Bucks stifle Heat 116-108
MILWAUKEE -- Playing at full strength for the first time in a week, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points, eight rebonds and six assists as the Milwaukee Bucks extended the Miami Heat's losing streak to four games with a 116-108 victory on Friday night at the Bradley Center.
A virus limited Antetokounmpo to nine minutes of action in Milwaukee's last two games, but he returned and hit 8 of 12 shots as the Bucks connected at a 50.6 percent clip and made 9 of 15 3-pointers.
Jabari Parker hit three 3-pointers and led the Bucks (20-18) with 24 points. Tony Snell added 14 and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 13.
Greg Monroe had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Milwaukee.
Hassan Whiteside led Miami (11-29) with 19 points. The Heat also got 17 from Goran Dragic, 16 from Luke Babbit and 13 from Dion Waiters.
Tyler Johnson and James Johnson scored 14 and 10, respectively, off the bench for Miami, which shot 50 percent from the field and made 12 3-pointers.
Brogdon had 11 points and Antetokounmpo 10 in the first half as Milwaukee shot 48.8 percent from the floor and went 18 of 21 from the free throw line while committing just one turnover.
The Heat shot 46.3 percent from the field and knocked down six 3-pointers while only turning the ball over five times. But they made just five trips to the free throw line.
Milwaukee led by as many as 21 points in the first half and took a 65-48 lead into the break.
Miami opened the fourth quarter with a 17-8 run to cut the deficit to eight on a 9-footer from Tyler Johnson with 7:52 to play.
Antetokounmpo scored the next six on his own, putting the Bucks back up 14.
NOTES: SF Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the Bucks' starting lineup Friday after playing just nine minutes over the last two games while battling an illness. ... PG Malcolm Brogdon made his sixth consecutive start for Milwaukee on Friday. Since moving into the lineup, he's scored in double figures in each game. With Brogdon starting, G Matthew Dellavedova remained in a bench role for the Bucks. ... Heat F Willie Reed was unavailable Friday because of a bruised sternum, leaving Miami with just 10 available players. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said he expected all 10 to see action against Milwaukee. ... Miami handed the Bucks their biggest loss of the season back on Nov. 17, holding Milwaukee to 73 points, including just 11 in the fourth quarter. ... The Bucks won six of their last eight regular-season meetings with Miami, including three of the last four in Milwaukee.