Heat-Bucks Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 12 2012 11:58PM

The Miami Heat haven't faced much difficulty compiling the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, but the Milwaukee Bucks have surprisingly had their number.

In the midst of both a six-game road trip and its only back-to-back-to-back stretch of 2011-12, Miami tries to avoid a three-game sweep of its season series with Milwaukee on Monday night.

The Heat (21-7) are tied with Chicago for the fewest losses in the East and have a three-game Southeast Division cushion over second-place Atlanta, but they haven't been able to solve the Bucks (12-15). Milwaukee has limited Miami to 88.0 points per game while taking three straight in this series, including both meetings this season.

After prevailing 91-82 in Florida on Jan. 22 while holding the Heat to a season-worst 37.3 percent from the floor, Milwaukee handed visiting Miami a 105-97 defeat Feb. 1 - managing to overcome a season-high 40 points from LeBron James.

"It's a tough job, going against those guys," Bucks forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said following the Feb. 1 win. "But it's a fun job, too. Those guys are the best and it's always fun to play against the best."

Since kicking off their trek Wednesday with a 102-89 loss at Orlando, the Heat have certainly looked every bit like one of the top teams in the league. Two nights after cruising to a 106-89 win over Washington, Miami blew out Atlanta 107-87 on Sunday.

The Heat outrebounded the Hawks 52-38 and limited them to 38.9 percent shooting. Miami is 10-1 when holding opponents below 40.0 percent from the floor - with the only such loss coming in the Jan. 22 defeat to Milwaukee.

"We couldn't script it (any) better," said James, who had 23 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

"When we play our best basketball, we can beat anybody. You have to do the dirty work. You have to defend."

Dwyane Wade added 21 points, and is averaging 25.3 on 54.7 percent shooting over his last eight games.

James and Wade will now face a Bucks team coming off its fourth loss in six games. Milwaukee blew a 10-point lead en route to a 99-94 home loss to the Magic on Saturday.

"We just need to play better," said swingman Mike Dunleavy, who scored 14 points. "There's nothing at this point to take from losses other than we gotta come out and respond and get a win Monday night."

The Bucks will likely need a better effort from Brandon Jennings if they hope to get back on track. Averaging a team-high 18.6 points, Jennings scored just seven while shooting 3 of 14 on Saturday - marking the third time in five games he's been held to single digits in points.

While Jennings struggles, center Drew Gooden has picked up the pace. He scored 21 points against Orlando and is averaging 19.2 - well above his 12.8 season average - over his last 10 contests.

After opening 7-2 at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee has dropped three straight home games by an average of 10.0 points. The Bucks haven't lost four in a row at home since Dec. 16-26, 2009.

James is averaging 31.2 points over his last 13 road meetings with the Bucks. He scored 55 - one shy of his career high - in a 111-103 Cavaliers win at the Bradley Center on Feb. 20, 2009.

The Heat visit Indiana on Tuesday before concluding their trip Friday at Cleveland.

James scores 35, Heat finally beat Bucks 114-96

By CHRIS JENKINS
Posted Feb 14 2012 12:55AM

MILWAUKEE (AP) LeBron James and the Miami Heat found a way over one of the oddest hurdles they've faced in an otherwise strong start to the season: They've finally beaten the Milwaukee Bucks.

James scored 35 points on 16 for 21 shooting and the Heat used a third-quarter surge to beat the Bucks 114-96 on Monday night.

Dwyane Wade scored 22 and Mario Chalmers added 13 for the Heat, who were 0-2 against the Bucks this season coming into the game. James scored 16 of his points in the third quarter as the Heat took control.

"I know what happened the third quarter the last time we played here," James said. "We had a big lead and they just came out and jumped on us. It was good that we were able to come out and put some pressure on them."

Bucks coach Scott Skiles wants to see his team improve defensively, but didn't necessarily blame James' big night on poor defending.

"He can take and make difficult shots - and maybe they're not difficult for him," Skiles said. "They're difficult for most people. They're not difficult for him. He hit a couple of fadeaways in front of our bench, 18-, 19-foot fadeaways with a guy in his face, so you've got to give him those."

Carlos Delfino scored 24 for the Bucks.

The Bucks beat the Heat 91-82 in Miami on Jan. 22, then beat them again in Milwaukee on Feb. 1, a 105-97 victory in which the Bucks trailed by 18 points in the first half. The Bucks haven't swept the Heat since the 1990-91 season.

"We knew it," James said. "They beat us twice really handily. They played a great four quarters and beat us. They held us under our averages offensively."

Brandon Jennings said the Bucks are more worried about their recent skid - they've lost five of seven since that Feb. 1 win - than they are about beating the Heat two out of three times.

"I mean, it would have been nice to beat them three (times) but right now, for us, we need to try to get back on track," said Jennings, who scored 12 points. "We're not really thinking about, `Yeah, we beat them twice and they beat us once."'

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged before the game that the Bucks' previous two victories got his attention.

Spoelstra said that the Bucks' physical defense got to the Heat in the first two games, saying the Heat had to win what he described as the high-effort "fistfight battles" on the court this time out.

It looked as if the Heat might be in for another tough battle early on, as the Bucks led 30-27 after the first quarter.

"They started out good, knocking down some threes, but our competitive spirit was much better," Spoelstra said. "Offensively, we were able to play to our identity."

The Heat settled for jump shots in their first two losses to the Bucks, but they were more direct this time around - especially James.

"I think LeBron just kind of getting his post position on the block kind of shook up our defense a little bit," Jennings said. "He made some tough turnarounds and he was just getting to the basket a lot more. They weren't really settling for the jumpshots tonight, everything was to the basket."

Leading 55-50 after two quarters, the Heat put together a 14-4 run out of halftime. It started right away, as Chalmers stole the ball from Brandon Jennings and cruised down the court for a fastbreak layup.

The Bucks then began to struggle on offense - including one sequence in which Milwaukee's Drew Gooden had the ball swatted away from him twice on a single possession by Miami's Joel Anthony. Gooden was called for a technical foul immediately afterward.

Later in the run, James stole the ball from Jennings, then finished with a powerful one-handed slam to give the Heat a 69-54 lead.

James went on to score 16 in the quarter, including another monster dunk in the final seconds. With the clock running down at the end of the quarter, James took advantage of a defensive lapse and ran uncontested down the lane, finishing with a one-handed dunk with 4.2 seconds left in the quarter.

With the win, Miami ran its record to 22-7 - equaling the franchise's best start after the first 29 games of a season, set in 1996-97 and again in 2004-05.

"Just playing good ball," James said. "It's not about one guy. Everyone is in a flow. When we're in a flow, we're a really good team."

Notes: Miami was without C Dexter Pittman, who has a sprained left shoulder. Spoelstra said he will be evaluated on a game-to-game basis. ... The Bucks congratulated Bon Iver, a band that traces its roots to Wisconsin, for winning two Grammys during a timeout. ... A group of fans sitting courtside was doused when a ball went out of bounds and splattered a man's beverage. The incident was replayed on the stadium scoreboard.

Notebook: Heat 114, Bucks 96

Posted Monday February 13, 2012 11:33PM

By Rick Braun, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: LeBron James scored 35 points in just 33 minutes, and Dwyane Wade added 22 as the Miami Heat scored a little payback with a 114-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Monday night at the Bradley Center.

Miami (22-7) has won 14 of its last 17, with two of the three losses in that stretch coming to the Bucks on Jan. 22 at Miami and Feb. 1 in Milwaukee.

Carlos Delfino scored 24 points to lead the Bucks (12-16). Milwaukee has now lost its last four home games.

The Heat won Sunday night in Atlanta and has a chance to sweep three road games in three nights when it visits Indiana Tuesday night.

QUOTABLE: "At the start of the game we lost the first three or four skirmishes (for loose balls) but from that point on we really made a commitment to get into this fight. No one could spectate. We had to get our hands dirty, which we didn't do in the first two games. But it was a good sign that we did it this way against a very physical team."
-- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who said his team lost nearly every battle for 50-50 loose balls in two previous losses to Milwaukee.

THE STAT: After averaging just 89.5 points in their two losses to the Bucks, the Heat surpassed that by the end of the third quarter in this one, leading 90-74, after three.

TURNING POINT: Mike Miller drained two 3-pointers in a 12-2 second quarter run that took the Heat from a 41-35 deficit to a 47-43 lead. The Heat led by 55-50 at the half and pulled away in the third quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We knew it. And they beat us, twice, handily. They played great fourth quarters and beat us and they held us under our averages offensively, so we made a conscious effort to try to get to our game. Like we played last night, we wanted to try to do the same thing tonight and we did that."
-- James on motivation because the Bucks had won the previous two meetings.

HOT: James entered the game shooting 53.8 percent from the field and pushed that number up by going 16 for 21 with an array of post-up jumpers and dunks.

NOT: Bucks center Drew Gooden was a frigid 2 for 14 after averaging 21.8 points in his previous five games. He did go 8 for 8 from the line, though, to finish with 12 points.

ROOKIE WATCH: Heat point guard Norris Cole contributed 10 points off the bench, including 6-of-6 shooting from the line.

NOTABLE: The Heat has won its last four road games by an average of 18.8 points. ... Miami shot 51.8 percent on the night, but the starters shot 64 percent (32 for 50). ... Delfino was 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and is 9 of 13 on threes in his last two games and 16 of 24 in his last four games. ... Second-year center Dexter Pittman missed the game with a bruised shoulder he suffered Sunday night at Atlanta and is day-to-day.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Tuesday @ Indiana, Friday @ Cleveland, Sunday vs. Orlando. For the Bucks, Wednesday vs. New Orleans, Friday @ Orlando, Sunday @ New Jersey.

• Heat: Harris, Pittman
• Bucks: Bogut

• Heat: --
• Bucks: Gooden

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #63 Derek Richardson, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 16749
• Duration: 2:11