Milwaukee vs. Miami: Bucks Stonewalled in Game One

The Bucks 115-104 loss to the Miami Heat in game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals took approximately 10,000 years off my life.

Milwaukee got off to a scoring start offensively thanks to the shotmaking of Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. They were also able to garner some stops defensively and got themselves up double-digits. However, even with the Bucks shooting the lights out, Miami continued to grind, which is what they do.

The Bucks missed countless opportunities on offense late in the third quarter and in the fourth, which proved to be their pitfall. So many unnecessary three-pointers being hoisted up only played into the Heat’s hands.

Three Bucks

Miami is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s kryptonite. He got nothing easy and the Heat was constantly one step ahead of him defensively throughout game one, He had to fight for everything and ended with 18 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and six turnovers in 37 minutes. 4-of-12 from the foul line will never get it done. He clearly played timid down the stretch and was settling for three-pointers. He was reckless at times dribbling into three defenders with nowhere to go. There were occasions where he couldn’t even get a shot off. Just suffocating defense that he could not figure out. He finished a game-worst minus-14. Ouch.

Khris Middleton was cooking early and finished with a team-high 28 points and added six rebounds and five assists. He played a huge role in helping the Bucks gain early control of the game, but unfortunately, it can’t all be done by one person. He was hitting everything over everyone and it didn’t matter what the Heat were throwing at him. It’s just unfortunate that a “Middleton game” gets wasted :(

Brook Lopez made 8-of-10 shots en route to 24 points in 27 minutes. Like the paragraph above, to have a “Middleton” and “Lopez” game wasted is ominous. However, to have Lopez take advantage of a favorable matchup in the Miami Heat is an encouraging sign. There’s not much more you could have asked for from this performance. Let’s see if he can keep the good times rolling offensively in a pivotal game two.

Three Bucks

• Wesley Matthews did all he could to disrupt Jimmy Butler but was left on the bench during a crucial stretch of the fourth quarter.
• The Bucks made 16 three-pointers in a loss :/
• Kyle Korver contributed 11 points off the bench and he hit some shots to help stabilize the Bucks offense throughout the night.
• Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo were big disappointments in game one. Not much else to write.
• Jimmy Butler is a walking bucket. dude was just getting to his spots and knocking shots down at will. Salute.