Apr 9, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) looks to pass the ball as Milwaukee Bucks small forward Marquis Daniels (6) defends in the first period at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Dwayne Wade was out for the fifth straight game with a knee injury and Chris Bosh sat out with a case of
the sniffles
the flu (technically, “flu-like symptoms”), but the Heat still rolled to another double digit win. This time it was against the team they will probably see during the first round of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks. As I stated in my game preview, Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are the keys for Bucks — if they play well (aka if some of their “pray-and-hope” chucking actually go in) they can challenge the Heat.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little pleased with myself…
Unfortunately for the Heat, Brandon Jennings went off for 30 points. He was 4-9 from three point range, 10-16 from the field — and had a plus-minus of -24. This was probably due to the fact that Brandon Jennings couldn’t defend that skinny kid with the Bieber haircut from Thunderstruck (even before he steals Kevin Durant’s powers) if his life depended on it. Jennings also probably had a plus-minus of -24 due to the fact that nobody else on the Bucks had more than 8 points.
In case you don’t remember it from all the Oscars publicity it got, here’s the trailer for Thunderstruck
Fortunately for the Heat, LeBron James played and had his typical 28 points (11 for 16 shooting), 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Ray Allen chipped in 11 points, though he went a horrendous 4 for 13, and Norris Cole also had 11 points. This was a relatively close game: the Heat were only up 26-21 in the first quarter (after a hot 13-4 start, they cooled off), and took a slim 47-46 lead into halftime. They came out after halftime and outscored the Bucks 24-13 in the third quarter and essentially put the game away. LeBron played a large part of that crucial third quarter and had the highlight of the game when he flipped the ball off the backboard to himself and then slammed it home.
Gooooooodnight Milwaukee
The Moment I Really Knew The Game Was Over:
Chris Andersen hits a three with under 9 minutes to go to put the Heat up by 18 points.
The moment JUWAN HOWARD checked into the game (he played 2 minutes, 4 seconds and they were the best 2 minutes and 4 seconds of my day) is also an acceptable answer.
Things That Worry Me After Tonight’s Game:
- The Heat went 8 for 35 from three point range. That’s 22.9%. Monta Ellis has been averaging 27% from three point range this season. Just saying.
- Ray Allen, 4 for 13 from the field? 2 for 8 from three point land? I know it is just one game, but I hope this isn’t the start of Allenstruck, unless Allenstruck ends with
Jesus ShuttlesworthRay Allen hitting a game-winning-buzzer-beating three in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Things That Impressed Me After Tonight’s Game:
- Udonis Haslem had a double-double (10 points, 15 rebounds).
- The Heat actually out-rebounded the Bucks 49-37. And they also out-rebounded the Philadelphia 76ers 48-41 on Saturday. And Chris Bosh missed both games….hmm…Just saying.
- Even though they sucked from three point range, they shot 57% from everywhere else, which is why they were able to win this game.
Super-Nice Retro Moment of the Night:
Before the game, the Heat honored “Thunder” Dan Majerle, who played for the Heat from 1996-2001.