The Miami HEAT fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 116-108 Friday night at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with 19 points. Five other players scored in double-figures for Miami.
1. Johnson & Johnson Keep Fighting
As usual, Tyler Johnson and James Johnson made their presence felt and provided a spark off the bench. While both guys played well through the first three quarters, they really led the charge on the HEAT’s comeback bid in the fourth. In fact, the duo combined for 10 points, eight assists and two blocks in the period.
One of their better connections of the night came just as the quarter began. With 11:51 remaining in the fourth, J. Johnson dribbled near the right wing and hit T. Johnson cutting along the baseline for the jam.
Throughout the contest, J. Johnson initiated offense and looked to create for his teammates like on that play. As a result, he led the team with 12 assists. On the flip side of the ball, the versatile forward did all he could on Giannis Antetokounmpo and forced him into some really tough shots. In all, J. Johnson tallied 10 points, two boards and two blocks to go along with his season-high 12 assists.
T. Johnson, meanwhile, did the bulk of his work inside, both off nifty cuts and aggressive drives to the rim. On the defensive end, he continued to come up big and swatted two shots on the evening. The 24-year-old finished with 14 points, five assists, three steals and a team-high plus-five rating in addition to those blocks.
2. Whiteside Sticks With It
Like Johnson & Johnson, Whiteside did some damage in the fourth quarter, as the big fella tallied 11 points in the period. While he shot a perfect 3-of-3 from the field in the fourth, a good amount of his points actually came from the free throw line.
That said, Whiteside rolled to the rim with force on a few occasions, including a nice sequence late in the third quarter.
With 5:14 to play in the third, Whiteside handed the ball off to Rodney McGruder at the left wing and rolled to the basket. From there, McGruder took two dribbles inside and flipped up a nice lob for Whiteside, which the center threw down with authority.
In addition to his 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, the 7-footer also led the team with nine boards.
3. Babbitt Gets Hot
To put it simply, Luke Babbitt hit his first shot of the game and never looked back. As a whole, his teammates did a good job of finding him ready to launch from the perimeter. As a result, Babbitt scored a season-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-7 from deep. Babbitt’s four made 3-pointers tied a career-high. The forward also grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists on Friday night.
Other Takeaways:
-Goran Dragic continued to fight and finished with 19 points, three boards and three assists against the Bucks.
Game Note:
-Willie Reed (bruised sternum), Josh Richardson (left foot sprain), Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will finally head home for a few days of practice before hosting the Houston Rockets on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game can be found here.
