Heat’s best defense shines against Bucks
Responding to Spoelstra’s criticism of ‘mediocre’ defense, Heat hold Bucks to season-low shooting in seventh straight win.
Miami limits Milwaukee to a season-low 31.6 percent shooting and forces 15 turnovers to win its seventh game in a row.
MIAMI — Co a ch Erik Spoelstra described the Heat’s defense as “mediocre” and “middle of the pack” after Saturday’s practice. And by the numbers, Spoelstra was correct.
But on Sunday, Miami’s defense was elite. The Heat dominated the Bucks 97-79 at American-Airlines Arena to extend their winning streak to seven games and hold on to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Miami (25-17) limited Milwaukee (22-20) to a season-low 31.6 percent
shooting and forced 15 turnovers. Aside from star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (22 points on 6-of12 shooting), the other Bucks players combined to score 57 points on 28.4 percent shooting.
“It was good to see us put together one of our better, more complete defensive efforts for the entire game,” a pleased Spoelstra said.
The Heat won the game in the second half, outscoring the Bucks 56-36 over the final two quarters to gain the separation they needed.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside left his fingerprints on the game with 15 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and four blocks in 25 minutes. Goran Dragic finished with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
The win is the start of a back-toback set for the Heat, as they travel to face the Bulls in Chicago (16-27) this afternoon.
Here are our five takeaways: Heat defense steals the show:
After finishing as a top-five defensive team last season, the Heat entered Sunday ranked 13th out of 30 teams in defensive rating. But Miami’s defense looked like one of the best in the NBA against Milwaukee. The Bucks made 17 of 40 shots (42.5 percent) inside the paint. Miami’s best defensive quarter came in the third, as Milwaukee scored 16 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
“I really wanted to make sure they could see my chest as much as I could,” Whiteside said of his defensive approach against the Bucks. “Just make it tough for those guys and make sure they see me as much possible. Whenever they go to the rim, just meet them and make it as tough as possible no matter what happens.”
Whiteside looked like Heat’s best player: It’s been a weird season for Whiteside as he’s already missed 18 games with two different bone bruises in his left knee. But Miami’s $98 million center controlled Sunday’s game with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 10 rebounds, two steals and four blocks in 25 minutes. And he played a big part in a critical third quarter with nine points, four rebounds and two steals. He’s averaging 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and four blocks over the past two games, and Miami has outscored opponents by 27 points with Whiteside playing during this short stretch.
“I told him when he came out [in the third quarter]. I said, ‘Take a snapshot of what you look like right now,’” Spoelstra said of Whiteside. “Totally gasping for air, out of breath and what that picture is is a vision of a competitor who put it all out there. He didn’t leave anything else in the tank. He was making big-time efforts on both ends of the court, even those offensive tips when we didn’t score.
“I do believe those kind of efforts ignite the guys that are coming in to do the same. And he was really protecting the paint for us, as well. ... Hassan, when he’s locked in, can be elite at what he does. We just have to build on that. The next challenge is for that to be consistent. But I loved what he did in the third quarter.”
A new Heat starting lineup? James Johnson started Sunday for the first time since the Heat’s win over the Clippers on Dec. 16. He took Kelly Olynyk’s place at power forward. The timing of this switch might seem weird, considering the Heat are 13-5 over the past 18 games with Olynyk starting. But the timing actually made sense, with Milwaukee using an athletic starting frontcourt of John Henson and Antetokounmpo. Johnson finished with four points, four rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks in 25 minutes, and was used as the primary defender against Antetokounmpo. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Olynyk back in the starting lineup today.
Justise Winslow’s new role? After missing the Heat’s past 14 games with a strained left knee, Winslow made his return. He didn’t play heavy minutes in his first game back since suffering the injury on Dec. 13, finishing with three points, four rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes, but it was interesting to see how Spoelstra used him. Before hurting his knee, Winslow had logged 73 percent of his minutes at power forward, according to Basketball Reference. But with the emergence of Olynyk and Bam Adebayo, that power forward spot is crowded. So Winslow played on the perimeter, often initiating offense. Most of his minutes came as part of a lineup that featured the Olynyk-Adebayo frontcourt.
“It was great to have him back out there,” Spoelstra said. “He’s another guy that creates a lot of action. When Justise is being aggressive on both ends of the court, it’s hard to not notice him.”
Standings Watch: Miami is now one-half game ahead of the No. 5 Washington Wizards and 2.5 games ahead of the No. 6 Detroit Pistons. And the victory came against another team fighting for playoff position in the East. The Heat moved three games ahead of the Bucks, who have lost four of their past six. The Heat are also one game behind LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the No. 3 Cleveland Cavaliers.