The Heat managed to push Milwaukee to the edge in Game 1, but their effort was simply not enough to get a win, as they absorbed a 109-107 overtime loss. It’s still an encouraging result for the Heat, considering that Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo played badly on offense. Butler scored 17 points but went 4-22 from the field, while Adebayo only had nine points on 4-15 shooting. That won’t cut it for Miami, especially since it’s up against a high-scoring team. However, the Heat got a shot in the arm from Duncan Robinson (24 points, 7-13 3FGM) and Goran Dragic (25 points, 5-10 3FGM). Once Butler and Adebayo click on offense and Miami’s role players chip in ample support, the Heat should be a bigger threat to Milwaukee’s defense that hasn’t been a particular strength of the team.
The Heat are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games after covering the spread in the previous contest.
The Bucks edged Milwaukee despite Giannis Antokounmpo and Khris Middleton not shooting well in Game 1. Antetokounmpo had 26 points but was 10-27 from the floor, while Middleton put up 27 points on 10-22 shooting. Middleton also came through in the clutch. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of the quality of baskets than quantity, which was the case for Milwaukee in Game 1. The Bucks should feel good about winning the series opener, as they didn’t even shoot well from the outside. They shot a horrific 5 of 31 from deep in that game, but it’s tough to bet against Milwaukee being that bad again from long distance. They were among the most prolific and accurate outside shooters back in the regular season, with 14.3 treys per game.
The Bucks will come into Game 2 with a 3-1 straight-up record in their last four games against Miami, going back to 2020.
