Miami’s winning streak came to an end Tuesday in Milwaukee after a poor finish down the stretch.
(Photo via Miami Heat/X)

The Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks, who has still be sidelined with a long term calf injury, handed the Miami Heat their first post All-Star break loss 128-117 on Tuesday night.

Miami was in this game throughout until being outscored 39-24 in a fourth quarter collapse. They were unable to get the necessary defensive stops and the offense went completely cold down the stretch. The Heat now drop to 31-28 overall on the season and get farther behind of 1.5 games to avoiding the play-in picture. Additionally, the loss snapped a three-game winning streak— as Miami has not secured four straight wins in nearly two months.

Kevin Porter Jr. led Milwaukee with a game-high 32 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, including an array of clutch shots that helped put the Heat away. Ryan Rollins and Bobby Portis also added 21 points each.

On Miami’s side, Norman Powell dropped 26 points and 6 rebounds to help put them in position to secure the win. Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 9 boards, along with Andrew Wiggins’ 16/8/5 stat line. However, Wiggins had a tough stretch in the final minutes where he had missed an open 3-pointer followed up by missing a pair of free throws that could have tied the game. The Bucks had went on a run and never looked back since that sequence.

Tyler Herro submitted an inefficient shooting night of 14 points on 5 of 17 shooting, including just 3 of 9 from deep. Coach Erik Spoelstra attempted to showcase some Herro-Powell backcourt minutes, but that combination has still yet to prove beneficial.

Yet another strong showing in limited minutes from Kel’el Ware off the bench brought a spark early on, but the young big man was held to only 19 minutes of playing time. He made the most of his opportunity with 14 points and 8 rebounds, but it seemed like his presence would have helped the Heat more in this one with a bigger role.

The Bucks finished the game shooting 49% as a team and 41% from 3-point range to Miami’s 43% and 33%, respectively. Miami also struggled to control the ball, allowing 16 turnovers Milwaukee’s nine.

The next chance for the Heat to bounce back will be Thursday in Philadelphia in a crucial matchup for the East standings.

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