Heat's Jimmy Butler leads with 40 points in playoff victory against the Bucks
The shooting guard Jimmy Butler, reaffirmed his status as a star and franchise player, and with 40 points, his best mark in playoffs, led the Heat to a 115-104 victory over the Bucks in the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In addition to Butler's great scoring inspiration, who made 12 of 24 field goals, including 13 of 20 two-point shots, with 2-2 from three-point range, and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line, the defensive play of the Heat, after giving up 40 points in the first quarter, was the key to the victory that gave them a 1-0 advantage in the seven-game series.
Butler's previous record with the Heat uniform was 38 points. His best mark in the playoffs was 36 when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, a team he wanted to continue with and requested a trade.
The veteran Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic was also decisive in directing the Heat's game by providing 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
While center Bam Adebayo, although he didn't win the Most Improved Player award this season (which went to power forward Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans), emerged once again as the best inside player for the Heat, contributing a double-double of 12 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists.
The victory was the Heat's third this season in the four games they have played against the Bucks, the team that finished the regular season with the best record in the league.
Rookie shooting guard Tyler Herro added 11 points and was the sixth player on the Heat, who now have a perfect 5-0 record in the playoffs after sweeping the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the first round series.
The Bucks' star, Greek power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, although he was on the verge of a triple-double, contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, but couldn't be the winning factor against the strong defense of the Heat.
Meanwhile, the 28 points scored by small forward Khris Middleton, who was the leading scorer for the Bucks, also couldn't prevent the team from Milwaukee's defeat. They also lost the first game of the first-round series against the Orlando Magic and later won four consecutive games.
But the night should be taken into account by the Bucks and analyzed, especially by Antetokounmpo, who missed no less than eight free throws (4-12), the worst performance by anyone with at least 12 free-throw attempts in a playoff game since Andre Roberson finished 2 for 12 with the Thunder on April 23, 2017, against the Rockets.
Chris Paul leads Thunder to victory in Game 6 against the Rockets
Point guard Chris Paul had his best offensive game, scoring 28 points that allowed the Thunder to come from behind and win 104-100 against the Rockets in the sixth game of the first-round playoff series in the Western Conference, which is now tied at 3-3.
Both teams will have to play the decisive seventh game on Wednesday to determine the winner, who will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals after they won their series 4-1 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Paul, a former Rockets player who was traded last year to acquire point guard Russell Westbrook from the Thunder, became an unstoppable force in the fourth quarter and scored 15 points that completed the comeback for the Oklahoma City team, keeping them in the Orlando bubble.
Paul made two free throws with 13.1 seconds left to tie the game at 100, and Italian power forward Danilo Gallinari added two more after a turnover by Westbrook that secured the victory.
In a game that was closely contested all the time, with neither team leading by double digits, the Thunder recovered from the beating they received in the fifth game.
Alongside Paul, Gallinari also improved his offensive production compared to the fifth game and contributed 25 points as the second highest scorer.
Shooting guard James Harden with 32 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists once again led the Rockets, while small forward Robert Covington had 18 points and Westbrook reached 17 points in his second game back from a right quad strain.
The Rockets had their most dominant playoff victory in Game 5, winning 114-80 after holding Oklahoma City to 32% shooting.
But the Thunder reacted in the sixth game, just like they did when they were down 0-2 at the start of the series.
Most of the first half was played with a small margin between the two teams. The Thunder didn't improve much on offense, shooting 42% from the field and only 3 of 15 from three-point range, but their defense was better, which was the key to their victory.