Bucks beat the Heat for sixth consecutive victory

Recently acquired guard John Salmons paced the romp with 18  points as the Bucks, who have not lost to the Heat in three  games this season, stayed ahead of the hosts in the race for  seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.

“It’s always good to have a tiebreaker against a team that  you think is going to be around the same spot as you for a  playoff spot,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles told reporters.

Milwaukee (30-28) had not won six games in a row since  2006.

The Bucks led by five at the half, but blew the game open  with a 25-12 scoring advantage in the third quarter.

“Our defense was very good,” Skiles said. “The two newest  guys on our team (Salmons and Jerry Stackhouse) have blended  right in with the unselfish play.”

Stackhouse, signed by the Bucks in January, had 16 points  in 25 minutes.

Salmons joined Milwaukee from Chicago as part of a Feb. 18  trade.

“The most important thing for us is his size,” Skiles said  of Salmons. “We just didn’t have that before.”

The Heat (29-30) drew boos from the home crowd after the  loss, their third in a row.

“I hope it don’t get no worse than this,” forward Michael  Beasley said. “This feels bad.”

Injured All-Star Dwyane Wade missed his fourth successive  game for the Heat, who shot poorly with center Jermaine O’Neal  top-scoring with 14 points.

Wade, who has a strained left calf, watched the game from  the Heat’s bench. His return date is uncertain.

“It’s still a huge gap with Dwyane out,” Miami’s Dorell  Wright said. “But we still have to play hard, defend and have  more effort. We just didn’t play as hard as they did.”