|
Bucks-Heat: 300k 
|
O'Neal said he encouraged Jones, his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate, before the game. "I had a conversation with Eddie to let him know that we needed him tonight," O'Neal said. "I didn't want to jump down his throat like I did in LA. I took a calm approach."
Apparently, it worked. Jones scored 27 points and O'Neal collected 26, seven rebounds and six assists for Miami, which connected on 37-of-63 shots en route to its second victory over Milwaukee in four days. The Heat beat the Bucks in double overtime Sunday, 112-110.
Heat guard Dwyane Wade, a former star here at Marquette who received numerous ovations, knew Jones would be crucial to a victory.
"It was a really big night for him, but that is what big players do," said Wade, who had 18 points and seven assists before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
Jones scored 12 points and O'Neal 11 in the third quarter as the Heat turned a three-point halftime deficit into a 76-65 lead entering the final 12 minutes. Miami shot 75 percent (12-of-16) in the period.
"I called two plays the entire third quarter," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We just rode Shaq."
Michael Redd scored 33 points to pace the Bucks, who yielded 40 points in the first half but 73 after the break.
"We may have been a little lackadaisical tonight," Redd said. "There's no excuse not to get this win since they are coming off back-to-back games."
"It's tough to beat a team giving up 73 points in the second half," Bucks coach Terry Porter said. "They shot 75 percent in the third quarter. We fought hard, just didn't make enough plays and, more importantly, didn't make enough stops."
Keith Van Horn, who missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer against the Heat on Sunday, contributed 23 points, six rebounds and five assists.
"They were overly aggressive out of their rotations defensively and I think we rushed a couple," Van Horn said. "We didn't read situations as well as we should have. I think those are things we'll get better at."