|
Bucks-Heat: 56k | 300k |
"There will never be a hesitation with a shot from Lamar Odom at the end of the game," Odom said. "Sometimes you make them, and sometimes you miss them, but this is where I thrive. I love having the ball and I love making the play."
Rafer Alston tied a career high with 23 points and Caron Butler added a season-high 21 to lead Miami, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
"Tonight, I felt like I could hit almost any shot," Alston said. "I was looking to see if I could do a better job of getting to the basket. They are a great running team, but they often don't get back in time on defense. Whenever we got a defensive rebound, I looked to race it up the floor."
Rasual Butler also had a season high for Miami with 20 points. The reserve guard's shooting kept Caron Butler on the bench for most of the fourth quarter.
"(Caron's) energy level was absolutely incredible," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I have not seen him run the floor like that ever. He and Rasual both were incredible."
It was a stark contrast to Tuesday's game, when the Heat scored just eight points and shot a season-worst 2-of-19 in the fourth quarter. In this one, Miami jumped on the Bucks in the opening quarter, scoring 39 points and building a 16-point lead.
The Heat scored the first nine points of the game and led throughout. Michael Redd's two free throws tied the game, 98-98, and set the stage for Odom's decisive jumper.
"We started off completely flat," Milwaukee forward Desmond Mason said. "We hadn't done that in a really long time and the Heat took advantage of it. We can't continue to do that on the road."
Milwaukee stayed in the game by making a living at the free-throw line, going 32-of-35. The Bucks shot 31 free throws in Sunday's victory over the Heat.
Miami moved into a tie with the Boston Celtics for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are one-half game behind the seventh-place New York Knicks.
Keith Van Horn scored 22 points for Milwaukee, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. The Bucks had won the two previous meetings with Miami, but failed in their attempt to sweep the Heat for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign.
"I think the issue tonight was we didn't make the extra pass like we normally do," Van Horn said. "We need to do a better job of finding the open guy when defenses collapse."
