Beginning the regular season with high expectations, the Miami Heat proved themselves to be a danger in the NBA’s Eastern Conference after destroying the Milwaukee Bucks, 137-95.
As soon as the game began, the Heat quickly found their rhythm and worked together to maintain a strong lead.
Forward Tyler Herro played a dominant game after coming off the bench a little into the first quarter. He made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from deep to close out the first quarter with Miami leading the Bucks, 40-17.
In his Miami debut, forward P.J. Tucker showed out against the team that he had just helped win an NBA championship. During the second quarter, Tucker rushed after a loose ball and was unable to slow down in time, causing him to leap over the Milwaukee bench into the crowd.
On the defensive side, Miami did not make things easy for the Bucks. The Heat did a fantastic job of defending Milwaukee’s star player Giannis Antetokounmpo as he finished the game with only 15 points.
“We’ve been preparing for this the whole summer. We played hard, we played together, and we had fun,” forward Bam Adebayo said.
As the fourth quarter neared an end and Miami’s lead increased even more, the FTX arena erupted with Miami Heat fans yelling, “We want Haslem!” The whole Miami Heat team, even head coach Erik Spoelstra, joined in on the banter.
The Miami Heat veteran, now playing in his 19th season, laughed it off and respectfully ignored the cheers from the crowd. The polite decline may have been the only downfall in Miami.
“That was just great, hearing everybody chanting his name. It was just all love,” Spoelstra said.
In just 24 minutes, Herro scored 27 points for the team. His performance matched a Heat record for any reserve playing 25 minutes or less.
Additionally, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both scored over 20 points.
Miami set records for opening night scoring and opening night margin of victory against the Bucks. The Heat were 1 point off from the biggest margin of victory in any game, coming off shy of a 43-point win over the Clippers in 1994.
“I mean, 137’s a lot,” Herro said. “Hopefully, we can see that a lot this season.”
After a crazy start to their regular season, the Heat are looking to come back with another win under their belt against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis on Saturday.