Jimmy Butler says he 'took it up a level' in Miami Heat's Game 1 win over Milwaukee Bucks
Tuesday 1 September 2020 13:19, UK
Jimmy Butler's career-best playoff performance propelled the fifth-seeded Miami Heat to a 115-104 Game 1 win over Eastern Conference top seeds the Milwaukee Bucks in their series opener.
Butler kept hearing the same message from team-mates in every conversation Monday night: ''Win the game.''
He listened to them and delivered.
Butler scored 14 of his playoff career-high 40 points in the fourth quarter, Goran Dragic added 27 and the Heat clamped down defensively in the final three quarters to beat the Bucks 115-104 on Monday night.
Butler joined only LeBron James and Dwyane Wade - the first person who texted Butler postgame Monday night - as players with a 40-point playoff effort for Miami. He was 13-for-20 from the field, 12-for-13 from the line and 2-for-2 from three-point land.
"I felt like I took it up a level in the fourth quarter," Butler said. "If that needs to happen every game, I have got to be able to do it. But we have got so many guys capable of doing it for us."
Miami's win was the third time they have beaten the Eastern Conference top seeds in four meetings this season. After the game, Butler was asked about the Heat's winning formula against the Bucks.
"We just play the right way," he said. "We talk about the things we are going to do in the scouting report before the game. We watch the film. Attention to detail has been key. We talked about not turning the ball over, getting the ball to the open guy and making them make decisions at the rim. I think we did that. And we got one."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised Butler's performance in his news conference after the game.
"He just fits everything about us, our fabric, who we are," Spoelstra said. "Everybody feels comfortable when he is making those decisions. He happened to score tonight but he is a very unselfish player. It's not just about him. He wants these kind of moments."
Khris Middleton scored 28 points for Milwaukee. Brook Lopez had 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
But Antetokounmpo's night will likely be best remembered by what he did at the foul line. The reigning MVP went 4-for-12 from the stripe, the worst performance by anyone with at least 12 free-throw attempts in a playoff game since Andre Roberson went 2-for-12 for Oklahoma City on April 23, 2017 against Houston.
"He just has to stick with his routine, stick with what he has been doing, continue to have a lot of confidence, continue to attack, continue to get to the free throw line," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He is going to make them. We have total faith in him."
Speaking on Inside The NBA after the game, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal voiced concern about Milwaukee's performance.
The Bucks are the league's No 1 rebounding team, but Miami outrebounded them 46-34 and grabbed 12 offensive boards. They own the NBA's stingiest defense yet Miami were able to score 42 points in the paint.
"If Miami play like this three more times, they are going to win the series," Barkley said. "Milwaukee really missed Eric Bledsoe tonight. He is the one guy who can speed them up. He controls the tempo of the game when they are not getting fast breaks and lay-ups.
"Milwaukee were walking the ball up and down the court. Even though Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez were making shots, they were tough shots. Milwaukee are much better in the open court and they didn't get anything there tonight."
O'Neal said: "This is what scares us about Milwaukee, we have been saying it all year. At playoff time when the game slows down and you put them in the halfcourt, you can really key in on Giannis.
"I would like to see the Bucks put Miami in a position where they can't double-team him. If you bring him off a screen or bring him out of the pick-and-roll, he can get quick shots. Giannis definitely needs to take more than 12 shots. Tonight he was very unselfish. He was double- and triple-teamed so he said, 'alright I'll kick it to my guys'. But when you are the star, you have got to take more than 12 shots."
Fellow Inside analyst Kenny Smith cautioned his colleagues not to read too much into one sub-par performance from the Bucks.
"We can all look at one game and get over-excited," he said. "Game 1, a lot of times, is a 'feel out' game. I am not looking at Milwaukee thinking they need to make major adjustments. But, in Game 2, if they don't get back to what they do, they are going to be in trouble.
"This series is not going to be a sweep. It is a real series that you are going to have to win in six or seven games."
