What an utterly incredible performance by Miami. The 8th seeded Miami Heat have overcome all the odds and BEATEN the 1st seeded Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 as Jimmy Butler had another all-time great performance to help the Heat win Game 5 128-126.
That’s how you pull off one of the most incredible upsets in NBA history.
Despite being down by 16 points to start off the 4th Quarter, the Miami Heat were able to rally and complete the single-most impressive upset in the last ten years as they defeated the 1st seeded and best regular season team in the Milwaukee Bucks 128-126 in Game 5 to win the series 4-1. And, as I’ve now said a few times, it really was one of the best series performances I’ve ever seen from an NBA team.
Coming into this series, the Heat really had no business being winning a single game, let alone the series, as they not only possessed one of the worst offenses in the NBA during the regular season, but they also were nearly eliminated by a 10th seed before the playoffs officially began.
I know it may seem like a lifetime ago now that the Heat are heading for the Second Round, but they started the 2023 postseason with a whimpering 116-105 loss the Atlanta Hawks that dropped them into the second, winner-take-all Play-In Game versus the 10th seeded Chicago Bulls to earn the 8th seed.
And, after a dogged 35-24 4th quarter comeback, the Heat were able to stave off the humiliating loss and win the right to face the Bucks.
Still, even though they were able to beat the Bulls, nobody seriously thought that they’d be able to contend with the 2021 NBA Champion and best team in the NBA. Sure, Jimmy Butler was destined to go off as he did, but how was the rest of the roster going to defend the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brooks Lopez, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton while also being able to get on the scoresheet themselves?
Well, at the end of the day, these Heat players didn’t really have to do anything more than what their roles required (aka: make their shots, passes, rebounds, etc.) as Jimmy Butler showed why he is called “Playoff Jimmy” and the Milwaukee Bucks showed why this squad needs a serious retool. And Game 5 proved it.
Like I said, in a must-win situation on home court, the Milwaukee Bucks got off to a great start as they outscored the Heat in both the 2nd and 3rd quarters (36-27 in 2nd quarter; 33-23 in 3rd quarter) to take a commanding 102-86 lead into the final quarter.
Moreover, what was even more impressive was how Jrue Holiday (16 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL), who was the main defender on Jimmy Butler throughout the night, was boxing out Butler and forcing the rest of the Heat roster to make the crucial shots in the opening 3/4 of the game. Butler entered the 4th with only around 20 points, while the rest of the Heat offense was mostly firing blanks as they missed a lot of open looks.
And, with Giannis (38 PTS, 20 REB, 3 AST), Khris Middleton (33 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST), and Brook Lopez (18 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK) consistently making layups and 3-pointers, I thought the Bucks were going to continue blowing out the Heat in the 4th and force a Game 6 down in Miami. And then the 4th quarter started.
For whatever reason, the Bucks offense seemed to forget that they had one of the most explosive, dynamic offense in the league and that they had already posted 102 points through three quarters as they started missing easy shots, wasting important possessions as if it was going out of style. Giannis really fell out of his rhythm and became a shell of his offensive self as he began missing free throw after free throw, which then bled into his rim game.
By the end of the game, Giannis only shot 14/27 (51%) from the field (he averaged 55% during the regular season), he was 0/2 (0%) from the 3-point line (he averaged 27.5% during the regular season), and he went an astonishingly bad 10/23 (43.5%) from the free throw line (he averaged 64.5% during the regular season).
I don’t think I’ve seen a superstar have such a terrible performance from the free throw line since Shaq was playing for the Heat back in the early 2000’s, which just says it all about how bad Giannis was at the line.
Now, there was a bunch of other factors into the Bucks eventually collapse, such as only shooting 46.2% from the field, only shooting 62.5% from the free throw line and passing up 17 additional points, and the inability to make the defensive stops on Butler, but one of the biggest reasons has to be Giannis’ severe shooting struggles down the stretch.
I think the momentum and belief of the team deflated as they watched their star player continually miss shots and get to the point where he no longer wanted the ball out of the “fear” (for the lack of a better word) of being sent to the free throw line. And, as Miami did all series long, they took advantage of the Bucks weaknesses and ruthlessly capitalized.
Led by Butler, Bam Adebayo (20 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK), Kevin Love (15 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK), and Gabe Vincent (22 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST), the Miami Heat went on an 11-1 run at the beginning of the quarter to cut the lead down to six points with just 2 and a half minutes left.
Still, the Bucks managed to keep a 4-point lead as the clock ticked down to under thirty seconds when Gabe Vincent hit a crucial, stop-and-shoot 3-pointer to bring the lead to within 1, and then Jimmy Butler hit an insane, in-mid-air FG to tie the game (the Bucks made a FT before) and bring it to overtime.
Then, in overtime, Playoff Jimmy took over as he capped off another incredible performance with 42 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, and took primary charge of defending Giannis after Kevin Love, Bam, and Kyle Lowry (10 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST) all fouled out. As he was in Game 4, Jimmy Butler was simply unstoppable and just made his name legendary in Miami Heat folklore, even if he finishes his career without a ring.
And that’s why the Miami Heat are moving on and facing the New York Knicks in the Second Round, while the Bucks are staying home in Milwaukee and must undergo a serious self-introspection about the championship-capabilities of this roster.
Khris Middleton is 31, Jrue Holiday is 32, Brook Lopez is 35, Jae Crowder is 32, Joe Ingles is 35, Pat Connaughton is 30, Wesley Matthews is 36, Grayson Allen is 27, Bobby Portis is 28, and Giannis is also 28. Clearly, this is not a young roster, and has now suffered two upset losses (2022 loss vs. Celtics in Second Round, 2023 loss vs. Heat in First Round) in a row after winning the championship in 2021.
I’m not saying this roster needs to be completely rehauled, but some pieces have to get moved out/upgraded or else this early postseason failure will dominate the remaining time left they have as NBA title contenders.
Congratulations, Miami!
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