Bucks Bench Burns Heat

The NBA season has flipped into its second half: a time where the clouds generally begin to part in the playoff picture—but in the Eastern Conference, that outlook has only become more muddled as the season has gone along.

But on the road Tuesday night against a team desperate for victories, Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks squad proved that it is fully prepared to fight for its spot in the postseason.

The Bucks used a strong fourth quarter to close out a 109-102 victory over the Miami Heat. The victory moved the Bucks to 23-22, four games above the No. 8 seed and firmly in the playoff pool. Meanwhile, Miami fell to 20-25, just one game up on the eighth spot.

“When you look at the teams that are behind us, chasing us, people are trying to get into the playoffs,” Jason said. “We were up to the challenge.”

The Heat mounted a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter and were in position to run away with the win on their home floor, but the Bucks battled back. By the end of the night, seven Bucks, including four reserves, were in double figures.

“They believe in one another and they believe they can win,” Kidd said. “Even when we were down, guys didn’t panic, guys didn’t take bad shots, our defense tightened up and we went from there.”

Jerryd Bayless caught fire in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks move to 13-12 on the road. Bayless had 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds in just 22 minutes of work off the bench. Of the 15, 11 came in the fourth quarter, including a seven-point run by Bayless himself during a crucial stretch.

Coach Kidd had three guards—Bayless, O.J. Mayo and Brandon Knight—on the floor to start the final frame, and it paid off big time.

“We were in foul trouble with Khris (Middleton), so we started to shuffle the cards a little bit,” Jason said. “We played Juice (O.J. Mayo); he was going offensively and was carrying us. We thought playing with the two guards, it wasn’t something new to us. We just thought it was a good time to look at it. Bayless got going and got hot offensively, and defensively as a team we did a great job.”

With boxing super stars Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao sitting courtside, the atmosphere was set for a 12-round fight. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, each team had 40-plus points in the paint. Both took care of the ball as well, turning the ball over just 12 times each.

The two teams displayed their contrasting styles early. Guards Knight and Khris Middleton each went for 10 points in the first for Milwaukee, while forwards Chris Bosh and Danny Granger each had nine for Miami. The Bucks led by just one, 30-29, after one.

In the second, the Milwaukee reserves checked in and contended extremely well with whatever Miami threw their way, holding the Heat to just 35 percent shooting in the frame. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 13 points, threw down a dunk to end the half giving the Bucks a 54-50 lead at halftime.

Giannis played the power forward spot all night, matching up with Miami’s Chris Bosh. The All-Star led the Heat with 26 points, but was limited to five points on 2-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter.

“When you look at Giannis’ game, the stats won’t show that his defense on Bosh was a big reason for our success,” J-Kidd said.

Coming out of the break on their home floor, the Heat mounted their charge. Mario Chalmers got things started with a three, and the long 25-11 run was capped by another triple by Norris Cole. Hassan Whiteside, who finished with 16 points and 16 boards in just his fourth career start, also played a big part in the run that gave Miami its 10-point cushion at 78-68.

But just as the Heat got comfortable, the Bucks knocked them off their tracks. Milwaukee responded with a swift 14-4 run, sparked by six unanswered points from Mayo to tie the game at 82 for the fourth quarter.

Once the final frame hit, it was like a live show—cue Mr. Bayless.

“We’re very versatile. We’ve got combo guards; we’ve got 3-4s; we’ve got point guards. So I think Coach went with the hot hand,” Dudley said. “He (Bayless) was like Kobe (Bryant) shooting fadeaways and knocking them down. We have a lot of veterans on that bench. We’ve got guys who have been five or six years in the league. We’re all secure in ourselves and you can see on the court we’ll give up a good shot to get a great shot.”

Bayless hit an 18-footer to put Milwaukee up one, 87-86. Then he made back-to-back plays where he assisted on big-time shots to Mayo, both mid-range jumpers. Mayo finished with 14 points off the bench.

Bayless then daggered a 24-footer straight through the hoop to extend the Milwaukee lead to seven with 5:48 left. It didn’t stop there. Bayless wanted to finish the job, so he hit two right-elbow jumpers to take the lead from just seven to 11.

Of the nine field goals that were made in the fourth quarter to finish the game, Bayless was involved in eight of them.

“We needed to mix and match and make something happen, and it worked,” said Bayless, who also had seven assists and four rebounds in 22 minutes. “I was just trying to make plays for myself and others. We have good players on this team. We have guys that can really play and I think we’re showing it on a nightly basis. We’ve just got to continue to do that.”

It’s a testament to Coach Kidd and his team, and their ability to find success as a collective group regardless of poor play or injury. Veteran-guard, Jared Dudley scored 11 points off the pine in 23 minutes.

“Different guys on different nights,” Dudley said. “And that’s the motto of our team.”

John Henson tallied 12 points to join Bayless, Mayo and Dudley in double figures off the bench. In the starting lineup, Knight and Middleton each added 17 to Antetokounmpo’s 13. Milwaukee’s reserves outscored Miami’s second unit 54-13.