Heat fall in OT to Giannis and Bucks, 121-115

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Apr 5, 2025

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MIAMI — At a time when more is needed than good job and good effort, that is what the Heat wound up with Saturday night for a second consecutive game at Kaseya Center.

A game after falling to the Memphis Grizzlies on a Ja Morant buzzer-beating jumper, the Miami Heat this time blew a seven-point lead late in regulation and fell, 121-115, in overtime to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

Two nights after being locked into the franchise’s first losing record since 2018-19, the Heat could have arrived with heads bowed.

Instead, for the third consecutive game Erik Spoelstra’s team fought the good fight against a playoff contender. Didn’t matter, unable to again back up Wednesday night’s road victory over the Boston Celtics.

Both teams were shorthanded, the Heat without Tyler Herro due to a thigh contusion sustained in Thursday night’s home loss, the Bucks without Damian Lillard due to blood clots.

Even with Bam Adebayo leading the way with 31 points and 12 rebounds, and even with the Heat getting 24 points from Alec Burks and 20 from Davion Mitchell, it wasn’t enough on a night Antetokounmpo closed with 36 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:

— 1. Closing time: The Heat led 30-22 after the first period, with the Heat tying it 57-57 at halftime on a 3-pointer by Duncan Robinson to close the scoring at the close of the second quarter.

The Heat then moved to a 10-point lead in the third before taking an 88-81 lead into the fourth.

The Heat then built a seven-point lead with 3:04 left in regulation, only to see the Bucks leave it tied 111-111 at the end of regulation.

From there, baskets by Antetokounmpo and Kevin Porter provided the Bucks needed breathing room.

— 2. Adebayo from deep: Adebayo not only extended his career-best streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 10, but he kept going from there, closing his initial stint with 15 points, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

With his fourth assist, Adebayo moved past Goran Dragic for third place on the Heat all-time list. Also, Adebayo’s sixth rebound was the 5,000th of his career, joining Udonis Haslem as the only players over the Heat’s 37 years to reach that total.

The double-double was Adebayo’s 14th in his career against the Bucks, his high against any opponent in the regular season.

— 3. Support system: With the Heat in need of a support system for Adebayo’s scoring, Mitchell came off the bench with 12 first-half points, closing 8 of 15 from the field.

Burks also did his part in helping to compensate for Herro’ absence, converting five of his first 10 3-point attempts. Burks was up to 17 points going into the fourth quarter.

Burks and Mitchell then played as closers.

— 4. Altered reality: With Herro out, the Heat found themselves with limited shot creation.

That had Spoelstra opting for shooting in the starting lineup, with Duncan Robinson replacing Herro in the starting lineup, giving the Heat their 26th lineup of the season.

Robinson responded by shooting 4 of 10 on 3-pointers, although he also committed a costly late traveling violation.

Herro’s absence also had Terry Rozier back in the mix, after he did not play in Wednesday night’s victory in Boston and then missed Thursday night’s loss to the Grizzlies due to illness. Rozier’s action was limited to a four-minute first-half stint.

What did not change was Jaime Jaquez Jr. remaining an outsider when it came to the primary rotation.

— 5. Play-in race: With the Atlanta Hawks blown out, 121-105, at home Saturday by the New York Knicks, the door had moved slightly ajar for the Heat to move into the Nos. 7-8 play-in game, which affords two chances to win one game to make the playoffs.

The Hawks currently hold the tiebreaker over the Heat after the teams finished the season series 2-2, by virtue of division record, a tiebreaker that could yet change based on the Hawks’ two remaining games against the Orlando Magic.

However, Saturday’s loss severely dominated those chances.