The Miami Heat again proved that they are the best team in today's NBA in defending Giannis Antetokounmpo as they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-104 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Monday.

Having played 36 minutes under the siege of Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala, Antetokounmpo was 6-12 in field goals, 2-5 in 3-pointers and 4-12 in free throws to drop 18 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and six turnovers. Instead of rattling the rim repeatedly like he did in the first-round series against the Orlando Magic, the Greek Freak only made three shots in the paint to get six points. Miami also stripped him of his favorite fast break via which Antetokounmpo only had six points. By the way, the entire Bucks team underperformed both under the rim (season-low 24 points) and on early offense (15 points).

Of course, the league's No. 1 team did not surrender that easily. Like we said in the preview, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton caused quite some trouble for Miami, especially in the first quarter. The two sank five triples during that period, helping Milwaukee lead 40-29 in Q1.

Milwaukee's momentum was interrupted when Lopez was called two quick fouls at the beginning of the second quarter. The team could still bury shots from downtown in the rest of the game but when 3-pointers became their only weapon, Milwaukee fell into trouble offensively.

Miami's victory did not come from smart defense alone. As Eric Bledsoe sat out this game, Miami's Goran Dragic gave full play to his offensive talents. His penetration, passing and shooting put Milwaukee in a very unfavorable situation. Meanwhile, Adebayo may not be able to challenge Lopez under the paint, he kept creating opportunities via high post position for his teammates in off-ball plays. The 23-year-old delivered six assists in game one.

And then there was Jimmy Butler. The five-time All-Star swingman had been struggling with his shooting since he joined Miami last summer. That explained why he almost tried nothing from the perimeter in the first three quarters but only focused on charging against the paint which put 25 points on his stats sheet.

However, Butler's game became totally different in the fourth quarter. He continued to make jumpers both outside and below the arc while still being able to threaten Milwaukee's rim via penetration. By contrast, Antetokounmpo was at a complete loss against Miami's defense. He could not speed up; he could not overpower his defender quickly via posting up; meanwhile, Miami could trap him anywhere.

In the end, Butler led Miami to win Game 1 with a career-high 40 points in the playoffs. "He (Butler) just fits everything about us, our fabric and who we are. These are extreme circumstances, they're not easy for anybody. And you need a level of discipline, of structure, and camaraderie. Jimmy, despite what, probably, the narrative is out there, he's a very likable guy in the locker room, and I think that helps in a setting like this," said Erik Spoelstra.

Chris Paul dominates Game 6 in Q4 for OKC

Oklahoma City edged out the Houston Rockets 104-100, extending the series to Game 7. Turnovers became the nightmare for Houston as they committed 22 of it. OKC did not have a good solution to the charge of James Harden and Russell Westbrook on defense, but the two and their teammates were so sloppy with the ball continued that it continued to interrupt Houston's momentum. They had multiple chances of extending their lead into the double-digits in the game but Houston failed to grasp any of it.

Furthermore, Houston failed to rain threes like they did in the previous games. The team buried 15 shots from downtown at a 3-point rate of 34.1 percent. Eric Gordon, Danuel House, Jeff Green and Austin Rivers together only made four triples.

By contrast, OKC though also committed 19 turnovers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder invested most of their efforts in driving against the rim from the beginning while Steven Adams worked hard on the offensive glass. When Houston chose to close in defensively, OKC were able to make some 3-pointers in response. They buried a total of 12 at a 3-point rate of 36 percent, which was not incredible but acceptable.

By the way, Luguentz Dort who backfired offensively in Game 5 played a better role for OKC this time. He was called for three fouls in the first quarter and sat on the bench for the rest of the first half. When he returned, Dort was much more determined on offense. He would either charge against the rim or take open shots without hesitation. Fortunately for OKC, he scored a surprisingly 10 points in the third quarter.

OKC came up with a new solution to Houston's closing-in defense in Q3: Danilo Gallinari. The Italian forward is 2.08 meters tall which allowed him to shoot over most defenders' heads. Besides he remained hot in Q3 to go 3-4 from downtown to get 12 points. Thanks to the above efforts, OKC managed to enter Q4 with a two-point lead (75-77).

The rest of the time belonged to Chris Paul. At the age of 35, Paul could not take over from the beginning like he did 10 years ago – he only scored 13 points in the first three quarters. Nonetheless, you could still count on him in clutch time. Paul went 5-7 in Q4 to get 15 points. The five shots he made were:

A step-back jumper in front of Green; a step-left jumper facing Green; a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer assisted by Darius Bazley; a pull-up 3-pointer in front of Robert Covington; and a step-back triple facing Covington.

Green is Houston's tallest player on the court; Covington is the team's best help defender. By the way, when Paul eyed his fifth shot, the game was 98-98. Paul's performance was not over yet. In the next possession, Harden broke into OKC's defense and tried to find his teammate in the corner, but his pass was cut down by Paul – he had been watching Harden do this for too long. After another two scoreless possessions, Westbrook had the ball and tried to slash but Paul poked his ball away.

Then there were the last 15 seconds. The game was 100-100 and Paul had the ball, facing Covington again. Paul made two crossovers; Covington caught the first but fell for the second before he committed a foul. Paul made the two free throws, 102-100, the victory was in OKC's hands.

"We gave ourselves a chance. Game 7, anything can happen," said Paul after the game.