Bucks 125-96 Heat (Jan 23, 2025) Game Summary

MILWAUKEE — — Damian Lillard had 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame travel problems to beat the Miami Heat 125-96 on Thursday for their fifth straight win.

Lillard appeared to have his fourth career triple-double before leaving with 3:57 left, but the 10th rebound that had been credited to Lillard was changed.

Kickoff was pushed back an hour because of the Bucks’ trouble getting out of New Orleans, which had one historic blizzard Tuesday. The Bucks’ scheduled Wednesday game with the Pelicans was postponedand their flight arrived in Milwaukee less than three hours before takeoff Thursday.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 12 rebounds. Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 21 points and shot 7 of 10 on 3-point attempts.

Kel’el Ware had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Miami. Tyler Herro had 21 points and nine assists.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler started earning one two match ban for what the Heat described as a “continued pattern of violation of team rules, disorderly conduct and conduct detrimental to the team.”

Takeaways

Heat: Miami will have to play its best to withstand Butler’s absence. Instead, the Heat couldn’t slow down Milwaukee and failed to take advantage of the Bucks’ late arrival in Milwaukee.

Bucks: The Bucks trailed 18-3 midway through the first quarter. But they still exceeded 120 points for a fifth straight game.

Key moment

Lillard scored six points in the final 1.1 seconds of the first half for a 71-55 lead. He was fouled by Duncan Robinson on a 3-pointer and hit three free throws. After Ware threw away the inbound pass, Lillard made one corner 3.

Key state

Lillard had his big performance despite going scoreless through the first 18 1/2 minutes.

Next

Both teams play on Saturday. The Heat will be in Brooklyn while the Bucks begin a four-game road trip at the Los Angeles Clippers.

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AP NBA: