MILWAUKEE — Hassan Whiteside scored 23 points and James Johnson added 20 as the Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 106-88 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.
After allowing their last two opponents to shoot over 50 percent from the floor, the Heat (23-30) held Milwaukee to 47.1 percent shooting and a 6-for-15 mark from beyond the arc.
Miami connected at a 47.7 percent clip and made 11 of 33 3-point attempts, but grabbed 14 offensive rebounds — with Whiteside and Rodney McGruber grabbing three apiece.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 21 points and Jabari Parker had 14 to lead the Bucks (22-29), who lost for the 11th time in their last 13 games.
The return of Khris Middleton from a preseason hamstring injury did little to energize the Bucks, who trailed, 13-2, when Middleton checked into the game with 7:37 left in the opening quarter.
Goran Dragic hit four of five shots in just five minutes of work as the Heat went ahead by as many as 11 and led by 13 after one quarter.
Parker’s three-point play with 1:07 left in the half got the Bucks within six but the Heat recovered and took a 55-44 lead into halftime.
While the Bucks got Middleton back, they may have to move forward without Parker, who sprained his left knee while driving to the basket with 6:34 left in the third quarter. Parker had to be helped off the court and did not return.
Parker tore the ACL in that same knee just 25 games into his rookie season and did not return until the start of the 2015-16 season.
Miami hit 11 of 20 shots in the third to go ahead by as many as 18.
NOTES: Wednesday marked the season debut of G-F Khris Middleton, who missed the Bucks’ first 50 games after tearing his left hamstring on the eve of training camp. Middleton, the Bucks’ leading scorer a year ago, was expected to play between 15-20 minutes. … The Heat’s 12-game winning streak is the longest in NBA history by a sub-.500 team and matches this year’s Golden State Warriors, who also won 12 straight. … Both C Roy Hibbert and F-C Spencer Hawes were active for the Bucks. Neither player has seen action since they were acquired last week from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for C Miles Plumlee. Bucks coach Jason Kidd said he wanted them to get more practice time before seeing game action.