On Monday, Jimmy Butler led the Miami Heat to a 115-104 upset over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals.
Joel Embiid, one of Butler’s former teammates, seemed impressed and expressed his appreciation on social media.
After amassing the best record in the regular season for the second year in a row, the Bucks entered the 2020 NBA Playoffs as one of the favorites to win the championship.
They took a 40-29 lead at the end of the first quarter of Game 1 and looked on their way to a relatively easy win. But the Heat clamped down on Milwaukee’s fast-break opportunities and made it a half-court game the rest of the way.
Once the Bucks’ offense became impotent, Butler started to do his thing. He scored 40 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field and turned the contest from a tight fight into a double-digit Miami victory.
On the other side, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is favored to win his second straight MVP award, put up just 18 points and missed eight of his 12 free-throw attempts.