Pelle Larsson scored a career-high 28 points and added six rebounds and six assists as the host Miami Heat won their season-high seventh straight game, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 112-105 on Thursday night.
The Bucks never led en route to their third loss in a row and seventh in eight games.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo, who posted 83 points on Tuesday, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history, had just eight points through three quarters before finishing with 21. He shot 6-for-20 on field-goal attempts, 0-for-5 from 3-point range and 9-for-13 at the free-throw line.
Rookie Kasparas Jakucionis had a strong game for the Heat, scoring 18 points while shooting 5-for-11 on 3-point attempts.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with a game-high 31 points, and Bobby Portis came off the bench to score 19. Bucks reserve Ryan Rollins tallied 16 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Miami played without three of its top four scorers: Norman Powell (groin), Tyler Herro (quadriceps) and Andrew Wiggins (toe).
The Bucks got three players off the injured list: Portis had missed one game due to a back. Kevin Porter Jr., who was out four games because of a knee injury, added six points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jericho Sims, who sat out one game with a knee injury, scored seven points.
The Heat, who led by as many as 14 points early, settled for a 31-21 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Antetokounmpo put up 10 points in the period, but the Bucks shot just 1-for-5 from 3-point range as opposed to 5-for-13 for Miami.
Adebayo scored four points — 27 points fewer than his first-quarter total on Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo scored eight straight Bucks points in the second quarter, cutting Miami’s lead to 46-43. Milwaukee cut its deficit to one point on a Rollins trey, but the Heat finished the half on a high note, taking a 59-51 lead into the break.
In the second quarter, Adebayo had just two points as Miami shot 42.1% from the floor. Milwaukee shot 52.4%.
Adebayo scored just two points in the third quarter as Milwaukee cut its deficit to four before the Heat pulled away a bit for an 85-77 edge.
The Heat were up by 11 early in the fourth, but with 51.9 seconds left, Milwaukee had a chance to tie the score on a 3-point attempt by Antetokounmpo from the top of the key. The shot bounced off the front of the rim and the backboard, and Larsson made a 3-pointer on the next possession, essentially icing the game for Miami with 27.9 seconds left.
–Field Level Media