Butler’s 35 points power Heat past Bucks in Game 1; Antetokounmpo exits with injury | CBC Sports

Jimmy Butler scored 35 points and the visiting Miami Heat capitalized on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s early exit to beat the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 130-117 on Sunday in an Eastern Conference playoff opener featuring two notable injuries.

The top-seeded Bucks lost Antetokounmpo to a lower back bruise early in the second quarter. Miami’s Tyler Herro broke his right hand later in the period.

No. 8 seed Miami had built a 68-55 halftime advantage before Herro’s departure and stayed ahead by shooting 59.5% (50 of 84) from the floor. The Heat were 15 of 25 and the Bucks 11 of 45 from 3-point range.

Although he returned to the game with 9:56 remaining in the second quarter, Antetokounmpo went to the locker room again with 8:33 left in the half and was ruled out for the rest of the game shortly afterward.

Herro appeared to hurt his hand while diving for a loose ball late in the first half. He was in obvious pain while standing in front of Miami bench during the final minute of the second period, and the Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.

Herro had scored 12 points before his injury. Antetokounmpo ended up with six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes.

Bam Adebayo had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Heat. Butler had 11 assists. Love had 18 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Miami seized control of the game before Antetokounmpo’s injury as the Bucks appeared disjointed after a long layoff. None of the Bucks’ starters had played since at least April 5, when they won at Chicago to clinch the NBA’s best regular-season record and top playoff seed.

The Heat led by as many as 14 in the first half. Antetokounmpo left the game for good during a 9-0 Bucks run that cut Miami’s lead to 43-42, but the Heat answered with a 12-2 spurt and remained in front the rest of the way.

Hachimura leads Lakers past Grizzlies

Rui Hachimura had a career-best playoff scoring performance with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, and LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 31 points, while Desmond Bane scored 22. Ja Morant had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injured right hand.

Los Angeles wrested home-court advantage from the Grizzlies, who had the NBA’s best home record at 35-6. Game 2 is Wednesday at FedExForum.

It was Hachimura from Japan who provided Los Angeles some breathing room in the third quarter, connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts. Hachimura’s only previous playoff experience was in 2021 with Washington, which lost a first-round series to Philadelphia. The Lakers acquired him from the Wizards in a mid-season trade.

Memphis finished with 51 wins, its second straight 50-victory season, to earn the No. 2 seed.

The Lakers led by as much as 10 in the first half as Memphis faced some early ballhandling woes. Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense kept Morant out of the paint for a while. But Memphis outscored the Lakers 38-27 in the second quarter to carry a 65-59 lead into the break.