The Miami Heat struggled against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday and saw their five-game win streak end with a 114-108 defeat.
The Bucks sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but they looked a lot better than that in this one. Milwaukee led for more than half of the game, and put the game away in the final minutes of play. Miami had worked back to take the lead with a strong third quarter, but that evaporated during a dismal fourth quarter for Miami.
Miami now has a 37-27 record this year and this loss puts a slight dent in its playoff positioning. The Heat are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, but trail third place Boston by 1.5 games now. Miami is also closer to ninth place in the East than it is to first place Cleveland at this point.
Josh Richardson made his presence known with a big night. Highlighted by an emphatic dunk, Richardson had 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench. The guard has stepped up when his team has needed him, and has supplied unexpected production.
Luol Deng paced Miami with his 20 points and 11 rebounds. Deng has been strong in the second half of the season with multiple double-doubles. The veteran also added an assist and two steals along the way.
Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade found themselves in foul trouble for the fourth quarter which limited their impacts. Both had to play a little more cautiously to avoid fouling out which could have been a reason for Milwaukee's strong late run. Whiteside ended up with 23 points an 13 rebounds. Wade had 18 points and six assists while also adding a pair of steals.
The Heat will try to start a new win streak on Friday when they will travel to Chicago for a game against the Bulls at 8 p.m.
