The Miami Heat entered Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks looking for another win in NBA Cup play. They achieved their goal and moved to 3-1 in Group Play after a close 106-103 victory.
Tyler Herro, who was recently activated off the injured list did the heavy lifting on offense, scoring 29 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds on a very efficient 9-for-15 from the field.
Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Kel'el Ware all added 11 points, while Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez were also in double-figures with 17 and 10 points respectively.
Ultimately, it was Miami's defense that was the deciding factor. The Heat out-blocked the Bucks 7-1 and held Milwaukee to just 103 points, tied for their third lowest output of the season.
The win marked a huge milestone for Heat coach Erik Spolestra, who reached 800 career wins. Spoelstra is now the 17th coach to achieve the feat, and only the third to do so for just one team.
After the game, Spoelstra offered a comical response: “I was very confused,” Spoelstra said Wednesday night. “I was calculating that maybe we’ve qualified for the Cup. Then I’m looking around and nobody else is getting water dumped on them, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute — what’s going on here?’”
As it turns out, Spoelstra wasn't aware of the milestone he had reached.
Spoelstra is now 33 wins away from 16th place, a position he could certainly reach before the end of the season if the Heat continue on their scorching pace. Miami has now won six in a row and sit in third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
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