Milwaukee @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2017 ) Miami 106, Milwaukee 88

The Miami Heat have quietly become one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and are winners of six consecutive games. The Heat will try to make it seven in a row at the expense of a team trailing them in the East standings when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Miami knocked off fellow East playoff hopefuls Detroit, New York, Toronto and Indiana during its winning streak and is 13-4 since dropping two games under .500 with a loss at San Antonio on Dec. 6. "We're continuing to get better," shooting guard Wayne Ellington told the Miami Herald. "We never looked and felt sorry for ourselves or felt like we weren't capable. We knew we were capable because we've shown it and we've done it before. It was just a matter of acclimating the new guys and everybody coming together and finding that gel again. I feel like we're here." The Bucks had a chance to make a statement on Friday and overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to take a lead against the defending champion Golden State Warriors before falling off the pace late and suffering a 108-94 loss. "We were moving the ball, we moved bodies, set screens, guys were getting wide open looks," Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd told reporters of the third quarter comeback. "I thought we were going to build on that. But in that fourth quarter, we just couldn't make shots. The ball was moving, we just couldn't make shots."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE BUCKS (22-19): Giannis Antetokounmpo got a chance to play against another star that has been highly complimentary of the young Milwaukee standout in Kevin Durant. Antetokounmpo put up 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting but couldn’t quite keep pace with Durant and fell short on the defensive end late. "That's one thing that I've learned," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "I gotta see it the same way. The defense gets tough. They're just trying to make my job a lot harder. So, (Durant) was aggressive all night. Moving forward that's a lesson for me to be aggressive all night, too."

ABOUT THE HEAT (24-17): It looks like Miami will have to get to the playoffs and advance without the help of shooting guard Dion Waiters, who will undergo season-ending surgery on an injured left ankle that kept him out of the nine games. "Dion Waiters will undergo left ankle surgery at a time to be determined in the near future," the Heat said in a statement released Friday. "We are confident this surgery will resolve all of the issues with the ankle. This process will not just repair the ankle, but also kick-start a whole new reboot for Dion. A full recovery is expected." Ellington is stepping up in Waiters' absence and is averaging 15.3 points over the last 10 contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bucks SG Khris Middleton was held to eight points on 2-of-12 shooting Friday, snapping a string of 22 straight games scoring in double figures.

2. Heat SF Justise Winslow (knee) could return from a 14-game absence on Sunday.

3. Miami took three of the four meetings last season while limiting Antetokounmpo to 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds.

PREDICTION: Bucks 108, Heat 106