Jacari McRae | March 3rd, 2020
The Miami Heat are now the only team to beat the Milwaukee Bucks twice. In what was an impressive defensive performance, the Heat defeated the Bucks 105-89. The 89 points scored by the Bucks were a season-low for them. Miami is now 39-22 for the season and three games back of the third-seeded Boston Celtics.
Here are my takeaways from Monday’s win over the Bucks.
Defense on Giannis
Coming off a 40-20 game against the Charlotte Hornets, Giannis Antetokounmpo was going to be a tough player to stop for the Heat. However, the Heat was up to the task. Miami did a terrific job of making things uncomfortable for the Bucks all-star. Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Andre Igoudala, and Derrick Jones Jr all shared the responsibilities of guarding Giannis.
A1 defense from @Bam1of1! pic.twitter.com/PQQYxnq5U9
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 3, 2020
Miami held Giannis to 13 points on six of 18 shooting from the field.
Hot three-point shooting
The Bucks are the best team in the league at protecting the paint. With their size and length, they make it tough to score inside the paint. They also give up the most three-point attempts in the league. So that meant Miami had to get hot from beyond the arc to have a shot. And boy were they hot. Miami scored 31 of their 53 first-half points in the first quarter.
And they did this without Duncan Robinson making a three in the first half. The Bucks clearly game planned for Robinson, with players face guarding him on every possession. Duncan, however, came alive in the second half making three three-pointers.
Dragic comes alive in the second half
Goran Dragic was held scoreless in the first half. He also shot 0 of 5 from the field. But the Heat point guard came alive in the third quarter. In the third quarter, Dragic scored nine points, including a buzzer-beating three that put the Heat ahead by 11 after three quarters.
BUZZER BEATER ALERT pic.twitter.com/FvzZNIQyud
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 3, 2020
Dragic finished the night with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Next up: The Orlando Magic. Game tips off at 7:30PMET.
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