MILWAUKEE - Sixteen Green Bay Packers showed up at the Bradley Center on Monday night. This was definitely not just another Bucks home game. Milwaukee had yet to play host to the NBA's traveling rock star review - also known as the Miami Heat - and even the Bucks' NFL neighbors from the land of Lombardi didn't want to miss the fun.
Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant were willing to make the four-hour round trip to see LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and basketball's Big Three lived up to its billing, scoring 58 of the Heat's 88 points and making critical plays at the end of Miami's fifth straight win, 88-78 over the Bucks.
"It was a mental toughness win for us," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I'm not sure we would have been able to pull this out earlier in the year."
The Heat struggled through most of November, losing three straight at one stretch and delighting many NBA fans who objected to this elite squad manufactured by millionaires. That sentiment was evident again Monday, as James was booed lustily when he was introduced, more intensely when he performed his pregame ritual of tossing talcum powder into the air at the scorer's table, and continuously throughout the evening whenever he touched the ball.
"It's the first game I've been booed on the road," James said facetiously after a 17-point, six-rebound, six-assist night.
"The perception of us is never gonna be great," added Wade, who scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 14 boards. "But we can't worry about the external stuff. We have to look inside ourselves."
In the opening minute, James rebounded an Andrew Bogut miss from the lane and drove the length of the court through three defenders for a dunk, turning the cascade of boos into involuntary gasps of admiration. On the next Milwaukee possession, Wade rebounded another miss, led a fast break and dished to James for an acrobatic jam, and the Bucks quickly understood what they were up against.
The visitors led 25-21 after the first quarter, but Bucks rookie Larry Sanders, who has forged his way into the rotation with surprising offensive prowess, hit a 15-foot fallaway to tie the game at 25 early in the second quarter.
But the Heat went on an 11-point run, capped by James Jones' 3-pointer that gave Miami a 36-25 lead with seven minutes left in the half. The Heat defense forced the Bucks into several difficult looks: Milwaukee shot 34.6 percent from the floor on the night and Bucks coach Scott Skiles tried several different combinations trying to get his team on track, to no avail.
"It takes defense to win," Wade said. "Especially on the road."
The Bucks made a run to pull back into contention early in the second half. Sanders followed a missed layup by Brandon Jennings and Bogut scored on a tip-in to whittle Miami's 11-point halftime cushion down to four at 51-47. But less than two minutes later, Wade grabbed a John Salmons misfire, threw a length-of-the-court pass to James for another dunk and the Heat were back up by 10.
"We understand that rebounding is a major key to our success," Spoelstra said. "For us to do it, it has to be a group effort. Dwyane has made a concerted effort to be more involved on the glass."
Wade, whose Marquette teams were 30-1 at the Bradley Center during his college days, enjoyed more success in that building Monday.
"It's always special coming here," Wade said. "I made LeBron look up at the rafters at my jersey."
James feigned indifference at a postgame news conference. "That was Glenn (Doc) Rivers' jersey, right?" he jabbed with Wade and Bosh at the podium.
But the Bucks conceded nothing against the new crowned princes of the hardwood. Ersan Ilyasova's jumper pulled Milwaukee within 74-71 with six and a half minutes remaining in regulation.
"When we were up only three, that's when we looked at each other," James said.
The Big Three proceeded to quiet the raucous and hopeful crowd of 17,167. James and Wade hit jump shots for a 78-71 Miami lead. Corey Maggette, who led the Bucks with 20 points off the bench, made a strong drive to the goal but James slapped his shot off the glass. Then Bosh scored on a reverse layup and it was 80-71. Game over.
"We don't get flustered. We just worry about the next play," said Bosh, who added 16 points. "It was close but then we moved it (the lead) right back up to 10."
Bosh, James and Wade met the media as a group after the game, showing much camaraderie and clearly enjoying themselves, poking fun at one another during the interview session. "We're playing good basketball," James said. "That makes it fun. When you can go out and do that with friends, it's fun."
The Heat will continue to be closely watched and roundly booed in enemy arenas as they try to prove that three superstars can coexist and flourish.
"We don't really worry about alpha dogs," Wade said. "We don't worry about what y'all think we need to do. We think it will take all three of us to succeed."
