Heat respond with a 121-99 victory over Bucks in Game 3, take 2-1 series lead

Jimmy Butler, who got injured in the third quarter, led Miami with 30 points in 28 minutes.

Knotted up at one game apiece, the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks met Saturday for Game 3 in the first round of the 2022-23 playoffs inside Kaseya Center, the second consecutive game without Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fortunately enough for Miami, after its disastrous Game 2, it persevered — responding with a 121-99 victory.

Miami was led by Jimmy Butler, who injured his glute in the third quarter. He still finished with 30 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 28 minutes, shooting 12-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-4 from 3-point range.

Duncan Robinson — who turned 29-years-old Saturday — knocked down five 3-pointers en route to 20 points in 24 minutes. Kyle Lowry provided 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting; Caleb Martin tallied 12 points and 11 boards on 4-of-8 shooting; Bam Adebayo also had a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double with a pair of steals while Max Strus contributed 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 23 minutes.

Khris Middleton tallied a team-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting for Milwaukee, adding five rebounds, six assists and two steals. Jrue Holiday posted 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting, while Grayson Allen finished with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

The Heat shot 53.6 percent and 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) from deep; Milwaukee shot 44.7 percent and 15-of-39 (38.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

The attention will now go to the injury statuses of Butler, Oladipo — who suffered a left knee injury in the final five minutes **sad face** and Antetokounmpo heading into Game 4.

Not many could say they predicted the 8-seeded Heat to be up 2-1 against the top-seeded Bucks, but the job is nowhere near close to being finished for either side yet. Game 4 will be Monday at 7:30 ET on TNT.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.