Miami Heat avoids clutch game as they defeat Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks

The Miami Heat has had fans on edge this season as they lead the league in clutch games played, but they were able to take care of business as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 108-102 to move three games over .500 for the first time this season. Miami received contributions across the board and even had a few career-highs to defeat the short-handed Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

The start of this game was as ugly as you can imagine for Miami as they scored a season-low 14 points in the first quarter on 6-of-22 shooting from the field and 0-of-7 from three point range. They also turned the ball over five times while accumulating just two assists in their first 15 minutes of action. It also did not help that Miami was getting outscored 20-0 in bench scoring at one point. Luckily, with the help of one Gabe Nnamdi Vincent and Bam Adebayo, Miami was able to get out of that early scoring drought and put together a strong final three quarters.

While Milwaukee was certainly shorthanded tonight, Miami was dealing with injuries of their own as they were without Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and others, but were able to get enough for the win. Vincent led the way with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting as well as 5-of-11 from three to go with six assists, three rebounds and two steals. He was deep in his bag tonight as he was hitting tough bucket after tough bucket while also getting his teammates involved and providing that hard nosed defense we've come to expect from the Nigerian guard. Whether it was pull ups, step backs or finishes in the lane, he was doing just about everything you can ask for from your starting point guard. Miami does not win this game without his contributions, which is why he is easily my player of the game.

Even though it's become the norm this season, I absolutely love watching Bam go to work in the paint. In previous seasons, the Bucks as well as most teams in the league were content with allowing Bam taking that mid to close range bucket. However, as we've come to expect from our All-Star center this year he will take that shot with no hesitation and make it more often than not. Bam is among the best paint scorers this season and Brook Lopez found out exactly why on multiple occasions. Bam led the charge as Miami completely dominated the interior outscoring Milwaukee 58-18 in the paint. He finished the night with another monster double double at 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 12 rebounds to go with one assist, two steals, a block and no turnovers. A supremely efficient night from our big man, who continues to show why he's one of the best in the league.

Crazy to think that after the Miami Heat put together that atrocious first quarter they were able to put together three straight quarters of at least 30 points against this tough Milwaukee Bucks defense, which is third in defensive rating this season. Of course being without their MVP Giannis makes a worlds difference, but if you saw the start to this game you would agree that it was the worst Miami had looked all season long. A big part of the turnaround was how dominant Miami was on the glass tonight as they out rebounded the Bucks 61-39 overall and 18-8 on the offensive boards. That is the most rebounds in a game this season by a wide margin (previous high was 53), and to do so against the top rebounding team in the league says a lot about the level of effort and intensity the team was putting out there.

Which brings me to the Jamal Cain portion of this recap. Get this man more playing time. When Jamal was inserted into the game and placed at the top of Miami's 2/3 zone the defense looked on a completely different level. His length, speed and strength allows him to stay in front of just about everyone and make it difficult for ball handlers to get by him without the ball getting poked free. He finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals. Orlando Robinson also played some solid minutes as his hustle and length continues to be a big factor on the defensive end. His offense could use work as is the case for most rookie centers, but the intangibles are there. Let me also give a shout out to Max Strus, who has been killing it from three as of late (40% on 7.8 attempts in his previous nine games). While he didn't have the shot falling going 1-of-7 from deep he showed the other parts of his game that he's been improving as well as grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double double with 12 points. He added four assists as well showing off his all-around play in this game.

Jimmy Butler wasn't at his best tonight, but he still provided a consistent presence for Miami on both ends of the floor. He scored 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and two assists. I'm encouraged with the fact that we didn't need a monster Jimmy night to get us this win against a quality opponent as it shows that the team is starting to come together and gel. Victor Oladipo also had an inefficient tonight, but he too found a way to impact the game on both ends as he finished the game with 14 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and a steal. He was making a concerted effort to push the ball down the floor and increase Miami's pace. This led to a few turnovers, but I want him to continue the aggressiveness as it will be vital for the bench unit and closing lineups.

Next up, the Miami Heat will be facing the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, January 14th at the Arena at 1:00 PM EST. I expect Giannis Antetokounmpo to return for this game, which will make things much tougher, but I am excited to see how Bam Adebayo matches up against him and see if he can continue his recent dominance in the paint.