Dion Waiters went from punching bag to hero against the Bucks

Dion Waiters scored a career-high 33 points in the Miami Heat’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Welcome to the Hot Hand, where after every Miami Heat game win or loss we recognize the player who best put his stamp on the game.

It’s been an up and down year for Dion Waiters, whose been the piñata for fans of a Miami Heat team with one of the worst records in the NBA. However, in a 109-97 win against the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday, Waiters was more champion than chump.

Waiters used a silky-smooth jumper, uninterrupted jaunts to the rim and a shockingly consistent ability to finish to score a career-high 33 points. Not only did he connect on 63 percent of his field goal attempts, he sank five three pointers in just eight tries.

During a time when many fans are calling for Erik Spoelstra and company to embrace the infamous tank, the Heat just will not lay down, now riding a season-best three-game win streak. The streak is Miami’s longest since March of last year.

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Waiters doesn’t care about tanking, he has his own future to worry about. He can opt out of his contract after the season and try again to get a big pay raise this summer. When he starts making contested layups and getting into a rhythm like that, he can be nearly impossible to guard. Waiters has always been able to get to the rim at will–that’s never been the problem. It’s finishing once he gets there. It’s games like these that remind us just how talented Waiters is, and how good he can be when he locks in.

Goran Dragic added 25, Hassan Whiteside scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Wayne Ellington tacked on 15 points as the Heat put forth one of the more impressive outings of the season.

After Waiters and Dragic set the tone early, everything seemed to fall perfectly into place. The Heat shot a blistering 53 percent as a team, just shy of their season-high.

Knocking down timely shots throughout the night, it was Waiters’ contested three pointer from the corner that put the Heat up 103-91 with just over two minutes remaining:

Dragic followed that with his own three-pointer a minute later, and that proved to be the final nail in the coffin for a slumping Bucks team that recently held a players-only meeting following Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic.

Miami (14-30) will remain home for a showdown with the Golden State Warriors on Monday at 7:30 PM ET.