Tune-In Tidbits: TNT Monday, May 24, 2021
Giannis Antetokounmpo was the primary defender on Jimmy Butler and held him to five points on 2-6 shooting.
(6) Heat at (3) Bucks
7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Bucks lead series 1-0
• Khris Middleton drained the game-winning pull-up jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime for the Bucks. During the regular season, Middleton led the Bucks with 14 field goal attempts in the final minute of a one possession game (score within three points), with Jrue Holiday second (6 FGA) and Giannis Antetokounmpo third (5 FGA). Middleton hit the game-winner from just outside the right elbow; looking at his shot chart for the season, that area had been one of his worst spots on the floor (18-49, 36.7%).
• Giannis Antetokounmpo finished Game 1 with 26 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three steals in 45 minutes. Since the 1983-84 season, only four other players have posted those marks or better in a playoff game: LeBron James (twice), Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Charles Barkley (three times). Giannis was also the primary defender on Jimmy Butler for a team-high 8:09 (51.9% of Butler’s offensive matchup time) and held Butler to five points on 2-6 shooting from the field and 1-2 from 3-point range. Butler finished the game with 17 points on 4-22 shooting. Butler has attempted at least 20 shots 84 times in his career; this was his lowest field goal percentage (18.2%) in those games.
• The scoring profiles (percentage of points scored between 2-point shots, 3-point shots and free throws) of the Bucks and Heat during the regular season were similar, with no difference greater than 1.9 percentage points. Game 1 was a completely different story as the Heat had an 45-point advantage on 3-point shots, the Bucks had a 42-point advantage on 2-point shots and the Bucks outscored the Heat 20-15 at the free throw line.
Regular Season
| Shot Type | Heat | Bucks | Diff |
| %PTS 2P | 48.6 (22) | 50.5 (17) | Bucks +1.9 |
| %PTS 3P | 35.9 (11) | 36.0 (10) | Bucks +0.1 |
| %PTS FT | 15.4 (12) | 13.5 (29) | Heat +1.9 |
Game 1
| Shot Type | Heat | Bucks | Diff |
| %PTS 2P | 29.9 | 67.9 | Bucks +38.0 |
| %PTS 3P | 56.1 | 13.8 | Heat + 42.3 |
| %PTS FT | 14 | 18.3 | Bucks +4.3 |
• Game 1 was the third time in franchise history (all coming this season) that the Heat attempted at least 50 3-pointers in a game; they are 1-2 in those games. This was the seventh time in franchise history (regular season or playoffs) that the Heat have made at least 20 3-pointers (the last three such games came against the Bucks); the Heat are 3-4 in those games, losing all three games to Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee’s five 3-pointers made (in 31 attempts) was a season low; the Bucks ranked fifth in the league in 3-pointers made per game (14.4) during the regular season. The Bucks are 6-3 this season when making fewer than 10 3-pointers in a game; the Heat are 2-10 in such games. Miami’s Duncan Robinson (7-13) made more 3-pointers by himself than the entire Bucks team in Game 1.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points and dished out a playoff career-high 13 assists in Portland’s Game 1 win.
(6) Trail Blazers at (3) Nuggets
10 p.m. ET, TNT
Blazers lead series 1-0
• The Blazers made a playoff franchise-record 19 3-pointers in their Game 1 win over the Nuggets on Saturday. Portland got a combined eight 3-pointers from the starting backcourt of Damian Lillard (5-12) and CJ McCollum (3-7), and another combined eight 3-pointers from the reserve combo of Carmelo Anthony (4-8) and Anfernee Simons (4-5).
• Nikola Jokic finished with 34 points, 16 rebounds but was held to a season-low one assist in Denver’s Game 1 loss. Jokic finished sixth in the NBA in assists during the regular season with a career-best 8.3 per game. This was the fewest assists Jokic has posted in a game since Jan. 2, 2020 and only the second game he’s had fewer than two assists since November 2017.
• Jusuf Nurkic was the primary defender on Nikola Jokic for a team-high 8:04 (67.9% of Jokic’s offensive matchup time). Nurkic held Jokic to 16 points on 6-16 (37.5%) shooting from the field and 1-5 (20%) from 3-point range, as well as the aforementioned one assist.
• The Blazers only went eight players deep in their rotation in Game 1, but got huge contributions from their three bench players: Carmelo Anthony (18), Anfernee Simons (14) and Enes Kanter (2) combined for 34 points on 12-20 (60%) shooting from the field and 8-13 (61.5%) from 3-point range. The Blazers won the battle of the benches 34-20 in Game 1.
• Damian Lillard finished with 34 points and playoff career-high 13 assists for Portland. It was one of 15 career games (regular season and playoffs) that Lillard has dished out at least 13 assists; the Blazers are 11-4 in those games. In Game 1, Lillard created 35 points with his assists and scored another 34 on his own, making him directly involved in 69 of Portland’s 123 points (56.1%) in the win.
