National Basketball Association
Milwaukee 116, Miami 108
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, January 13, 2017
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #31 Scott Wall, #68 Jacyn Goble
Attendance: 17483

MILWAUKEE -- The last time the Milwaukee Bucks faced the Miami Heat, they put forth their worst offensive showing of the season.

When the two teams met again Friday, the Bucks were clicking on all cylinders, taking control from the opening tip and cruising to a 116-108 victory over the Heat at the Bradley Center.

"I thought it was a great carry-over from last game," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "It was a big trust game. We carried it over from the last game, from shootaround ... guys are starting to trust each other more and it's fun to watch."

Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way, scoring 24 and 19 points, respectively, pacing an offense that connected at a 50 percent clip and made 9 of 15 3-point attempts.

But the Bucks did their biggest damage at the free-throw line, where they hit 27 of 31 attempts. Those points turned out to be the difference-maker as the Heat shot 49.4 percent and made 12 of 32 3a but went to the line just 18 times, making 14.

"We were just being aggressive," Kidd said. "Getting to the paint, that's our bread and butter; start in and work your way out. Tonight, the guys didn't settle. They got to the paint, got fouls and made free throws."

Milwaukee got to the line 21 times alone in the first half while Miami made just five trips. That alone was enough to account for the Bucks' 65-48 lead at the break.

"The guys owned it at halftime," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Yes, there were some defensive breakdowns. But more than anything what hurt us in that first half, and that is what (the Bucks) do which makes it tough, the offensive rebounds, the hustle plays, and the transition. Those are all effort, energy, decisions with intent plays, and they were beating us to all those effort plays in the first half."

Playing with just 10 healthy players, the Heat still had six players score in double figures. Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic led that group with 19 points while Luke Babbit added 16. Tyler Johnson scored 14, Dion Waiters finished with 13 and James Johnson had 10 for the Heat, which dropped its fourth in a row.

"We have to come out harder," Babbit said. "The first half was what got us in trouble. Tonight our second half was good. Our margins are too small as a team. We don't have a big enough margin for error to come out like that."

Antetokounmpo looked to be back to form after battling a virus for the past week. He sat out Milwaukee's loss Sunday against Washington then played just nine minutes in a victory Wednesday at San Antonio.

But he was on a roll Friday, hitting 8 of 12 shots while grabbing eight rebounds and six assists. He also brought a larger-than-usual Milwaukee crowd to its feet with a thunderous first quarter dunk, but didn't stick around to talk to reporters about it afterward.

"I never saw anything like it in my life," said center Greg Monroe, who finished with 16 points. "They call him the Greek Freak for a reason. That was the freak part."

"He does a lot of things that I've never seen."

Milwaukee led by as many as 21 points in the first half and took a 65-48 lead into the break.

Miami opened the fourth quarter with a 17-8 run to cut the deficit to eight on a 9-footer from Tyler Johnson with 7:52 to play.

Antetokounmpo scored the next six on his own, putting the Bucks back up 14.

NOTES: SF Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the Bucks' starting lineup Friday after playing just nine minutes over the last two games while battling an illness. ... PG Malcolm Brogdon made his sixth consecutive start for Milwaukee on Friday. Since moving into the lineup, he's scored in double figures in each game. With Brogdon starting, G Matthew Dellavedova remained in a bench role for the Bucks. ... Heat F Willie Reed was unavailable Friday because of a bruised sternum, leaving Miami with just 10 available players. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said he expected all 10 to see action against Milwaukee. ... Miami handed the Bucks their biggest loss of the season back on Nov. 17, holding Milwaukee to 73 points, including just 11 in the fourth quarter. ... The Bucks won six of their last eight regular-season meetings with Miami, including three of the last four in Milwaukee.
Top Game Performances
 
Miami   Milwaukee
Goran Dragic 19 Scoring Jabari Parker 24
James Johnson 12 Assists Matthew Dellavedova 8
Hassan Whiteside 9 Rebounds Greg Monroe 11
Goran Dragic 6 Free Throws Made Malcolm Brogdon 6
Tyler Johnson 3 Steals Malcolm Brogdon 2
Luke Babbitt 2 Blocks John Henson 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Miami 108 49.4 12-32 14-18 33 27 8 6 8
Milwaukee 116 50.0 9-15 27-31 28 46 6 8 13
Upcoming Games
  • Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Bucks have a W/L % of .450 after a win and .611 after a loss.
  • Miami will play their next game at home against Houston. The Heat have a W/L % of .273 after a win and .267 after a loss.