In almost no time Heat go from bad to worse in 125-96 loss to Lillard, Bucks

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jan 23, 2025

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MIAMI — Two distinct varieties of drama were on display Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.

For the Miami Heat, it was a stupor-like daze in the wake of yet another Jimmy Butler suspension, personified by the end of the first half in the 125-96 loss, the team’s fifth in their last six games.

For the Milwaukee Bucks, it was playoff-level perseverance on a day they could not depart New Orleans until mid-afternoon as that city recovered from a freak winter storm.

No single sequence better personified the difference in direction than the close of the first half, when Bucks guard Damian Lillard scored six points in the final 1.1 seconds of the second quarter.

(Yes, you read that right.)

With those 1.1 seconds remaining in the first half, Lillard was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Heat guard Duncan Robinson, converting all three free throws.

Then, with Heat rookie center Kel’el Ware unable to inbound, the Bucks regained possession with those 1.1 seconds still remaining, enough for Lillard to beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer.

For the Bucks, the revival continues, winning for the eighth time in nine games, behind 29 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds from Lillard and 25 points and 12 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

For the Heat, the ongoing uncertainty of what comes next continues with Butler, whose latest two-game suspension ends with Saturday’s road game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Ware led the Heat with 22 points and 10 rebounds, with Tyler Herro adding 21 points and nine assists, and Bam Adebayo 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Five Degrees of Heat from Thursday night’s game:

— 1. Game flow: The Heat jumped out to a 20-5 lead before the Bucks closed within 30-27 at the end of the first period.

It quickly went south from there, including the dramatic Lillard finish to the second period that staked Milwaukee to a 71-55 halftime lead.

From there, the Bucks pushed their lead into the 20s before taking a 94-74 lead into the fourth.

That’s when TNT made the decision to cut away to Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics, leaving this one to play out on truTV.

— 2. New look: Not only did Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remain with his big lineup that gave Ware his second NBA start, but also, in the absence of Butler, gave second-round pick Pelle Larsson his first start.

It proved to be a tale of two opportunities for the 2024 draft picks..

Ware was up to 13 points and six rebounds at halftime, as he again started alongside Adebayo.

Larsson lasted only the first 1:58 before being forced to the bench for the balance of the first half with three fouls. He then was called for his fourth foul 2:50 into the third quarter.

Larsson became the 12th Heat player to start this season.

— 3. Herro returns: Herro was back after sitting out Tuesday night’s home loss to the Blazers due to a groin issue.

With one week remaining before conference coaches select All-Star Game reserves, Herro attempted to state his case in the first half, with 15 points and five assists by the intermission, tapering off from there in his hometown.

With his 14th point, Herro reached 1,000 for the season in his 42nd game. The franchise record for fastest Heat player to 1,000 points is Dwyane Wade in 35 games in 2008-09.

Herro closed 6 of 19 from the field, 4 of 13 on 3-pointers, getting no support from fellow Heat wings.

— 4. Unique day: Spoelstra said earlier in the day that he empathized with the Bucks’ unique travel situation.

“There’s a lot of unpredictable things that happen during a long NBA season,” Spoelstra said. “There’s always going to be something.

“You get used to it. It’s the quicker you can get used to it, not use it as an excuse, whatever it may be.”

Which proved to be the case with the Bucks’ approach.

Spoelstra said he was appreciative of the game only being delayed and not postponed.

“It just gets a lot more complicated when you have to push it down the road,” he said.

Said Herro of the delayed start, “It’s definitely a unique situation.”

— 5. Onward: And, so, with a 21-22 record and in ninth place in the East, the Heat are left with six games to sort things out ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline: Saturday at Brooklyn, Monday at home against the Orlando Magic, Wednesday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Feb. 1 at the San Antonio Spurs, Feb. 4 at the Chicago Bulls and Feb. 5 at the Philadelphia 76ers.