Just two days after Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point performance, the Miami Heat got right back to it in another win on Thursday. They took care of business against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 112-105, extending their win streak to a season-high seven games and winners of 10 of their last 12 overall.
Miami is now nine games over .500 at a 38-29 record and remain tied for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Orlando Magic own the tie breaker over the Heat.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo came out to a strong start in this matchup, and eventually finished with a game-high 31 points and 6 rebounds on 50% shooting. However, the Heat’s own strong start as a team that featured a 31-21 first quarter advantage helped provided some breathing room for the rest of the night. The Heat were led by a career-high 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on an efficient 9 of 14 from the field (64%) by Pelle Larsson.
Kasparas Jakucionis, who filled in again in the starting lineup for Tyler Herro dealing with a quad injury, looked impactful as well. The rookie guard added 18 points and 7 rebounds on 50% shooting. Adebayo chipped in a solid 21 points and 8 boards on the night.
The entire starting lineup outscored the Bucks by a combined 66 points.
Coach Erik Spoelstra opted to run Kel’el Ware with the starters alongside Adebayo with a double-big lineup again. Ware snatched 13 rebounds but struggled shooting the ball, going for just 6 points on 2 of 9 shooting. Miami was without with the services of each of Herro, Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins.
The Heat secured the victory over the Bucks despite just 41% shooting as a team to Milwaukee’s 49%. However, they won the turnover battle and also put their imprint on the rebounding— winning 53-36 on the glass with a 15-3 offensive rebound advantage.
To conclude this homestand, Miami will host the in-state rival Magic on Saturday night. A win against Orlando would separate themselves to give the Heat sole possession as the fifth seed, but they are a winless 0-4 versus them this season so far.
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What a great game from the thunder God pelle, he is a revelation, best 2nd round pick, since jrich, and he will likely be better then him. Also kasper is so mature beyond his years, already the most accurate shooter in his class over Kon, and calm demeanor. I look forward to seeing what they both become. Not bad for two white boys lol, but In all seriousness I give credit to the FO for unearthing the those gems, and credit to spo and staff for development.
Testify!
Yes and yes and lol!
Amen! Gardner looks like he may also develop into a good plug and play rotation player. He just needs to calm down and let the game come to him. I like his aggressiveness. He just needs to keep it under control.
I feel the same way about him, feel like he can be a Josh hart type with potential a better 3 ball.
GSW draft pick (goes to Heat) is looking good. Curry is out and GSW is soft tanking, they know they are locked into a 9-10 play-in matchup with Portland and it’s better for them to try to get into the lottery this year. The more they fall the higher their 2nd round pick is that is going to Miami
“We’re so interested in this draft because it’s so deep. There’s a lot of impact players,” an Eastern Conference scout said.
“And [the 2027] draft isn’t looking so good. You never know, there are players in every draft, but this year is like a double draft,” a West scout said.
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/284383/NBA-Scouts-Describe-2026-Draft-As-Double-Draft-With-Historic-Freshman-Talent-Depth
I already was rooting against the Warriors this season. Now, even more so due to this compensatory pick.
I’m rooting for them too, to fail. They lost again. Now 32-34 and battling Portland for 9th place. I see the play-ins in their future.
Message to the quitter:
yeah he got it $$$$.u mean gsw be careful.he just might have been hurt here while quitting also.those old legs lots wear and tear on them.
Top 10 East teams by SRS (point differential vs strength of schedule)
DET 7.12
BOS 6.61
NYK 6.13
CLE 4.16
MIA 3.79
CHA 2.79
ORL 1.58
TOR 1.34
ATL .55
PHI -.59
Miami is close to Cleveland in SRS
Chance to make top 6 is up now to 76.7%. Most likely outcome is 5th seed (42.3%). 8% for 4th
https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/playoff_prob.html
Article on Pelle and other breakout players from the athletic, some quotes:
Even as Larsson has struggled to hit from 3 — he’s at 32.9 percent this season — his ability to function as a defender and connector has kept him on the floor. Larsson shot 39.2 percent from 3 in college
Larsson is shooting 57.9 percent on 2s, while his rate of 6.2 assists per 100 possessions is outstanding for a relatively low-usage player who also doesn’t play the point
The lineup of starters Adebayo, Davion Mitchell and Powell has crushed opponents by 13.3 points per 100 possessions when paired with Larsson, and he’s had a similar effect on other Miami lineup combos with multiple starters. All those groups have performed much worse in non-Larsson minutes.
“He has the ability to be an elite player, not just a good one,” Spoelstra said.
I read an article today indicating that Larsson’s emergence may make Powell expendable. Larsson is younger, cheaper, a better defender, healthier and is just beginning to tap his potential.
With Herro’s emergence, a Mitchell, Herro, Larsson, Wiggins, Bam starting line-up seems very realistic. The second unit could include Jakucionis and/or Smith, Powell, Fontecchio, Jaquez and Ware (with Johnson, Gardner, Jovic and the ghost of Scary Terry in reserve).
With the emergence of the team’s younger players, the Heat may consider
Note: Miami needs to make room for a first and second round draft pick this summer.
got to many guys 6 4 -6 7 range.need a bobby portis type guy little younger.a ja morant type pg if you want jewelry,current squad with wembys jokics sga antmans of the world can only get u so far.going in right direction but need improvment for the ultimate goal.guys like jaco pelle ware nice stories but there just rotation guys.my ware stock down little bit his defense is not good enough to upright and hes very very thin need to bulk him up in off season.
Its a great win, but despite the latest Bams achievement, the Heat wont win much games with Pelle, Kas and Bam as leading scorers.
We need our main scorers back.
It’s been a slow process, but I will finally say my eyes have been opened. And I have evolved. It’s never been as simple as in some ways I originally saw it. It’s always been far more complex. Several tried to tell me but the results used to say otherwise. But, that was always due to the quality of the players we had and not any generalized organizing principle. A look at the standings and the play of several teams demonstrates this aptly, as the Sixers without their stars are just a below average bunch of guys, as is New Orleans, the Wizards, and even Milwaukee. The Lakers and Celtics are winning with a decidedly different demographic. Our Heat now have more quality in their mix of players and are finding success too. You know what I’m saying. It’s the quality and effort of the player that makes for success in the NBA, and that equation is much more complex and goes beyond any preconceived stereotypes.
Spo’s recipes really cook in March. 😉
Fun team. Hoping for health for this stretch run and into the playoffs.
id hold ty out till the playoffs think thats what there doing being very careful with him.a fresh ty not much better offensively
Of course, that’s not going to happen.
theyre def managing his minutes they know hes not to durable and need him for the real season anyway we have norm pelle jjj all better all round players
They are not holding him out until the playoffs. Bank on that. If he isn’t back Saturday (which I think is very possible), I believe he’ll be back shortly thereafter.
Norm hasn’t played since Feb 28th and he’s listed as week-to-week without a definite return date. He’s missed 18 games so far, and counting. He turns 33 in 2 months. I like Norm very much. I just don’t know how much Miami can depend on him as he ages and how much he is worth. Miami can’t sit both Herro and Powell and expect to qualify for a playoff spot.
Exactly. Playoff, not play-in. The Heat, led by their captain’s recent statements, are sick of being in the play-in. So are Heat fans. They need Herro in the lineup to reach the goal of securing 5th or 6th place, especially with no specific time that Powell may remain out. And no doubt that Powell’s absence is going to affect his leverage.
theres are ss maxey embid..we dont have that level of player
Yes, but my point is look at Philly without them and George. Twelve average to below average players. My point is it’s not just Love, Zeller, Jovic, et al that sucked on the Heat. It’s much more complex than that. Great players come in all types, and no single characteristic makes them great.
Great.
They say that it’s not the destination, but the journey, and that is true. But no matter which path you take, if it ultimately leads to the destination, that is also good. I’m glad you’re seeing things a little differently now.