Heat at Bucks
The Miami Heat did the best defensive job this season on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, holding them to a season-low in a 94-87 home win on Dec. 22. The Heat will try to put together a similar effort on the road when they visit the Bucks on Tuesday.
Miami pushed back above .500 with a 112-108 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and showed off its depth with seven scorers in double figures, including four off the bench. The Heat are trying to contend while developing players and are seeing the returns of hard work put in by forward Justise Winslow, who is blossoming into a star. Winslow was part of the defensive effort against Antetokounmpo in the first meeting and it took several different players to slow the MVP candidate. Antetokounmpo sat out a 113-106 loss at Washington on Friday to rest a sore hip but returned on Sunday and showed no rust while pouring in 33 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 133-114 win at Atlanta that capped a three-game road trip.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE HEAT (21-20): Winslow showed flashes of becoming an All-Star level performer in his first three seasons but did not display the consistency until he was forced to assume point guard duties when starter Goran Dragic went down in November. Winslow embraced the role of leading both the offense and the defense and showed off his wide range of talents while recording 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting (4-of-4 from 3-point range), seven rebounds and four assists in Saturday's win. "He puts in a great deal of time on his game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "I have him playing at a new position right now and he's learning it and gobbling up all the information night to night and striking that balance of getting us organized and learning when to be aggressive."
ABOUT THE BUCKS (30-12): Antetokounmpo is the focus of every opposing team's defense, and the hits are starting to pile up. "Health-wise, I'm not 100 percent yet but hopefully moving forward I'm going to get there," Antetokounmpo told reporters after going 14-of-19 from the free-throw line on Sunday. "Coach (Mike Budenholzer) and the team, they don't want me to manage pain so that's why we took the game off. Moving forward, hopefully, I can get the right treatment and heal and go into Miami healthy." Swingman Khris Middleton is ready to pick up some of the slack and recorded 17 points and a season-high 11 rebounds on Sunday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks PG Eric Bledsoe recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 assists on Sunday.
2. Heat C Hassan Whiteside (illness) sat out Saturday and is day-to-day.
3. Miami took the last six in the series, including two wins at Milwaukee.