Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Pelle Larsson has career night as the Heat hold off the Bucks

The Bucks’ stampede through Kaseya Center made them sweat, but the Heat pulled away in crunch time, claiming their seventh-straight win. They have Pelle Larsson much to thank for it as he totaled seven baskets in the lane in the best game of his career.

In spite of Giannis Antetokounmpo slicing and spinning his way to the cup for 10 early points, the Heat led by as much at the end of the period because of their 3-point shooting and limited success in the paint.

The Greek Freak even broke through the zone and outran transition defenses in the second quarter. The Heat’s 3-point protection also fell apart, allowing four treys and their 14-point lead was briefly cut to zero before they sped off with the last eight points going into halftime. 

 The Bucks subsequently went on an 11-2 run with Antetokounmpo resting to get within two possessions as Bobby Portis and Ryan Rollins’ jumpers reinvigorated them. The Heat went back to the zone in the fourth quarter and it had mixed results, yet the Bucks kept having success going to the body and got closer as the boiling point approached.

The Heat sent the wall to stop Antetokounmpo as he rushed downhill, but five other Bucks still scored in the lane, and they were hurt by two corner treys. The game hung in the balance, and they were bailed out by Pelle Larsson burning Jericho Sims in the half-court for a layup going left and making a trifecta with 28 seconds left.

Larsson said in his walk-off interview that “This was a big win for us. We had to get some payback, and yeah, obviously Bam [Adebayo] can’t score all the points,” referencing the loss in Milwaukee on Feb. 24 and how his teammate had the second-highest scoring output in NBA history (83) on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. 

Coach Erik Spoelstra praised Larsson and Kasparas Jakučionis at the press conference. He said, “Pelle [Larsson] was relentless. He was not to be denied at all in this game. He was so rugged and physical. He drove it with aggression when he needed to… Kas [Jakučionis) continues to get better, gains more confidence with each week. He stepped up, gave us some punch with his scoring. ”

Takeaways:

• The Bucks came into this game having lost six of their last seven outings. The Heat were still without Tyler Herro, Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins, and offensively were much affected, scoring 112.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 40th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Some of the things the Bucks did were put big man Jericho Sims on Jaime Jaquez Jr. and pressured the lane, making the Heat inefficient at close range and in the in-between areas (3-10 feet).

• Larsson had a career high of 28 points on 64.3% shooting and added six rebounds plus six dimes against one turnover. He’s shown a little bit of everything this season, and one of the most beneficial for the team is that he is capable of being on-ball. He also strained the defense with trips to the line, and he went eight-for-eight there. Milwaukee‘s coach, Doc Rivers, said after the game that he was the key player.

• The team’s rebounding was a major factor. The double big lineup started, and they combined for 21 of their 53 rebounds. On top of that, they had an edge in second- chance points (18-4).

• A seven-game win streak is their longest of the season, and they couldn’t afford to drop this game since the Orlando Magic, who are separated by 0.02 percentage points with Miami in the standings, played the lowly Washington Wizards and won in overtime on Thursday. Additionally, this is the first time this season the team is nine games above .500 (38-29).

• Jakučionis is turning into a dependable release valve with good defensive skills. He drained five 3-pointers on 45.5% accuracy, which raises his total to 52 for the year. 

• Bam’s aggressiveness continued following his epic 83-point performance, but he wasn’t accurate. The team can live with him missing if he is getting to the line for 13 attempts, making nine, and guarding at a high level. He had two consecutive second-chance baskets at close range in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points on 30% shooting, with eight rebounds and two assists.  

• Antetokounmpo, whom the Heat have coveted, was relentless and finished with 31 points on 50% shooting, with six rebounds and three assists.