The Milwaukee Bucks entered last night’s game against Miami short-handed and left the game even more short-handed. They played without center Andrew Bogut (mid-back strain) and forward Ersan Ilyasova (flu). Then they lost forward Carlos Delfino, who left the game in the second quarter after he fell and his head was stepped on.
The result, an 87-74 loss to the Heat at the Bradley Center. That’s two straight home losses for the Bucks.
The Bucks (39-32) are still in front of Miami in the standings, but the Heat, with a more favorable schedule the rest of the way, is knocking on the door.
Dwayne Wade had 30 points to lead the heat, who jumped out to an early lead on the Bucks. Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said he’s going to explore some lineup changes to avoid those slow starts.
AUDIO: Scott Skiles on potential lineup changes :09
The Bucks got 23 points from John Salmons, but as a team, they shot just 31% overall and 15% (3 of 20) from three-point range.
Meanwhile, the Heat shot 51% and led 48-35 at the half. Skiles said regardless of who the Bucks have in their lineup, the defense has to improve.
AUDIO: Scott Skiles says they can’t let opponents shoot 50% :15
The Bucks will host Memphis at 2pm on Sunday.