HHH GameTime Preview: Heat Visit Bucks

Tonight at 8PM, the Heat will play the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center in front of probably about 15,000 fans. Tonight’s game will be the second of four this season between the two teams. They’ll play in Miami next Saturday and meet again in Milwaukee on February 8th.

Miami is finishing up a six-game roadtrip. They started out by losing to the Phoenix Suns, 99-90 last Tuesday and defeating the Sacramento Kings, 107-102 the next night. They followed that with three straight losses, 127-100 to the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-86 to the Los Angeles Clippers, and 107-95 to the Golden State Warriors. After this, they’ll go back to Miami to host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday next week, followed by the Dallas Mavericks, the Buck, and the Warriors.

Milwaukee just finished a one-game trip with a 109-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, and will head out on another one-game trip after, against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

The last time Miami played the Bucks was on November 17th of this season. The Heat came away with a 96-73 home win behind 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Dion Waiters. Hassan Whiteside had 12 points with 17 boards, and Goran Dragic supported with 16 points, six rebounds, and four helpers. Josh Richardson pitched in 18. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tony Snell led the way with 14 points each, Michael Beasley had 13 off the bench, and John Henson scored a dozen.

In Miami’s last game, a 107-95 defeat at the hands of the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, the Heat were led by 28 points and 20 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside. Goran Dragic had 17 with four assists, and Tyler Johnson pitched in off the bench with 18 points and seven boards. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 28 points, while Stephen Curry scored 24 with nine assists and eight rebounds.

In Milwaukee’s aforementioned last game, a 109-107 loss to the Spurs, Beasley poured in 28 points off the bench, and Jabari Parker had 22 with seven rebounds. The Spurs were led by Kawhi Leonard’s 30 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and two assists.

All-Time Heat-to-Head: Miami has defeated the Bucks in 62 out of 102 contests, a .608 winning percentage that ranks as the Heat’s fourth best against any team.

Standings

Miami Heat: 11-29, .275, 12 GB, on pace for 23-59 season. Fifth in the Southeast Division, 14th in the Eastern Conference, 29th in the NBA.

Milwaukee Bucks: 19-18, .514, 8.5 GB, on pace for 42-40 season. Second in the Central Division, fifth in the Eastern Conference, 12th in the NBA.