MIAMI _ This was the burst the Miami Heat had been waiting for, for more than two weeks.
And then the ball whipped around the perimeter to Josh Richardson for a 3-pointer in the right corner. Swish.
And then the long arms of Hassan Whiteside met the even longer arms of Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim for a rejection.
And then Goran Dragic drained a 3-pointer of his own on the other end.
Suddenly, on a night the Heat trailed by 14 early there was an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
After six consecutive losses, misery was put to the side for one night, a 96-73 victory Thursday night over the Milwaukee Bucks at AmericanAirlines Arena restoring hope at a time when desperately needed.
From the Dion Waiters' early offense that kept them afloat to the finishing touches of Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, this was an exhale when needed most, with 10 of the next 13 on the road.
While Waiters led the Heat with 23 points, it was Whiteside's passion play in the second half, after early foul trouble, that helped put it away, the Heat center closing with 12 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocked shots, his 10th double-double in 11 games this season.
And it was Dragic returning from a three-game absence and 0-for-5 start from the field to making enough winning plays to help put it away, on a 16-point, six-assist night.
Factor in 18 points from Josh Richardson and for the first time since Nov. 1 there were winning smiles.
Tensions were high before the Heat's late burst, especially after a missed inside attempt by Whiteside led to a technical foul on Erik Spoelstra that turned into a 3-point Bucks possession, drawing Milwaukee within 71-69 with 9:18 to play. Whiteside's first trip to the line on his own foul-trouble night came with 8:19 to play.
But that's also when the Heat were about to get their game-turning burst.
With Justise Winslow missing his second consecutive game due to a sore left wrist, but with Dragic back after missing three games with a sprained left ankle, the Heat went with their fifth different lineup in as many games, this time with Josh Richardson moving from point guard to small forward.
After pushing to an 11-point lead in the third quarter, the Heat went into the fourth up 67-62 against a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back set.
Waiters was up to 19 points by that stage, a stage when the Heat stood at 4 of 22 on 3-pointers and 5 of 12 from the line.
While the Heat were able to forge a 48-48 halftime tie behind 15 first-half points from Waiters, it was a wild first 24 minutes.
The early results were not favorable, with the Heat falling behind 20-6, with Whiteside forced to the bench with his second foul with 5:43 to play in the first quarter. The Heat opened 3 of 18 from the field, 0 for 5 on 3-pointers and 0 for 2 from the foul line.
But with James Johnson and Tyler Johnson sparking the Heat off the bench, the Heat were able to move within 27-21 by the end of the opening period.
The Heat then picked up where they left off in the second period, extending their run to 24-7 bridging the opening two periods, to move to a 30-27 lead.
With Whiteside called for his third foul with 6:14 left in the second period, Spoelstra again turned to backup center Willie Reed, as he did in the first quarter, after Josh McRoberts had played the previous three games as the backup center.
Whiteside was limited to two points and four rebounds in eight minutes of action in the first half.
Although Derrick Williams again started at power forward, Spoelstra shuffled through a variety of options at the position, including first-half minutes for former starter Luke Babbitt.
There was a heartening early development for Waiters, who got to the line to complete a 3-point play in the first quarter after failing to get to the line in the previous two games. Waiters returned to the line in the second period after a flagrant foul on Bucks center John Henson.
