Jimmy Butler will haunt the nightmares of the Milwaukee Bucks for a long time.

So will the memories of the Bucks' late-game execution in this short stay in the playoffs.

It was a surreal scene late in the evening on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum after the Bucks' 128-126 overtime loss to the Miami Heat that ended the season of the No. 1 overall seeding in the NBA playoffs.

BOX SCORE: Heat 128, Bucks 126 (OT)

While Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" - with its familiar chorus of "everything's gonna be alright" - blared ironically over the arena's sound system, there were stunned fans who couldn't quite process the 4-1 series loss to the eighth-seeded Heat, the sixth time in NBA history that has happened in the first round.

It was almost too much to wrap their brains around:

∎ A 16-point collapse in the fourth quarter, the second straight late double-digit meltdown by Milwaukee.

∎ Another masterpiece by Butler, who scored 42 points and sent the game into overtime by dropping in a layup with .5 seconds remaining and a perfectly crafted lob play.

∎ The timeouts that weren't called by Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer at the end of regulation and overtime.

∎And a final, painful memory in a series full of them, with the Bucks' Grayson Allen not even getting off a shot at the buzzer in overtime.

A downcast Wes Matthews could only shake his head in the Bucks' locker room at those last seconds of the season.

"Kind of sums up the series for us," he said.

Jimmy Butler goes scorched earth for Heat

This will be the series that cements Butler's place in Heat lore.

It seemed impossible that Butler could top his 56-point effort and multiple dagger shots in Game 4 in Miami. But the former Marquette star certainly tried to top it to eliminate the Bucks, scoring 26 points after halftime.

"Credit to Butler," Budenholzer said. "He played at a high level, really, all five games.

"Threw some different guys at him tonight. I love our guys. I love their effort. They left it all out there. Butler was very, very good tonight and every night."

Matthews was one of the defensive switchups on Butler, but he battled through a calf injury suffered in Game 1 that kept him out of the last three matchups.

"Doesn't matter," Matthews said about how he felt in Game 5. "I go out there and leave everything I had out there. Credit to the Heat, they beat us.

"At this point in the year, no one is 100%. We let this one get away from us."

Matthews had the utmost respect for his fellow former MU star after Butler averaged 37.6 points in the series.

"He's making shots," Matthews said. "Plays downhill. Plays with force. Gets to the free-throw line."

Big nights for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton aren't enough

Giannis Antetokounmpo's back injury in after 11 minutes in Game 1 changed the complexion of the series. He returned in Game 4 for a triple-double and looked even more dominant in Game 5 with 38 points and 20 rebounds.

"It doesn't matter," Antetokounmpo said of his injury. "It's over. We lost. The series is over. It doesn't matter."

Khris Middleton, after struggling in down the stretch in Game 4 as the Bucks blew a 14-point lead, came out hot on Wednesday. He had 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first quarter and finished with 33.

The rest of the Bucks shot just 18 for 40.

Jrue Holiday was 4 for 11 for 16 points, and added nine rebounds and six assists.

"I don't think the shots went in," Holiday said. "I did think we had a lot of good shots that we typically make. But sometimes they don't fall."

Holiday was also the primary defender on Butler. Antetokounmpo felt Holiday was depleted while guarding the Heat star.

"I think Jrue did his best," Antetokounmpo said. "But at the end of the day, he gets tired. He's got to rebound the ball, he's got to pass the ball, he's got to score the ball, he's got to guard Jimmy. You get tired.

"Maybe you could have done some double-teaming more. Make him pass the ball. Maybe switch the matchup. Give Jrue a break, maybe 2-3 minutes. But I don't think as a team we make as many adjustments as we could against him."

Holiday didn't want any excuses.

"That's what I'm here for," Holiday said. "I'm here for the challenge. Even if I get my (expletive) busted. I'm here to play basketball and go as hard as I can."

Bucks struggle late in game again

The final 17 minutes of the game will be endlessly scrutinized by Bucks fans.

Milwaukee shot 3 for 19 in the fourth quarter and then 2 for 6 in overtime.

Antetokounmpo was 1 for 9 in the fourth quarter.

"The ball did not go in," he said. "It's as simple as that. Got to my spot. I wasn't able to make shots. That's pretty much it. If I had made the shots it would have been a different case."

Budenholzer will draw ire for not calling a timeout after Butler's layup and the end of regulation with .5 seconds on the clock. The Bucks could have advanced the ball and then set up their own lob play.

"Yeah, we needed to call a timeout there," Budenholzer said after the game.

Budenholzer also didn't call timeout at the end of overtime as Antetokounmpo pushed the ball up the floor.

"Giannis attacked," Budenholzer said. "Giannis got the ball to Khris. Khris attacked.

"That's how we always play. It's been very good for us. And we weren't able to convert it tonight."

Instead the ball ended up in Allen's hands and the final shot of the season came after the buzzer.

It will lead to a lot of soul-searching in the longer-than-expected off-season.

"That's life," Matthews said. "I go down. Giannis goes down. They lose (Tyler) Herro. Vic (Oladipo) goes down. Gotta battle. And we came up short.

"Where do we go from here? Day at a time. I know this is going to stick with me for I don't know how long."

Five numbers

42-2 Bucks' record in the regular season with double-digit leads in the fourth quarter

3 Eighth seeds to beat No. 1 seedings in the era of seven-game first-round series

8 Different players for the Heat to score in the first quarter

3 Heat players to foul out – Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry

17 Missed free throws for the Bucks

Play of the game was Jimmy Butler's game-tying bucket

This one will go down in Heat lore and Bucks infamy. A great play drawn up by Erik Spoelstra got Miami into overtime and added to Butler's postseason legacy.

Video of the game is Butler triumphantly walking off the court

Butler earned the right to preen a bit after his performance this series, and he took the opportunity to dramatically wave to the remaining crowd on his way off the Fiserv court.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks' season ends after late collapse in Game 5 vs. Heat