Category: Miami Heat

MIAMI – Dwyane Wade can have good things. The Miami Heat made that clear Sunday, announcing the franchise icon next fall will become the team’s first player to have a statue in front of Kaseya Center, a halftime announcement by Heat President Pat Riley that brought Wade to tears. But in this injury-ravaged season, the Heat on Sunday also had to deal with the reality that even in victory, adversity remains front and center. Already playing in the injury absences of Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love, the Heat lost rookie guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. with a strained left groin for the second half of...

MIAMI — The fine line the Miami Heat have been walking in the absence of Jimmy Butler turned into too much of a high-wire act Wednesday night. Against one of the league’s emerging teams, there was neither enough deterrence nor a closer to take control late. The result was a 128-120 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that dropped the Heat to 1-1 on this four-game homestand that continues Friday night against the Orlando Magic. Standing as the ultimate face of youth in the NBA, the Thunder got 28 points and eight assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 23 points and nine rebounds from Chet...

MIAMI — The Miami Heat on Tuesday night announced the team has reached terms on an extension with coach Erik Spoelstra, who has been working in the final year of his contract. Terms of what the team termed “a long-term contract” were not disclosed. A person familiar with the agreement told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the contract is for eight years, with a salary that puts the total value at $120 million, largest total in a contract ever for an NBA coach. Spoelstra’s salary this season had been reported at $8.5 million. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich is earning a reported $16 million this...

ORLANDO – The Miami Heat showed the ability to play quality ball against a quality opponent Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, they did it again. The difference from that disheartening home loss two days earlier was that this time the Heat sustained long enough. After again thrusting to a sizable early lead, the Heat this time kept the pedal on the gas long enough to push to a 115-106 victory at Kia Center, with only a window-dressing rally by the Magic at the finish. With Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love sidelined, Tyler Herro seized...

MIAMI – The Miami Heat were closer to whole, and certainly a whole lot more interesting with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo back in the mix. But that did not necessarily make it any easier Monday night, particularly with the opposition at Kaseya Center being the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves. So two nights after Jimmy Butler beat the buzzer for a victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Heat wound up closing their four-game homestand at 2-2 after a 112-108 loss to Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves. While Herro returned to score 25 and Adebayo added 22 in his comeback, it...

MIAMI – Neither the early 15-point lead not the double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter mattered, as all too often has been the case for the Miami Heat, Sustaining has not been a specialty for Erik Spoelstra’s team. Nor has any sort of homecourt dominance. So there the Heat stood again Saturday night, with the final ticks determining whether a night with several positives would provide a payoff. That’s when Jimmy Butler said enough was enough. Converting a 20-foot jumper just before the buzzer, Butler lifted the Heat to a dramatic 118-116 victory over the Chicago Bulls at Kaseya...