Miami too hot for Milwaukee

Los Sept. 1: Jimmy Butler seized control down the stretch, scoring a career-playoff high 40 points as the Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening game of their second round NBA playoff series on Monday.

Butler was a one-man wrecking crew, scoring 13 of Miami’s final 16 points in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida. He scored 27 of his 40 points in the second half.

In the Western Conference, Chris Paul scored 28 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder forced a decisive seventh game in their first round series with a 104-100 win over the mistake-prone Houston Rockets.

Butler is just the third player in Heat history with a 40-point game in the playoffs, joining LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Game two of the best-ofseven Eastern Conference series is Wednesday in Orlando.

Goran Dragic added 27 points as he helped the Heat clamp down defen

● With a careerhigh score of 40 points, Jimmy Butler helped Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks

115-404 in the opening game of their second round of NBA playoff series.

sively which set the stage for Butler’s offensive heroics.

PAUL SEALS THE DEAL FOR THUNDER

In the West, Paul tallied 15 points in the fourth quarter and nailed a pair of clutch three-pointers that pulled the Thunder even at 98-98 with just under three minutes left in game six of their first round series. His two free throws with 12 seconds helped seal the victory for Oklahoma City.

Paul’s 15 points in the fourth were more than Houston’s James Harden and Russell Westbrook had combined. —