Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 106-101 loss to Miami Heat

After having gotten back on the right track earlier in the week, the Milwaukee Bucks collapsed in the fourth quarter and fell to the Miami Heat as a result on Wednesday night.

In their second meeting in a matter of days, the Milwaukee Bucks were defeated by the Miami Heat on Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, losing 106-101.

The Heat were the aggressors coming out of the gate as they looked to do their damage from the perimeter and with Hassan Whiteside settling inside the paint for what wound up being a masterful performance from him on the night. The Bucks were able to claw back a bit, though, enough to keep within range by trailing by five to the Heat at the end of the first.

The second quarter saw the Bucks inching closer to knotting things back up and eventually breaking through to grab a hold of what was then their first substantial lead midway through the period.

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Even as the Heat battled back in the final minutes of the quarter, the Bucks were able to pull away a bit at the end of the first half and led by five heading into halftime.

The Bucks carried over their control of the game into the third quarter and led the Heat all throughout the period, no matter how slight it may have been or looked. However, the Heat closed out the third strong and only trailed the Bucks 79-78 heading into the final frame.

But the start of the fourth quarter marked a turning point in the game as the Heat’s second unit jumpstarted a run to even things up against the Bucks’ lifeless lineup at the time, which was led by Khris Middleton.

While both teams briefly traded buckets back and forth for a stretch, the Bucks’ offense unfortunately dried up during precious crunch time minutes. Despite coming back to life momentarily in the final minute thanks to a couple of three-pointers from Middleton, it was ultimately too much for the Bucks to overcome.

So without further ado, let’s take a deeper dive at what stood out in the Bucks’ loss to the Heat on Wednesday night.