When Miami Heat somehow sneaked into this year’s playoffs as the No. 8 seed, many believed that the highlight of their postseason run would be if they managed to avoid getting swept by the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Instead, the Heat delivered a first-class sensation, eliminating the Bucks in five games and clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Heat won Game 5 at Milwaukee in a truly remarkable fashion. They returned in the fourth after being 16 points behind, tied the game with a near-buzzer beater to tie the game, and then took care of the business in overtime.
Facing elimination, the Bucks did as well as they could to try and keep themselves alive. They entered the fourth quarter with a 16-point lead and looked comfortable to ride it out to a win. However, the Heat never had any intentions of giving up and slowly worked their way back.
The Bucks seemed like they had weathered the storm, being up two points with 2.5 seconds left in the game. However, the Heat used their last timeout to set a Gabe Vincent inbound pass to Jimmy Butler, who scored a quick basket despite falling on the ground and tied the game at 118-118.
Both teams had their chances to run away with the win in overtime, but it was Miami who kept their calm and will now return to the conference semis for the second consecutive season.
“We just play hard,” said Butler, who scored 42 points. “We know what we’re capable of. We don’t listen to the outside noise, and we will not listen to any outside noise.”
