people who backed up the Miami captain, with their manager hoping someone would step up in Hero’s place.

46-62 at-bat points, 6-14 surprise points, 40-38 substitution points, 20-19 foul points, 12-5 second chance points. Oladipo, Zeller, Yurtseven and Highsmith did not play for the Heat and Dragic, Connaughton, Beauchamp, Thanassis and Leonard did not play for the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo account

He entered the game patiently, charged with his first foul when trying to pull the Heat forward, charged with his second for a direct attack on Kevin Love and somewhere in between he fell to the ground hitting his lower leg. behind. He temporarily left for the locker room, turned around to grit his teeth, couldn’t help it, and left the game forever with only 10:50 under his belt. In that time he’s scored 6 points (2/4 2 shots, 2/4 field goals), collected three rebounds and committed one foul.

Series results and schedule

• Game 1: bucks – hit 117-130
• Game 2: Early Thursday 4/20 at 4:00
• Game 3: Early Sunday 4/23 at 2:30
• Game 4: early in the morning on Tuesday 4/25
• game 5: early Thursday 4/27
• game 6: early Sat 4/29
• Game 7: as early as Monday 1/5

Race

The Bucks didn’t have good speed first, but their defense, especially on the bat, was effective. 7-11 at 5 ‘ was expected, 12-24 at 8’ not much, the injury of Antetokounmpo in the middle and his departure to the locker room after the second foul put pressure on the home team and in general everything looked … out of tune. 24-33 in the period was the result of all eight points the Heat found in the upset, as Butler had 14 points on 6/8 2-pointers and 2/3 shooting.

An outburst by the Bucks helped them collect the difference at the beginning of the second half (42-43), but the final departure of Giannis from the match, and the taunting of the Heat, who seized every opportunity and the effective Watser Butler, kept the Heat ahead. And even at halftime (55-68).

With Hiro out, the Heat knew things were going to be more difficult in the second half. However, they did not panic, played their game and remained in the driver’s role with a double-digit lead, until Middleton led the team on the backstretch and Holiday-Portis followed for another derby. The Bucks knew Miami was tired, but try as they might, it was impossible to get back into the game in a way that would discourage their opponents. And the more love finds a target from the perimeter, the better the night team stands out.

Middleton was determined to push himself to the limit, but the night was “broken” early for Pax. Butler knew this opportunity was not to be missed, and he continued to lead the Heat and with a score of 102-115 with 5:21 left in the final, no one thought this game could be turned on its head. And of course not anymore.

the dodecalepta: 24-33, 55-68, 88-102, 117-130

Bucks Milwaukee (Mike Bodenholzer): Middleton 33 (10/13 2 shots, 2/7 3 shots, 7/10 shooting, 9 rebounds, 4 assists), Antetokounmo 6 (2/4 2 shots, 2/4 shots, 3 balls rebounds at 10:50), Lopez 10 (4/4 2-pointers, 0/3 3-pointers, 2/3 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks), Allen 12 (2), Holiday 16 (4/9 2-pointers , 2/9 3 throws, 2/2 shots, 7 rebounds, 16 assists, 1 fumble), Engels 9 (3), Portis 21 (9/10 2 shots, 0/5 3 shots, 3/3 shots, 8 rebounds), Matthews 6 (2), Carter 2, Crowder 2

MIAMI HEAT (Erik Spoelstra): Stross 8 (2), Butler 35 (15/26 2-pointers, 5/8 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals), Antipaio 22 (10/18 2-pointers, 2/3 3-pointers , 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers), Hero 12 (2), Vincent 15 (4/5 3 assists, 6 assists), Martin 15 (2), Lowry 2, Love 18 ( 4/7 3 throws, 8 rebounds), Robinson 3 (1)

Milwaukee Bucks stats: 34/46 2 made, 11/45 3 made, 16/22 blocked shots, 45 rebounds, 29 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks, 13 turnovers, 22 fumbles

Miami Heat stats: 35/59 2 made, 15/25 3 made, 15/21 blocked, 47 rebounds, 32 assists, 6 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers, 24 fouls