Bucks, Heat Stake Winning Streaks In Big Eastern Conference Battle

The Miami Heat are slated to collide with their Eastern Conference rivals Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, January 12 at the American Airlines Arena as the two teams stake their respective winning streaks.

Miami scrambled to pull off a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, 112-111, with Jimmy Butler scoring the marginal point via the free throw line.

Ironically, that game set an NBA record when the Heat converted all their 40 free throws.

The last one from that was the three-point play by Butler with 12.9 seconds left in the game.

"It's just a normal Tuesday night for the Miami Heat," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think this is when we feel most alive, when everything just happens and when all of our competitive juices get out there. That's the team we all can relate to. That's the team I like."

The Heat are averaging 108.8 points per game and are shooting 45.1% from the field.

Moreover, they are firing 33.9% from beyond the arc.

Miami is also limiting opponents to 109 points per game on 47.6% field goal shooting, while They are giving up 43.1 rebounds per match and have a defensive rating of 111.2.

The Heat will be without Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Dewayne Dedmon against the Bucks.

Also sitting on the sidelines are Haywood Highsmith and Udonis Haslem.

In the other corner, the Bucks will be looking to follow up their 111-107 win over the New York Knicks on Monday, January 9.

What's even more dangerous for the Heat is that it appears the Bucks are playing with more energy.

Antetokounmpo finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds as Milwaukee rallied in the second half to foil New York.

"Once we made one, then we made the second one," The Greek star mentioned. "Then we made the third one."

Seven Milwaukee players scored 10 points or more with Brook Lopez backing up Antetokounmpo with 17 markers and seven rebounds.

The Bucks are norming 112.4 points per contest and are shooting 45.4% from the field, including 34.4% from the three-point area.

On the defensive end, Milwaukee is giving up 111.1 points per game and allowing the opposition to score 45.1% of their shots.

The Bucks are allowing opposing teams 43.8 rebounds per contest and boast of a defensive rating of 109.3, which is third-best in the league right now.

Pundits pick the Heat as -2.5 favorites to prevail over the Bucks, who are at +2.5.

Moreover, the moneyline for this game is -138 for Miami and +116 for Milwaukee.

The match will air on both NBA League Pass and fuboTV at 7:40 PM ET.