Rapid Recap Game 1 vs. Miami: Heat 130, Bucks 117

Heat steal Game 1 as Giannis gets injured

• By
  
  Gabe Stoltz
  
• on April 16, 2023 7:22 pm

As Giannis would leave the game due to injury, the Bucks were unable to get the job done in Game 1, falling 130-117.

NBA.com Box Score

The Bucks did not get the start they wanted to begin this one. Poor shooting (2-of-9 from deep), seven turnovers, and foul trouble from Giannis and Jrue Holiday resulted in the Heat snatching a 33-24 lead going into the second, making life tough for Milwaukee.

The second quarter was as close to disastrous for the Bucks as it could be. First, Giannis was ruled out for the remainder of the contest with a lower back contusion. Miami also couldn’t miss from deep, stroking home three after three. At the break, they ended up owning a decisive 68-55 lead.

The Bucks would get things close at points throughout the third, but they never fully closed in. Instead, the Heat always provided an answer. A Duncan Robinson 3-pointer near the end of the quarter padded Miami’s lead to 14 points, their biggest lead of the night at 102-88.

It seemed as if the Bucks had one final shot to make a comeback in the fourth, but it never came. The Heat ended up stealing a 130-117 victory.

Stat That Stood Out

I’m going with the 3-point shooting. As the game progressed, it became more and more apparent that this was going to be a classic Bucks outing where they couldn’t hit anything from deep. On the other hand, Miami was hitting their opportunities, which proved to be extremely pivotal. It seemed as if they’d taper off, but that moment never came. When it was all said and done, the Heat shot 60% from beyond the perimeter while the Bucks were an ice-cold 24.4% from deep. They’ll need to rebound Wednesday night if they want to even up this series.

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