Short-handed Heat rally. Top shorthanded Bucks,108-102
MIAMI (AP) — Gabe Vincent scored a career-best 28 points, Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks 108-102 in a matchup of short-handed teams Thursday night.
Jimmy Butler scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Heat. Victor Oladipo contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Max Strus scored 12 points for Miami (23-20), with 10 rebounds and Tyler Herro scoring 10 each. Miami moved three games above.500 in the season, even with Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry, and Tyler Herro out.
Jrue Holiday scored 24 points and had 11 assists for the Bucks. They were without Grayson Allen and Giannis Antetokounmpo as well as Serge Ibaka, Grayson Allen and Khris Middleton.
Jevon Carter was able to score 18, Jordan Nwora scored 16, AJ Green scored 15, and Bobby Portis had 12 points for the Bucks.
On Saturday, the teams will play in Miami again.
The Heat’s streak for consecutive free throws ended at 55 when Butler missed one with 27.7 second remaining. They were able to finish 15 of 16 games from the line, almost becoming the first Heat team ever to reach perfect from the line in consecutive games.
Miami broke a NBA record by winning Tuesday’s game over Oklahoma City with a 40-for-40 performance.
Milwaukee was leading 32-17 after 15 minutes. This is a 15 point lead despite the fact that Allen and Antetokounmpo were regular starters.
It didn’t last. It was tied at halftime, with the game being tied at 45. This resulted in Miami’s largest comeback win of the year. Heat won despite a pair 13-point deficits and were 0-8 when they trailed by more than 14 points.
Miami was 28th in the NBA’s 30-team NBA for rebounding. Milwaukee was leading the league in this area. But the Heat outrebounded the Bucks 61-39 – by far the biggest rebound margin Miami has enjoyed this season. On Jan. 2, they outrebounded Los Angeles Clippers 14 to 1.
Milwaukee was outscored 58-18 by Miami in the paint. The Bucks scored 35 field goals, with 22 being 3-pointers.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Milwaukee now stands at 4-3 with Antetokounmpo in this season’s league. … The Bucks went 19-1 in games that they led by more than 15 points. Chicago lost the other game on Dec. 28. … Carter’s five 3-pointers tied a season high, done on four previous occasions. His career best on 3’s is eight, done in the final game of his rookie season for Memphis against Golden State on April 10, 2019.
Heat: Phil Neville (Inter Miami coach) was at the game. Miami used a new starting lineup for the eighth time in 10 games, and their 19th season-opening game. … Dewayne Dedmon served his one-game suspension imposed for conduct detrimental to the team, surrounding his actions in Tuesday’s matchup against Oklahoma City.
TOUGH STRETCH
The Bucks are facing a challenging schedule. They played in Atlanta on Wednesday, got to Miami around 2:30 a.m., played Thursday, play Saturday afternoon in Miami, then play Indiana on Monday afternoon in Milwaukee — as part of the league’s Martin Luther King Day lineup — to start another back-to-back that ends Tuesday against Toronto.
NAME GAME
The “FTX Arena” signage was still in place at Miami’s arena on Thursday, one day after a bankruptcy court terminated the naming rights deal Between the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, and Miami-Dade County. The county and the Heat said Thursday they will “work aggressively to identify a new naming rights partner for the arena.” The FTX signage is likely to begin coming down in the next few days.
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