The Miami Heat used a familiar formula to stamp out the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night: use big contributions from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to get the offense scoring with ease, and crush all fight with a synced-up defense that forces bad shots. The Bucks have no problem taking bad shots usually; the visit to South Beach was no exception. Milwaukee shot 39.7 percent as the Heat waltzed the night away with a 101-89 win.
NBA Scores And More: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade Slice Through Bucks In 101-89 Heat Win
Wade scored 34 on a True Shooting percentage of .664; that is to say the Bucks, specifically John Salmons, did a poor job contained Wade. LeBron added 25 of his own. The key was in the duo's incessant trips to the foul line: Wade and LeBron combined to take 26 free throws, and Bosh (19 points, 11 rebounds) added nine more. Milwaukee likes to foul, but not as much as the Heat like to draw fouls.
The Bucks have one of the best defensive teams in the East, but it was pretty clear the Heat find little in the way of resistance there, and that Miami has no reason to fear Milwaukee’s offense. As such, as we inch closer to the playoffs, keep in mind that the Bucks may very prefer to face the Celtics rather than these Heat.
In other action:
Grizzlies 110, Thunder 105: Memphis had a signature win that will surely be overshadowed by the news O.J. Mayo missed the game because Tony Allen blew him up on a team flight Monday. Allen was actually a big part of the Grizzlies' victory, starting in place of Xavier Henry and scoring 19 points on 6-13 shooting. Kevin Durant needed 24 FGAs and five free throws to get his 28 points, and Russell Westbrook's 28 points, seven assists and one turnover wasn't enough. Zach Randolph had 31 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
Bulls 111, Raptors 91: Andrea Bargnani returned, but his 23 points wasn't enough to get Toronto within shouting distance of Chicago, who took 24 points from Luol Deng and ran with it. The Raptors' defense is bad, but if the Bulls can score like this regularly, they could give the Heat or Celtics heart pain the playoffs. Their defense is that good.
Hawks 108, Kings 102: Atlanta very nearly squandered a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter as Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins surged to get the Kings within five a couple times in the final two minutes. But Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford hit enough shots to end the tease, and the Hawks slinked away with an important if underwhelming victory.
See More:
