Bucks vs. Heat: No Giannis? No problem

Dame drops 37 as Milwaukee wins ugly without Giannis

Powered by an insane Dame performance, the Milwaukee Bucks got a somewhat miraculous win, 106-103, without Giannis and Khris Middleton against the Miami Heat. Lillard had 37 points and twelve assists, while the Bucks had four others reach double figures. Predictably, Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 23 points, eleven of those coming from the charity stripe. Milwaukee now moves to 3-0 in NBA Cup games. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.

What Did We Learn?

One of the key learnings from last night’s game was the ups and downs of Andre Jackson Jr. operating as playmaker. As the lead extended to around 20 points in the third quarter—largely due to Dame being unconscious—the Heat made a choice to double Lillard both in pick-and-rolls and randomly in the halfcourt, leaving Jackson. Andre was able to make some nice plays as a connector, finishing a few plays at the rim. However, he also committed a turnover on a crucial play in the last minute, which gave the Heat a chance. Doc spoke postgame about how he handles Andre after he makes young-guy mistakes:

“You’ve got to pick your spots, because he plays extremely hard. He’s a very emotional player. When he turned the ball over, I didn’t say a word. Tomorrow or the next day, I’ll show him… but he’s young, and he’s learning.”

Regardless, these mistakes are good for Andre to learn from for when he is needed in the playoffs. Jackson still had a nice game, I thought, and this was reflected in his plus/minus of +11. Also, he can do ridiculous stuff like this:

Three Things

Damian Lillard is still that guy.

Even on nights where only one of the big three is playing, you can rest assured Dame can keep the offence afloat. Lillard had 17 points in the first quarter (!) on 5/7 from the field. He finished with 25 points in the half before the Heat started doubling. Dame spoke about the importance of his aggressive mentality entering the game after hearing Giannis was out:

“I think it was important for our team. Without Giannis playing, it’s always going to be done by committee. Everybody is going to have to do a little bit more with such a hole in our lineup. But I know that guys are going to look to me to step up. whether that’s scoring, making plays, or my voice being a little bit louder.”

AJ Green has zero fear.

AJ started the night off slow. He shot seven threes for the night, and his first make came with nine minutes left in the third quarter. Fast forward to late in the fourth quarter, AJ Automatic nailed two ginormous threes to stem the Heat’s run—and he’s quickly earned his teammates’ respect:

“Sniper. I say that all the time. Watch AJ [shoot] pregame, watch him before practice… I literally sit in a chair on the sideline before practice and watch him do it every day. For one, I think it makes him confident in his ability… but me witnessing that… [there’s] a reason why I trust him that much.” – Lillard.

Milwaukee defended the penultimate play very well.

Miami has scored on crucial possessions three times this season (at least, from what I can remember) coming out of this formation where they plant three guys in the backcourt and have them screen for each other and come off screens with a head of steam towards the basket. They are hoping to confuse the opponent and cause them to mess up a switch. Brook Lopez was excellent at “playing centre field” as Steve Jones Jr. says below. He holds Butler up enough for Prince to recover, and then turns to handle the next action, getting high enough to provide a good contest on the Herro three without being too high that he allowed the blow-by.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Milwaukee won the analytical game. Ever since the Toronto game, Doc has spoken about the need for this team to shoot more threes. That goal was going to be even more crucial given the lack of inside bulk last night. Well, Milwaukee did exactly that, going 20/42 on threes compared to Miami’s 10/29. Generating three pointers and limiting opposing teams’ attempts is vital to winning these days. Here’s Doc talking about it after the game:

• After not playing for four games (or something like that), Pat Connaughton came in and had ten points and eight rebounds.
• MarJon got some real tick for the first time in how long? In all seriousness, he hit a nice side-step three. Way to stay ready, MJB.
• Ryan Rollins continues to be listed on the active roster but not get any minutes. Begs the question: if you’re going to have him suit up and not get surgery, why not play him? I wonder what the plan is there.
• Heat Rookies Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larson—two guys many Bucks fans wanted in the draft, especially Ware—both led Miami in plus/minus.

Up Next

By NBA standards, Milwaukee gets a big break now. Their next game comes at home on Saturday night against the Washington Wizards. Watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 PM Central.

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