Heat bounce back from 47-point loss with 119-108 win over Bucks

The Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra said, didn’t dwell. They simply got back to being themselves.

Back in the same building one night after losing by 47 to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Heat this time limited their largest deficit to 12 — instead of the 51 a night earlier — and then drew a line in the AmericanAirlines Arena hardwood.

So from Tuesday night’s 144-97 torment, the Heat made a quick turnaround to Wednesday night’s 119-108 resounding resurgence.

“I think there was a lot of anger and frustration last night, as well there should have been,” Spoelstra said shortly before the rare home-game pairing against the same opponent. “And then today was just about getting to work and preparing and doing what we need to do to have a better version.”

This version was a lot closer to the version of the Heat that pushed past the Bucks 4-1 in last season’s Eastern Conference finals on the way to the NBA Finals.

A night after the Bucks shot a record-setting 29 of 51 on 3-pointers, there was a more mundane 16 of 41 from Milwaukee.

Without Jimmy Butler for a second consecutive night, as the All-Star forward deals with a balky right ankle, Spoelstra shuffled his starting lineup and rotation and dealt a winning hand to leave his team with a 2-2 start to the season.

A late 25-7 run helped put it away for the Heat, who got 22 points eight rebounds and 10 assists from center Bam Adebayo, 21 points and a career-high 15 rebounds from Tyler Herro, as well as 26 points from Goran Dragic, 16 from Avery Bradley and 15 from Kelly Olynyk.

The Bucks got 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo, 15 points from Donte DiVincenzo and 13 from Jrue Holiday.

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Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:

1. Going fourth: The Heat opened with their fourth starting lineup in as many games, this time with Andre Iguodala starting at power forward, Herro shifting back to shooting guard, and Bradley opening at point guard.

The Heat previously had started Moe Harkless once at power forward and Meyers Leonard twice. It was Iguodala’s first start since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, while with the Golden State Warriors.

It was the first time Herro was cast this season back at shooting guard, where he thrived last season.

In addition, guard Gabe Vincent was active for the first time this season, getting quality early minutes.

2. Better start: Down 46-26 at the end of the first quarter a night earlier, the Heat this time led 25-19 at the close of Wednesday’s first period.

But even then, there were signs of trouble ahead, with the Heat committing 10 first-quarter turnovers.

The Bucks shot 3 for 12 on 3-pointers in the first period, before quickly coming around in the next 12 minutes, to move to 10 of 23 from beyond the arc at halftime, when they led 56-51.

The Heat were up to 15 turnovers at the intermission.

3. Learning curve: Adebayo stood 3 of 5 from the mid-range at one point, a significant statistic when it comes to an appreciation of not forcing the action against Antetokounmpo.

While a pair of early Adebayo turnovers were a concern, considering he entered with 15 turnovers to 10 assists in the previous three games, he got those under control and consistently offered enough deterrence to keep Antetokounmpo from dominating at the rim.

4. Subtle star: On Tuesday night, Antetokounmpo had to endure the indignity of being the lone Buck not to convert a 3-pointer. His team, of course, won going away.

Wednesday was another example of how the two-time defending NBA Most Valuable Player can be both subtle and significant with his impact, as he filled the box score.

Six of Antetokounmpo’s assists came in the second period, when the Bucks built their largest lead.

5. Encore performance: With the NBA seeking to reduce referee travel amid the pandemic, Marat Kogut and David Guthrie were back to officiate Heat-Bucks for the second consecutive night.

“I think, obviously for safety and our health and the health of the officials, it makes all the sense in the world,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Maybe as coaches we can be I guess more humane. If you know you’re going to see that guy the next night, I don’t know, you better be careful and know that he’s probably sleeping on whatever it is you said.

“Maybe some self-restraint, which is probably never a bad thing for coaches, may be more in order, considering we’ll see these guys on multiple nights and more often.”