Takeaways from the Miami Heat’s Game 3 Victory over Bucks

After splitting the first two games, the Miami Heat entered Game 3 with homecourt advantage. For the second consecutive game, the Milwaukee Bucks sat their star player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Still, the Bucks proved formidable without him with their three-point shooting threat. Instead, it was the Heat who shot a playoff franchise high 12 three-pointers in the first half. They ended up blowing out the Bucks the rest of the way. With the win, Miami moves to 2-1 in the series. Here are my takeaways from Saturday’s win over Milwaukee.

Jimmy Sets the Tone

Playoff Jimmy Butler is a popular name these days in the NBA. Especially during his four years in Miami. He’s known for elevating his game to an even higher level in the playoffs. And that’s exactly what he’s done so far this series. Usually, we would see Butler do his damage in the paint early on. However, in Game 3, he was doing it from the outside. Butler shot two triples in the first quarter alone, scoring 17 points in the period. He had four triples by the end of the third quarter. His night ended when he fell down hard after a strong drive to the basket. Butler finished with 30 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Birthday Boy Shines

Duncan Robinson turned 29 years old on Saturday. And the birthday man looked like the Robinson of old. Robinson knocked down his first triple of the game off a dribble hand-off. With the Bucks playing drop coverage, that created tons of space for Robinson to knock the shot down. From there, Robinson got going. He even knocked down a triple on the break. Surprisingly, he took Jrue Holiday to the basket off the dribble. And that was very surprising. Overall, a solid performance from the Heat sharpshooter. They’re going to need that consistently from him the rest of the series. Robinson finished with 20 points with five triples.

Concern for Dipo

It’s been an up and down series for Victor Oladipo. He’s been on the outside of the rotation at times, mostly because of his uneven shot selection. But this series, his number has been called. With Butler sitting out after his first quarter masterclass, you immediately saw the Oladipo impact. Oladipo put full court pressure on the Bucks guards. He showcased his great on-ball defensive skills that have been very impactful at times. Unfortunately, his night ended at he injured his knee on a drive to the basket. A stretcher was provided but Oladipo was escorted to the Lockeroom with the help of the Heat coaching staff. Such a tough break for Oladipo, who’s had his share of bad injuries.

Heat take control of the Series

With a 2-1 series lead, the Heat have control of the series right now. While we still don’t know the status of Antetokounmpo, don’t be surprised if he returns on Monday. Regardless, the Heat really need to take advantage of this. With or Without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks had shown they can be resilient. We saw that in Game 2 when they looked like the hungrier teams. And Miami appeared lethargic for most of that night. Now, it’s time for Miami to take advantage by winning Game 4. Should they win Game 4, they’ll really have an opportunity to get closer to clinching the series. Game 4 going to be a fun one to watch.

Next up: Game 4 on Monday. Game tips off at 7:30pm eastern time.