The Heat will face off against the Bucks once again in the Fiserv Forum. Milwaukee was able to come out of Saturday afternoon’s game with the victory from Khris Middleton’s big shot. Miami is not going to let down all series and will need a better performance for game 2. Find out my thoughts on the Bucks vs. Heat prediction right here.

The 3 vs. 6 seeds are meeting again after Miami swept Milwaukee in the bubble last year. The Bucks seem to have more confidence for the playoffs this year once they added Jrue Holiday. The Heat have been playing steady basketball all year, and by the end of the regular season, they were considered candidates to win the East.

The first game of the series was an amazing start to the series. It went into overtime once Jimmy Butler tied the game with a layup as the clock expired in regulation. Overtime was when Khris Middleton turned it on and eventually hit the game-winning fadeaway mid-range. Game 2 should be full of energy as the Heat look to get back on track.

Milwaukee Must Find Ways For Giannis To Get Going

The big headline in this game was that both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler had very subpar shooting nights. Giannis just shot 10-27 from the field and 6-13 from the free-throw line. Free throws have been a major issue for Giannis his entire career, and if Milwaukee wants to get ahead 2-0, Giannis must have a better game.

Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday each stepped up as Giannis struggled. Middleton recorded 27 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds and led to his game-winning mid-range in overtime. Holiday had 20 points and 11 rebounds while playing great defense on the Miami guards. Brook Lopez also added in 18 points and was consistent throughout.

The Bucks stole this game from Miami because of their will and grit. They were able to make things happen, even if their star player couldn’t make anything. The Bucks will need to be ready, as Miami is coming for revenge in game 2.

The Heat Fought, But Couldn’t Consistently Hit Shots

The Miami Heat played a tough game, and it was difficult to end the game on a fadeaway game-winner. But they do have some good things that came out of the L. First of all, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler each shot the ball horrendously, and they still only lost by 2 points. Second, Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic stayed hot offensively, which kept them in the game.

Butler had a game to forget, shooting 4-22 from the floor. He filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, but his poor shooting didn’t help Miami’s offense. Bam Adebayo also only made 4 field goals on 15 shots. These guys had extremely rare bad games, and they will watch the film to try and figure out why they played so poorly.

Duncan Robinson started off the playoffs with 3 straight three-pointers and a quick nine points. He ended up with 24 on 7-13 from beyond the arc. Goran Dragic was also spectacular, and he had 25 points on 10-17 from the field. These two games will need to stay hot in order for the Heat to have a shot.

Pick and Prediction

Milwaukee is 4.5 point favorites which is very high considering the game was only decided by 2 points in game 1. I will go with the Heat in this game because I believe Butler and Adebayo will turn it around and have a better shooting night. I will take Miami +4.5

Giannis will lead the way for the Bucks with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Jimmy Butler will drop 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists in a dominating performance for the Heat. Bam Adebayo and Jrue Holiday will be the second leading scorers for their respective teams.

You can watch this game on ESPN at 7:30 Eastern time.

Pick: Miami +4.5