Bucks 89, Heat 88
Khris Middleton ended a wild sequence with a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer as host Milwaukee snapped a six-game slide in dramatic fashion.
The Bucks erased a late 14-point deficit and received multiple chances in the closing seconds before Middleton buried the game-winner to give Milwaukee a 2 1/2-game lead on Miami in the race for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Ersan Ilyasova had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 16 points and 10 boards and Zaza Pachulia recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, including one in the closing seconds to give Middleton a chance.
Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and Goran Dragic added 16 as the Heat fell to 0-2 on a four-game road trip and saw its lead over eighth-place Boston reduced to a game. Mario Chalmers contributed 14 points off the bench and Luol Deng had 13 for Miami, which was swept by Milwaukee in the season series for the first time since 1990-91.
Miami was up 16 early in the fourth and held an 85-71 lead after Wade's dunk with 6:33 left, but Milwaukee tied it with 14 straight points, only to see Wade score and then split two free throws for an 88-85 advantage with 17.5 seconds left. Ilyasova split two free throws but Jerryd Bayless won a jump ball before missing a layup with 3.9 ticks to go, and Pachulia tipped another offensive rebound to Middleton for the winner.
Milwaukee had a 19-4 burst - including six points by Antetokounmpo - early in the second quarter to take a 41-36 lead, but Dragic's 3-pointer sparked a 7-2 burst to close the half and give Miami a 51-49 advantage. Deng and Chalmers had triples midway through the third and Henry Walker had a pair later in the period to put the Heat up 79-65 entering the final quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Heat C Hassan Whiteside suffered a laceration that required 10 stitches when he tried to block a dunk by Bucks F Miles Plumlee in the second quarter. Whiteside did not return. ... Walker and Middleton were whistled for double technical fouls early in the fourth. ... Milwaukee G Michael Carter-Williams had four points and six turnovers in 26 minutes before fouling out.