Bucks administer Heat’s second blowout loss in a week. Takeaways, details
Takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ 125-96 drubbing of the Heat on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum:
▪ The Heat started the game on an 18-3 run. Everything went downhill from there.
After that early Heat surge, the Bucks promptly unleashed a 39-16 rampage and Miami never really recovered, ending on the wrong side of a blowout loss for the second time in a week, dropping below .500 (at 21-22) and finishing the night ninth in the East.
“The game started going the wrong direction pretty fast,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “They started playing a little harder defensively. We started missing a couple of shots. We let go of the rope defensively at the end of the first quarter, start of the second quarter and they started to go on a run.”
The end of the first half was catastrophic, with Damian Lillard scoring six points in 1.1 seconds to put Milwaukee up 71-55 at the break.
The first three of those points came at the free throw line, after Duncan Robinson fouled Lillard on a three-point shot, a call upheld on replay.
Kel El’Ware then threw the ball away on the in-bounds play, and Lillard -- off an inbounds pass -- swished a corner three to boost the Bucks’ margin to 16.
“It’s happened two or three times this season,” Spoelstra said of that type of sequence, which began when Herro missed a jumper with eight seconds remaining on the shot clock and game clock. “We have to work to get the last shot. That’s a harsh teaching point. Hopefully that never happens again the rest of the season.”
With Jimmy Butler back in Miami serving the first of a two-game suspension, Miami closed to within 13 midway through the third quarter but then unraveled again, falling behind 94-74 after three.
Shoddy perimeter defense, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s greatness and abysmal long-range shooting were too much for Miami to overcome.
The Heat missed 24 of its first 30 three-point attempts and finished 12 for 51 on threes, a dismal 23.5 percent.
Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, got the better of Bam Adebayo in their matchup, finishing with 25 points (10 for 18 shooting ) and 12 rebounds and three blocks in 32 minutes. In one sequence, Antetokounmpo blocked Adebayo on one end and missed a shot in transition but then grabbed a rebound and was fouled on a put back.
Adebayo, for his part, had a nine-rebound first half and closed with 11 points (5 for 12 shooting), 14 rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.
Ware, making his second start alongside Adebayo, again filled the box score, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Herro opened 2 for 8 and finished 6 for 19 (including 4 for 13 on threes) on a 21-point, 9-assist night.
Duncan Robinson (12 points, four assists) was off on his shot, closing 4 for 13 and 3 for 12 on threes.
The bench (Terry Rozier, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr.) wasn’t much help, combining for 3 for 11 shooting and two turnovers in the first half as the Bucks were taking control.
For the second consecutive game, Miami’s defense was delinquent.
Two nights after Portland shot 49.4 percent in a 116-107 win against Miami, the Bucks blitzed the Heat for 71 points in the first half on 52 percent shooting, including 9 for 19 on threes.
Milwaukee closed at 47 percent from the field and 45 percent on threes (18 of 40). Gary Trent Jr. hit 7 of his 10 threes.
Erik Spoelstra lamented lapses in Miami’s defense hours before the game: “Our defense is 12th right now. We need to get to another level.”
That level remained merely an abstract thought on Thursday. This marked the sixth consecutive game that the Heat permitted at least 107 points, by far the longest streak of Miami’s season. That six-game stretch included four games in which Miami relinquished at least 116 points, with Denver scoring 133 in their stomping of the Heat last Friday.
“We’re trying to bring a disposition every night where we can hang our hat on holding teams under the line, which for us is 100 to 105 points,” Herro said. “That’s the line for us. We want to have an identity where we can hang our hat on the defensive end no matter how our offense is rolling.”
There remain wild swings in the Heat’s play. “That’s the way this team is,” Adebayo said. “Really good and really bad. It’s trying to figure out how we can collectively keep playing good.”
It was an unusual day for the Bucks, who arrived in Milwaukee less than three hours before the game after a snowstorm in New Orleans prevented them from returning earlier.
“I think we’ll be ready, but who knows,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said 100 minutes before tip-off. “Not having any cardio for two days and jumping off a plane to play… it’s not the healthiest thing to do.”
Besides enjoying a blowout win, Bucks fans also get free chicken wings, in a promotion with a Milwaukee area restaurant, after Keshad Johnson missed two free throws late in the game.
▪ Rookie second-round pick Pelle Larrson made his first NBA start, but he was out of the game before some of the crowd took their seats.
Appearing in his 27th game, Larrson started alongside Adebayo, Herro, Robinson and Ware and began the night defending Lillard. He had a put-back layup for the Heat’s second basket but quickly departed after committing three fouls in the first two minutes of the game. He didn’t return until the start of the third quarter.
“He had some tough calls,” Spoelstra said. “That was a thing I roll my eyes at in this league. A veteran drawing three quick fouls like that. If Pelle did the same thing the other way, zero chance those would be fouls.”
Larsson promptly picked up his fourth foul 2:40 into the third quarter and finished with four points (one for five shooting) and five rebounds in 14 minutes.
Of the decision to start Larsson, Spoelstra said: “That was a tough decision. I was looking for defensive pressure on Lillard to start the game and work him into the rotation.”
▪ Ware took another step in his impressive development.
Making his second consecutive start, the rookie had a dunk, two free throws and a three-pointer early on, to go along with three rebounds and a block, as Miami built that early 18-3 lead.
“In that reserve role, we weren’t just getting him enough minutes,” Spoelstra said. “He’s developed. He’s earned more.”
He went to the half with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks. And by midway through the third quarter, he had reached the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game.
Ware ended the night 9 for 15 from the field, including 2 for 7 on threes, in 35 minutes. One negative: He had four turnovers and no assists. But Brook Lopez shot 4 for 11, some of that against Ware.
Here are Ware’s numbers in his three other career games that he has played 30 plus minutes:
1). 19 points, 13 rebounds against the Lakers.
2). 25 points and 8 rebounds on Sunday against the Spurs, when Spoelstra played Adebayo and Ware together for extended minutes for the first time
3). 20 points and 15 rebounds against Portland.
▪ Terry Rozier’s season-long struggles continued.
Thursday’s slog began when he jumped unnecessarily and ended up passing to a Bucks player. That was followed by a missed driving layup and an errant corner three.
Rozier was a minus 24 on the night, and the Heat has now been outscored when Rozier was on the floor in 11 of his past 14 games, though the blame is hardly limited to him.
The regression in Rozier’s shooting remains one of the mysteries of the season.
Rozier, who finished 2 for 8 from the field Thursday, entered shooting 40.4 percent, his worst since 2018-19.
What’s more, his 29.4 percent three-point shooting ranks 172nd of 177 NBA players. Nobody in the league has taken more threes, on average, and shot at a lower percentage than Rozier, who is attempting 5.2 per game.
On Thursday, he finished 0 for 4 on threes on a four-point night. He’s now 13 for his last 80 on threes.
Miami’s bench opened 0 for 6 on Thursday before Rozier hit a layup.
▪ Butler’s future was quite the topic before the game.
Asked if he’s surprised how this has played out with Butler - with the six-time All Star being suspended twice by the Heat - Rivers said:
“I don’t know if I’m surprised or not. I just hope they find a way through it. I’ve been through these things before. I was in Philly with Ben Simmons and all that. It’s no fun for anyone. It’s not fun really for the players, because their brother is the player, and so they don’t want to have to take sides. They don’t want to get involved. And anything they say will be construed one way or the other.
“The player who’s going through it will listen to it and say, ‘He’s not with me.’ And then the other way, I feel terrible for Spo. I mean there’s no winning for Spo in this. It’s just hard. He’s got to try to get his team focused. It’s our league at times, and it’s no fun to go through.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 10:47 PM.
