Winderman’s view: Bucks 113, Heat 84
Heat #Heat
Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 113-84 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at AmericanAirlines Arena:
— The only goal now is an all-expense paid trip back to Milwaukee.
— Where the first two games of this series delivered beer-and-brat levels of indigestion.
— Followed by the heartburn of Thursday night’s loss.
— So down 0-3 it is.
— With only Saturday’s home game standing in the way of a 4-0 Bucks sweep a season after the Heat showed Milwaukee a 4-1 playoff exit.
— In a season when it seemed as if Erik Spoelstra’s team was running on fumes, the Heat now have appeared out of gas in two in a row.
— Even after two days off before this one.
— No wonder the Bucks did not choose to duck the Heat in the first round.
— There was no need.
— Jimmy Butler came to play.
— The others?
— Effort at times, but not enough sustained.
— It reached a point where the crowd was on its feet early in third quarter after a 3-pointer.
— By Nemanja Bjelica.
— That got the Heat back within 20.
— Which about sums it all up.
— There was a Heat lineup twist this time, with Goran Dragic in and Kendrick Nunn out of the first five.
— The move came with Nunn to enter free agency this offseason. The Heat hold a team option on Dragic for next season.
— Butler, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and Trevor Ariza rounded out the opening group.
— Yes, Adebayo got some numbers.
— But mostly long after it had been decided.
— With the appearance, Dragic tied Tim Hardaway for 14th on the Heat’s all-time playoff list.
— With his appearance, Adebayo tied Keith Askins for 25th on the Heat’s all-time playoff list, with his start tying Voshon Lenard for 17th place on that Heat all-time playoff list.
— With the start, Ariza passed Buck Williams for 74th on the NBA all-time playoff starts list.
— With the start, Butler passed Derek Harper and Richard Jefferson for 97th on the NBA all-time playoff list.
— The requisite early Duncan Robinson foul this time came 1:50 in, part of a Khris Middleton four-point play.
— No, it was not his night.
— Tyler Herro then entered for Dragic, with Herro playing ahead of Nunn.
— Dewayne Dedmon also entered in that initial Heat substitution, for Adebayo, who was 1 of 4 at that stage.
— Andre Iguodala followed, as the Heat’s third reserve.
— With the appearance, Iguodala tied Dennis Rodman and Kevin McHale for 25th on the NBA all-time playoff list.
— With Nunn the fourth reserve in the primary nine-man rotation.
— Later, even amid playoff desperation, the Heat played Dedmon and Bjelica as their power rotation late in the third period.
— Back in the building for the Heat was guard Victor Oladipo, who recently underwent quadriceps surgery in New York.
— Oladipo, who is an impending free agent, was inactive.
— He was on crutches, watching from the end of the bench.
— Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said the Bucks went in taking nothing for granted against the Heat.
— “We obviously know what this team is capable of, and its ingrained in their DNA,” he said. “They’re going to come out and play hard if they’re up 40 or down 40, whatever it is. They’re still going to come play hard.”
— And they did.
— Just couldn’t hit a shot.
— But the Heat’s Robinson also acknowledged it has been an uneven ride.
— “We’ve had some peaks and valley for sure this year,” he said.
— Herro, going in, said it was time for the Heat to get back to their true shot menu.
— “We can generate better looks,” he said, “just get back to playing our game, with the cutting and just making extra passes, extra dribbles, getting in there and just making the right play to get everybody else on the team going. I think we can generate better looks.”
— The looks were there.
— Not the conversions.
— The game marked the first time since March 2020 that the Heat had almost a full attendance allowance.
— “It’s been a while since we’ve had this many people in the arena,” Nunn said.
— Herro said he is not surprised that some veterans have said that having fans back at such levels has required an adjustment.
— “I’m sure that everybody’s felt that a little bit,” he said. “Obviously, it’s amazing having the fans back in the arenas, especially for these playoffs.”
— Herro added, “That’s what us players work for. These are the moments we dream upon.”
— Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, going in, on having Giannis Antetokounmpo, “Giannis has grown as defender. Giannis has guarded different types of players throughout the course of the regular season. I think he, hopefully, developed a little bit of the discipline it takes to guard the great players that are creative and crafty, particularly getting to the free throw line and drawing fouls.”
— Of the challenge of defending Butler, Budenholzer said, “The discipline to guard him and defend him without fouling is a great challenge. The good thing for Giannis is that we throw other people at him too.”
— Butler’s first steal tied J.R. Smith and Shawn Marion for 70th on the NBA all-time playoff list.
— Butler’s first 3-point conversion moved him past Kirk Hinrich and into 96th on the NBA’s all-time playoff list.
— Adebayo’s first block tied Jermaine O’Neal for 13th on the Heat’s all-time playoff list.
— Butler’s third free throw moved him past Amar’e Stoudemire for 69th on the NBA all-time playoff list.
— With his first block, Iguodala moved ahead of Zydrunas Ilgauskas for 91st on the NBA all-time playoff list.
— With his first assist, Herro tied Udonis Haslem for 13th on the Heat’s all-time playoff list.
— The Bucks lost starting guard Donte DiVincenzo to a left-foot contusion in the second quarter.
— NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum was among those in the crowd.
— Flo Rida, too.
— The Heat during a first-quarter timeout honored Chris Bosh for his impending Hall of Fame induction.