This was just a better team taking care of business.
You knew the Milwaukee Bucks would come out with a lot of fire in front of the home crowd and they did, leading by as many as 10 in the first half. But for the Heat this was a professional outing, like a game in the dog days of February. They kept their composure, they upped their defensive pressure, they got LeBron James (22 points) and Ray Allen (23) to step up. Miami just walked Milwaukee down.
The result was a 104-91 Miami win that has the Bucks up 3-0 in the first round series. The only question is can the Bucks win a game or does this end in four on Sunday? Smart money bets on Sunday.
This was the best effort and game from the Bucks yet, they are just overmatched.
In front of the home fans Milwaukee came out and played with passion. In the first quarter the Bucks shot 57.1 percent overall and hit 5-of-10 from three (J.J. Redick was 2-of-2 from three, Ersan Ilyasova 3-of-4 for 7 points.) and the result was them up nine at the end of the quarter. T
The Bucks did a good job upping the tempo and getting good looks early in the clock following bad Heat possessions — LeBron was 4-of-6 for 11 points in the quarter, the rest of Heat shot 5-of-17 (29.4 percent).
Finally in this game Bucks coach Jim Boylan went to his strongest lineups, when Redick is on the floor with either Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings — there is much better floor spacing with a slasher and a shooter and the defense has to respect that. It led to balance with six Bucks in double figures.
Not that it really mattered. The Bucks are overmatched.
Miami’s defense picked up and the quality of shots for the Bucks went down as the game wore on. Milwaukee shot 40 percent in the second (1-of-6 from three), then 28.6 percent in the third. Everything was contested, passing lanes seemed shut off.
Meanwhile the Heat shot 63.2 percent in the third, they moved the ball around and got the shots they wanted. It wasn’t just LeBron taking over (he had 9 in the quarter), it was making passes so Udonis Haslem was getting looks and he went 3-of-3 for 8 points in the third.
In the fourth, the Heat continued to pull away as the Bucks continued to rely on difficult shots. The Bucks got a nice 16-points out of Ersan Ilyasova on the night, but in the end it didn’t matter.
The other thing of note from this game was Allen becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in playoff three pointers made (he has 322 now). Well, it might be of note that Dwyane Wade’s knee is clearly bothering him and he shot 1-of-12 on the night. That might worry the Heat more if it didn’t look like they were about to get a lot of rest between series.
If the Heat give a professional effort again on Sunday afternoon like they did Thursday that rest will begin Sunday night. The Bucks will try but they can’t prevent it, they are in over their heads.
