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Bosh, James lead Heat over Bucks

Mar 30, 2014 - 5:30 AM Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Bosh had 14 points, LeBron James scored 13 and the Miami Heat -- shorthanded again -- rolled to an 88-67 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

Toney Douglas and Rashard Lewis also scored 13 for the Heat, who won back-to- back games to close a three-game road trip after falling to Indiana on Wednesday.

"Great trip. Sucked on Wednesday. We wanted that one," said James. "But it was a great trip overall the way we bounced back with all the adversity as far as guys being out of the lineup."

The Southeast Division champions moved within 1 1/2 games of the idle Pacers for the best record in the Eastern Conference despite playing without Dwyane Wade (hamstring), Mario Chalmers (bruised quad), Greg Oden (back spasms) and Ray Allen (flu) for the second game in a row.

Ramon Sessions scored 15 to lead the Bucks, who were coming off a win over the Lakers on Thursday to snap an eight-game losing streak.

James took only two shots in the first half. He made them both for four points and the Heat had a 46-29 lead at the break, led by Bosh's 12 points and 18 from bench players Lewis, Chris Andersen, Shane Battier and Norris Cole.

Milwaukee's last lead was 4-2. Jones' 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 burst capped by James' dunk that gave Miami the lead for good.

The Heat's advantage reached nine after they scored the last six points of the first quarter and it was 25-12 early in the second at the end of an overall 10-0 run.

Later, Battier's 3-pointer with 1 1/2 minutes left in the half put Miami up by 19 at 46-27.

"We couldn't hit shots and we just couldn't recover," said Milwaukee's John Henson, who had a double-double off the bench (12 points, 10 rebounds). "A good team like that, you get down 10 or 15 points it's hard to come back."

The Bucks never got closer than 14 the rest of the way and Miami's biggest lead was 21.

The Heat won consecutive games for the first time since March 16 and 18 against Houston and Cleveland. They have beaten the Bucks eight times in a row, including last year's first-round playoff sweep.

The Bucks fell two games behind Philadelphia for the NBA's worst record. The 76ers beat Detroit on Saturday to snap their 26-game losing streak.

Game Notes

The Heat start a five-game homestand Monday against Toronto. It includes a game against Milwaukee on Wednesday ... The Bucks start a three-game road trip Monday at Detroit.