Caleb Martin #16 of the Miami Heat celebrates a three pointer against the Utah Jazz during the second half at FTX Arena on November 06, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP
Caleb Martin — playing on a two-way contract — boosted a short-handed roster by scoring a career-high 28 points to lead the host Miami Heat to a 113-104 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Miami tied a franchise record with 22 3-pointers, on 47 attempts (46.8 percent).
Kyle Lowry added 22 points and a game-high 13 assists for the Heat. Miami reserve Max Strus contributed 16 points — all of them in the fourth quarter — connecting on 4 of 7 on 3-point attempts.
Miami broke a season-worst, three-game home losing streak despite the absence of Jimmy Butler (tailbone) and Bam Adebayo (thumb), who are two of the team’s top three scorers.
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Jrue Holiday led Milwaukee with 27 points. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a fairly quiet night with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. He made only 4 of 13 shots from the floor.
Milwaukee also got 20 points from Khris Middleton and 18 from Bobby Portis.
Martin, a third-year NBA player, made just his sixth start in the league. The 26-year-old forward, who went undrafted out of Nevada in 2019, hit 9 of 12 shots from the floor, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range.
The Heat also got 15 points, a career-high-tying eight assists and seven rebounds from P.J. Tucker.
Milwaukee, which missed its first seven shots, fell behind 7-0. The Bucks took their first lead of the game at 22-21 on a Rodney Hood three-point play with 2:21 left in the first quarter. By the end of the period, Milwaukee led 26-24.
The Bucks went on a 14-3 run late in the second quarter and got to halftime leading 51-44.
Miami outshot Milwaukee 45.9 percent to 37 percent in the half, but the Bucks made 11 of 13 free throws while the Heat went just 2 of 2.
Lowry scored 16 points in the third quarter, and Miami was up 83-77 entering the final 12 minutes. The Heat outscored Milwaukee 39-26 in the third by shooting 14-for-22 (63.6 percent), including 9-for-15 (60 percent) on 3-point attempts.
Holiday had 13 points in the third to keep the Bucks in the game.
In the fourth quarter, a Bucks turnover and Martin dunk gave Miami a 109-101 lead with 44.2 seconds left, and the Heat cruised from there.