Based on Miami’s previous run in the playoffs last season, fans from all across the country had high hopes for this team going into the 2020-2021 season. From sweeping the Indiana Pacers, to nearly sweeping the #1 seed Milwaukee Bucks, to then becoming the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals Champions versus the Boston Celtics, to going to the NBA Finals and coming up short six games versus the eventual champion Los Angles Lakers, no one expected the Heat to go as far as they did.
From Tyler Herro dropping a career-high 37 points in game three in the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Boston Celtics, to Bam Adebayo’s game-saving block against Jayson Tatum to win in overtime in game one of the ECF, to Jimmy Butler’s 40-point triple-double in game three versus the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, teams throughout the league noticed Miami’s performance and had to make sure they could do everything to try and stop them.
Earlier this season, the Heat and Bucks faced off three times, where Miami only came out victorious once (1-3). In the first game, to say it was a ‘blow-out’ would be an understatement; Miami lost 144-97, a forty-seven point game, to the Bucks in just the third game of the 2020-21 season. However, Miami was short of their star player, Jimmy Butler; ironically enough, Milwaukee’s star player Giannis Antetokounmpo was present all three games while Butler missed the 3 contests.
Luckily, in a back-to-back series with the Bucks, the Heat were able to get their revenge from the night before and come out victorious with a 119-108 victory, with Goran Dragić being the lead scorer having 26 points. While their most recent loss was not necessarily a “go big or go home” game, a loss is still a loss. In that case, Miami lost 122-108 in their second-to-last game of the season versus Milwaukee.
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The Hardwood Nation 