Category: NBA

You can’t scare them. You can’t break them. You can’t unnerve or unhinge them. Related Articles Cavaliers wear down overmatched Heat in 121-100 rout in series opener Winderman’s view: Tyler Herro looking for a friend, as Heat stumble in Cleveland The Miami Heat showed that again on the road Sunday. You can out-talent them, though. Cleveland showed that in its 121-100 win in Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series. “Let’s have fun, Spo,’’ Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell said just before tip-off to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra as a...

CLEVELAND — The Oklahoma City Thunder set the standard for No. 1 seeds earlier in the day, when in their Western Conference playoff opener against the Memphis Grizzlies they went up by 56 points and won by 51. Related Articles Dave Hyde: Heat play hard, but can they get a game (or two) off Cleveland? Winderman’s view: Tyler Herro looking for a friend, as Heat stumble in Cleveland Four hours later, against that backdrop, the Miami Heat took the court against the East No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, a team second only to the Thunder in...

ATLANTA – For a moment Friday night, as the final buzzer sounded at State Farm Arena, the Miami Heat no longer felt like a 37-45 team, one that finished in 10th place in its conference and endured a 10-game losing streak. No, at that moment, when the 123-114 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks was complete, the feeling was of a mission accomplished, of a season salvaged, of meaning, finally, attached to this whirlwind. Erik Spoelstra’s team is going to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, no need for lottery Ping-Pong balls, with games still to be played. “I know how badly our...

The Miami Heat might stumble again Friday night in Atlanta. But at least you saw for one featured night, on one consequential stage, how they can look on their best nights. Tyler Herro, especially, passed his test Wednesday night in Chicago. He backed up his good season with a stellar moment in the Heat’s 109-90 play-in win. Look at his night: Thirty-eight points (the same as you-know-who Jimmy Butler in his play-in game Tuesday night). Eight-for-eight shooting in the telltale first half. He even delivered the proper answer of a driving layup or step-back jumper in the third quarter...

CHICAGO — For the second consecutive Wednesday, the Miami Heat put everything they had into a game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. This time, they got it right. And this time it means one more victory and it’s on to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. Left with little more to show from the regular season than a 37-45 record and 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the Heat made the most of their Wednesday night play-in opener, a 109-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls that now sends them on to a 7 p.m. Friday game at State Farm Arena against the Atlanta Hawks...

CHICAGO — Even though it has yet to start, the Miami Heat’s pathway to the playoffs is now set. With the Orlando Magic defeating the visiting Atlanta Hawks 120-95 Tuesday night in the Nos. 7-8 Eastern Conference play-in game, the Hawks now will stand as the Heat’s Friday play-in opponent if the Heat win Wednesday night’s Nos. 9-10 play-in game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. By virtue of their No. 8 play-in seed, the Hawks earned the right with their loss to have a second play-in chance that the Heat lack, with Atlanta to host the 7:30 p.m. Friday night game. Should the Heat...

MIAMI — The goal for the Miami Heat remains to avoid the May 12 NBA draft lottery. But if they are to be represented in the random-but-weighted drawing, at least they now know where they stand. With the combination of their Sunday home loss to the Washington Wizards, the Chicago Bulls’ road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns’ road loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Heat are locked into the No. 11 seed in the process. The No. 11 lottery seed would leave the Heat with a 9.4% chance of moving up to one of the first four draft positions and a 2% chance of landing the top...