Despite offensive slumps and missing players, an unlikely hero emerged, powering the Miami Heat's dominant rebounding and crucial victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Following a historic game, the Miami Heat secured a 112–105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. They have won seven consecutive games, continuing to stay away from the Play-In Tournament.
Key takeaways from the game:
Heat; Offensive slumps: After scoring 83 points on Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards, Bam Adebayo struggled to find an offensive rhythm. He finished with 21 points on 30 percent shooting, missing all five three-point attempts, eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 35 minutes. The three-time All-Star managed to make up for his early slump with 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Adebayo managed to get to the free-throw line consistently in the last 12 minutes of regulation, making nine of 13 attempts for the game.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. suffered a worse offensive slump on Thursday night. He finished with six points on 18.2 percent shooting, four rebounds, and seven assists in 32 minutes off the bench. The 25-year-old has a case to be a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year award, but couldn’t deliver that spark as usual.
Heat; Surprising hero: Despite missing numerous key players in Tyler Herro (left quadriceps soreness), Andrew Wiggins (left big toe sesamoiditis), Norman Powell (right groin strain), and Nikola Jovic (lower back), plus the struggles of Adebayo and Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson stepped up.
The second-year guard finished with a new career-high in 28 points on 64.3 percent shooting, including a couple of three-pointers made, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal in 38 minutes.
Larsson has made a significant jump from this season compared to his rookie year.
Heat; Dominating the glass: The Heat were far more active on the boards than the Bucks. They finished with 53 total rebounds, 15 from the offensive side, which resulted in 18 second-chance points.
Kel’el Ware finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, including six points, an assist, and a block in 28 minutes off the bench.
Bucks starting center Myles Turner finished with only four rebounds, including seven points, two assists, and a block in 22 minutes.
The Heat improve to a 38-29 record, sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. There is such a thing as peaking at the right, which the team is currently doing. They proved on Thursday that no matter who’s available, anyone can step up and finish with a significant performance.
There will be an in-state battle on Saturday, as the Heat will face the Orlando Magic.
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