[Milwaukee, WI] After blowing-out both the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks on the road, the Miami Heat were properly prepared to face the Milwaukee Bucks – the only team in the NBA this season to hand the Heat two losses. In both of those losses, the Bucks ran away with the game in the fourth quarter.
Miami was bound and determined to not let history repeat itself (for a third time).
In the first quarter, both teams went back and forth playing some pretty good ball. For the Heat, LeBron James scored 7 points while Dwyane Wade scored 8. For the Bucks, Carlos Delfino had the hot hand, scored 10 points, six of them coming from the three-pointers. At the end of the quarter, the Heat were up 30-27.
James and Wade dominated the second quarter, both combining to score 16 points. Yet the Bucks kept it close, even taking the lead. However, in the last 6 minutes of the half, the Heat went on a 20-9 run to re-take the lead and give them a 5-point cushion going into halftime.
At the midway point, the Miami Heat were up 55-50.
As if on cue, the Heat pretty much ran away with the game in the third, outscoring the Bucks 35-24. LeBron netted 14 points and Mario Chalmers scored 10. There seemed to be nothing the Bucks could do to get back in the game. At the end of the quarter, the Heat were up 90-74.
Feeling that another blow-out victory was at hand, the Heat’s bench came in and closed out the Bucks, not giving up any ground. The game ended with the final score of Heat 114, Bucks 96.
LeBron James scored 35 points and had 8 rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and also had 5 rebounds. These two guys are simply playing fantastic basketball right now.
“We took last night like it was its own game and we did the same thing tonight,” said James. “Now we move on to Indiana to close it out.”
The Miami Heat … starting to play like a championship team. Next up: Indiana tonight and Cleveland on Friday, both road contests.
By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate
Image: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat dunks against (L-R) Ersan Ilyasova #7 and Mike Dunleavy #17 of the Milwaukee Bucks on February 13, 2012 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Miami Heat
