Poor second half sends Heat to loss in Milwaukee

For the second time in as many meetings, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to shut down the high-flying Miami Heat offense...at least long enough to eek out another win over the defending Eastern Conference champs. Miami started the game on fire with a 40-point 1^st quarter, but cooled off quickly as the surging Bucks took down the Heat 105-97.

LeBron James got Miami off to a great start, scoring 24 of his season-high 40 points in the opening quarter, which included a huge windmill dunk right at the end. Unfortunately the Heat, who played a very strong first half, couldn't maintain that level that play as they allowed the Bucks back in the game with sloppy play and defensive lapses.

Dwyane Wade added 23 for the Heat, but that wouldn't prove to be enough. Miami scored 40 points in the games first 12 minutes, but wouldn't score their next 40 until there was just over 4 minutes left in the game. The Bucks deserve credit for forcing a lot of errors out of the Heat, getting them to turn the ball over 18 times.

GAME NOTES

• The Heat bench combined to score just 7 points. That's 4 guys playing a combined 67 minutes and scoring just 7 points.
• Mario Chalmers scored 16 points, hitting 4-of-6 from downtown.
• Chalmers and Norris Cole combined for just 2 assists. They both belonged to Rio.
• Another quiet night for Chris Bosh, who scored just 9 points and took just 10 shots. He added 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
• D-Wade had a solid game, scoring 23 points and adding 8 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
• LeBron had a well-rounded game as well, with 8 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals to go along with his 40 points.
• The Heat turned the ball over 18 times, which led to 22 Milwaukee points.

Next up for Miami is a trip to Philly for a matchup with another good team in the Eastern Conference. Will be a challenge for the Heat to avoid turning this loss into the first game of a losing streak. We shall see.