Heat are first team to beat Bucks twice

MIAMI 105, MILWAUKEE 89

The Miami Heat stand alone, the first team to beat the Milwaukee Bucks twice this season.

Jae Crowder and Jimmy Butler each scored 18 points, and the host Heat beat the Bucks 105-89 on Monday night — moving to 2-0 against the NBA’s best team.

The Heat (39-22) matched their win total from last season.

Brook Lopez led the Bucks (52-9) with 21 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo matched a season low with 13 points on six-for-18 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds.

“The Heat, they’re a team that plays hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s not just hard for me, it’s hard for everybody. They just move the ball so much, they move their bodies, they just play hard.”

It was a season low in points for the Bucks, set for the second straight day after Milwaukee managed only 93 in a win Sunday at Charlotte. The difference was from the three-point line: Miami was 18 for 37, Milwaukee was seven for 34.

“Not saying we can hold great offensive teams like this regularly under 90, but we have it in us to do it more consistently,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Milwaukee has faced 21 of the 29 other teams more than once this season. Most of those clubs have had minimal or no success: Chicago and Orlando went 0-4, Atlanta, Cleveland, New York and Charlotte are 0-3. The Heat clinched the season series, and Boston — which would have to sweep its last two matchups with the Bucks — is the only other East team with a chance to do that.

at New York 125, Houston 123 :RJ Barrett tied his season high with 27 points and the Knicks snapped the Rockets’ six-game winning streak.

at Chicago 109, Dallas 107: Coby White scored 19 points, Otto Porter Jr. added 18 in his return from a broken left foot, and the Bulls won for just the second time in 12 games even without leading scorer Zach LaVine (strained quadriceps).

Portland 130, at Orlando 107 :CJ McCollum scored 41 points and the Trail Blazers ended a three-game losing streak by outscoring the Magic 38-19 in the final period.

Indiana 116, at San Antonio 111:

Malcolm Brogdon scored 26 points, and the Pacers rallied to win their fourth in a row after blowing a 15-point lead.

Utah 126, at Cleveland 113: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points, and the Jazz began a four-game trip.

Memphis 127, at Atlanta 88: The Grizzlies denied the Hawks their first three-game winning streak.