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Jimmy Butler is disappointed but not surprised that he and the Miami Heat are one game away from being swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in their first-round playoff series.
“I’m not surprised,” he told reporters after the Heat dropped Game 3 on Thursday. “It’s basketball. It’s part of it. Keep our heads up, keep working, try to get this one on Saturday.”
The Bucks took Game 3 in another blowout, 113-84, on Thursday. After the Heat were two points away from an overtime victory in Game 1 on Saturday, they lost 132-98 in Game 2 on Monday.
Butler led the Heat with 19 points Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to keep Miami close. They scored just 14 points in the first quarter and trailed 49-36 at the break. They had the same issues on Monday when they were down 46-20 after 12 minutes and 78-51 at the half.
The Heat were out-rebounded 55-42 on Thursday and turned the ball over 16 times, which resulted in 16 points for the Bucks, who led by as many as 32.
Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
Erik Spoelstra on Bucks defense: “They’ve taken away a lot of those easy relief points that we’re accustomed to getting.” Spoelstra added that “I feel that I have to do a better job too of freeing guys up, getting guys more comfortable and get them more in their strength zones.”
While it’s not looking good for the Heat, Butler remains committed to the rest of the series, even though just three teams have ever forced a Game 7 from a 3-0 deficit. Of them, no team has won the deciding game.
“We’re not too worried what history says and all that stuff, but we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Butler told reporters.
The Bucks will have a chance to clinch the series Saturday. Game 4 tips at 1:30 p.m. ET and will air on TNT.
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