Once again, an opposing team does their best work in the first half and successfully make the Heat look mortal. Then the second half comes around and the Heat look positively unstoppable. Any suspense created by the 73-70 score at the start of the fourth quarter was quickly extinguished with a 13-0 run that suddenly ballooned the lead to almost 20 points near the game. This after the Heat blew an 11-point lead in the second quarter at 39-28 with more than 7 minutes left in the first half.
The arena was at more than capacity with standing room sections all filled up. Now if only the crowd had a consistent, entertaining home game that would keep them into it - though it would be nice if the crowd could also spur on the team with a little more energy as well.
The Bucks scored 20 points in the first quarter and 19 points each in the third and fourth quarter. The second quarter was a different story with 31 points as they outscored the Heat by 10 in those 12 minutes. Milwaukee didn't attempt a free throw in the opening quarter but had 20 attempts in the second quarter alone.
Former Heat player and Fort Lauderdale native Keyon Dooling had an effective game with 14 points and 5 assists filling in for the injured Brandon Jennings. Dooling's quickness was evident as he penetrated the Heat's interior defense quite capably. Former University of Miami player John Salmons along with Andrew Bogut had decent games but the shorthanded Bucks simply couldn't compete over 48 minutes, with a rematch back in Milwaukee coming up on Friday after the seemingly NBA-mandated road visit to Orlando on Wednesday.
Only 23 points from Heat players not named Bosh, Wade and LeBron is an area of concern (for a team that has won 19 out of their last 20 games). For them to win, the Heat's bench scoring doesn't have to outscore the opposing team's bench but you'd think they could take advantage of all the freedom the defense gives them while worrying about the Big 3. Carlos Arroyo's sudden struggles continue as he only scored 2 points and 2 assists in just under 20 minutes. In the last 9 games, Arroyo has scored exactly 11 points four times and 9 points in the other 6 games combined. It's not a coincidence that Spoesltra has had pretty much no choice but to insert Mario Chalmers in the fourth quarter but he's also been erratic and unpredictable. A veteran pass-first point guard would do wonders for the first and second units.
A bizarre sequence near the end of the third quarter that began with Bucks coach Scott Skiles wandering into the court while the game was being played resulted in Arroyo bumping into him while attempting a shot and a technical foul being called on him. Yet, it wasn't considered "non-unsportmanslike" (is that a double negative and if so does it mean it was "sportsmanlike"?) and so he was allowed to stay in the game despite it being his second technical foul of the game. Skiles had a point, LeBron's shot attempt near the rim was blocked by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute but the shot clock reset despite the ball not hitting the rim. Skiles attempted to get the attention of the ref and play was stopped. However, it makes little sense why there had to be a jump ball at midcourt to decide which team could get possession. The ball was in the possession of the Heat after the block and Skiles disrupted Arroyo as he shot it. If Skiles gets a tech for doing that then the Heat shouldn't be penalized for his actions, despite the initial error. Afterwards, Skiles explained himself: "It was a very odd play. I'm one of the coaches, one of the few, who never steps on the floor to direct my team. We didn't feel like the ball hit the rim and I couldn't get the attention of the ref in front of me so I moved down the sidelines and inadvertently stepped on the court and I got hit by the player so it was a correct call. I would expect that call in return but it was a very odd play."
