The Miami Heat had circled this game on their calendar for quite some time. 

And Thursday it showed. 

The Heat opened the season with a 137-95 victory against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Last year the Bucks swept the Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

The Heat started the game with a 22-3 run and never looked back. It was quite the debut for a team playing for the first time with Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker in the starting lineup. 

“You definitely can’t predict games,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s competition, so you never know what’s going to happen. I think the biggest thing is our group is excited about this season.”

The Bucks were playing without Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, but the Heat were still impressive. Tyler Herro led the way with 27 points while Jimmy Butler added 21 points. Center Bam Adebayo finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. 

“I mean, 137’s a lot (of points),” Herro said. “Hopefully, we can see that a lot this season.”

It was the most points for the Heat in an opener and also the biggest margin of victory. 

“We’ll get some of the guys back and every team is going to deal with this at different points, most likely,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s a long journey and we’re just getting started … We got our butts kicked,” Budenholzer said. “That happens in the NBA.”