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Wade, Heat look to snap two-game skid

Dec 15, 2008 - 2:54 PM Milwaukee (10-15) at Miami (12-11), 7:30pm EST

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Just when it looked like the Miami Heat were starting to come around, they suffered a setback this weekend. Now as they return home, they will try to pick themselves up once again.

After an up-and-down first month of the season, the Heat opened December on a four-game winning streak, but stumbled with back-to-back losses. On Monday night, they look to snap that skid as they host the Milwaukee Bucks.

The explanation for Sunday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies was simple enough - Dwyane Wade wasn't his typical self. For one of the only times this season, he was held in check, finishing with just 17 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

The four-time All-Star still leads the NBA in scoring at 28.6 points and has carried Miami throughout the season as it breaks in all its new pieces and tries to rebuild after a disastrous 15-win campaign.

The Heat face a Bucks squad that is still trying to figure out its own identity. They have spent much of the season without All-Star guard Michael Redd - one of Wade's teammates on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team this summer - who missed 14 games with a sprained right ankle.

The team is coming off an impressive, 121-103 triumph over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, as four players scored at least 20 points in the Bucks' biggest offensive output of the season. Redd led the way with 27 points, Charlie Villanueva added 26 and Richard Jefferson and Andrew Bogut scored 20 apiece.