Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler shoots over Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) (Aaron Gash, AP)
This was not a road trip that soured at the finish, with Saturday night’s 123-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks closing out a weeklong 1-3 excursion.
This was a Miami Heat trip that soured at the start, with last Sunday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets upping the ante and the Heat able to meet the remaining challenges only in the victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And after Thursday’s loss to the New York Knicks, the ante only became more severe, with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Bucks’ lineup for the first time in the teams’ three meetings.
A triple-double later from Antetokounmpo, and the Heat, with Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo sidelined, limp home despite 32 points Saturday night from Jimmy Butler, 24 from Tyler Herro and a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double from Bam Adebayo.
“You definitely have to go home disappointed,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You have to maximize every opportunity when you’re on a road trip like this. It’s hard to win on the road. We’ll gather ourselves.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, supported by 24 points from Khris Middleton.
Antetokounmpo entered having scored 50 or more in two of his previous three games, and three of his previous 11. It was Antetokounmpo’s career 32nd regular-season triple-double.
“I felt like we had bodies in front of him in the fourth quarter, but he was able to draw fouls and still get to the rim,” Spoelstra said of Antetokounmpo scoring 10 in the final period. “But that’s what great players do, they get to their strengths.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat fell behind 12 early, trailed 34-26 at the end of the opening period, but rallied to a 62-62 halftime tie. The Bucks then took a 94-92 lead into the fourth.
With Butler on the bench, the Bucks then moved ahead by 10 early in the final period, before the Heat closed within 112-106 with 3:20 to play.
The Bucks then moved to an 11-point lead on a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer, the Heat unable to get closer than five from there.
“We did not get enough stops in the fourth quarter. It felt like 40,” Spoelstra said of the Bucks outscoring the Heat 29-23 in the fourth.
2. More Butler: Butler kept the Heat afloat early by making all five of his first-quarter free throws, up to 15 points by halftime.
He then scored 12 straight Heat points early in his 17-point third period, a run that included a 3-pointer and put the Heat up 77-75. He went into the fourth with 32 points.
“Jimmy was able to get to his spots pretty much all night long. That was good to see,” Spoelstra said.
The heavy lifting, however, appeared to take a toll, with Butler limited after returning midway through the fourth quarter, scoreless in the period.
He finished 11 of 21 from the field and 9 of 10 from the line, with eight rebounds.
“We had a chance tonight,” he said. “Get some stops, not turn the ball over, get the correct shots, we’ll be better.”
3. Filling it up: Scoreless in the first period, a period he also went without a rebound, Adebayo came around to move to eight points and five rebounds at the intermission.
He then reached a double-double by the midpoint of the third period.
“Bam was in his spots,” Spoelstra said.
Like Antetomounmpo, Adebayo also had his moments as facilitator, leading the Heat with eight assists.
4. Hometown Herro: A night after having his No. 14 retired at a suburban Milwaukee High School, Herro beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer and was up to 18 halftime points.
Herro was not shy with his attempts, at 8 of 14 from the field at the intermission.
He then cooled with only two third-period points.
“Tyler at different points in the game was able to be very efficient,” Spoelstra said.
He finished 10 of 24 from the field, forced to play more as playmaker with Lowry and Oladipo out.
“There were better efforts we could have made at the end,” Herro said. “We didn’t start the game again. But we fought, though.”
5. Rotation revision: While the Heat backcourt required the biggest shakeup, with Lowry and Oladipo out, perhaps the biggest surprise was Dewayne Dedmon seeing his first action since his one-game Jan. 12 suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
Spoelstra said he felt Dedmon was needed against the size of Bucks center Brook Lopez.
“A little bit of size,” Spoelstra said of his reasoning, “particularly Lopez, He’s unique how big he is.”
Dedmon, suspended after exchanging words on the bench Jan. 10 with Spoelstra, entered as the Heat’s first reserve.
It proved to be a largely uneven return, finishing scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting, with two rebounds in 12 minutes.
“After I got my second wind,” Dedmon said, “I was fine.”
With the Heat shorthanded, Haywood Highsmith appeared in his second consecutive game after not playing in the previous two.
Gabe Vincent started at point guard in place of Lowry, with Max Strus the lone Heat guard available off the bench.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service