HEAT TOPS RAPTORS, SECURES PLAY-IN 8TH SEED
The Miami Heat needed a win and some help on the final day of the regular season to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament.
The Heat got the win, cruising to a 118-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors (25-57) on Sunday afternoon at Kaseya Center to close the regular season at 46-36.
But the Heat didn’t get the help it needed, as the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers also won to keep the Heat in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and play-in tournament-bound for the second straight season.
The Heat now has to travel to Philadelphia to take on Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the scorching 76ers in the East’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., ESPN). The winner of that game will secure the East’s No. 7 playoff seed and face the second-seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, while the loser will host a win-or-go-home play-in game on Friday for the East’s No. 8 playoff seed.
“We’re looking forward to it,”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the matchup against the 76ers. “It will be a great environment. Philly has been playing fantastic recently. So we know what to expect up there. That is what we say, it’s for competitors only. It should be a lot of fun.”
A Magic or 76ers loss paired with the Heat’s win on Sunday would have moved Miami up to No. 7 in the East to host the first play-in game.
The Heat took care of its own business, closing Sunday’s first half on a huge 42-17 run to take full control of the game and enter halftime
with a 21-point lead. Miami led by as many as 30 points in the second half against a Toronto team already well out of playoff contention.
Jimmy Butler only played 24 minutes for the Heat in the regular-season finale, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, five rebounds and four assists.
Bam Adebayo added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block in 19 minutes for the Heat.
Tyler Herro contributed 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 2of-5 shooting on threes, six rebounds and eight assists in 29 minutes for the Heat.
“I feel good about the group,” Spoelstra said, as the Heat enters the postseason. “That’s all I wanted to see these last couple of games. I just wanted to feel it. I know my team, I know the locker room. I can sense that the group is ready. That’s all you can ask for.”
Three takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Raptors:
The Heat is heading to the play-in tournament for the second straight season.
The Heat qualified for the playoffs as the East’s No. 8 seed through the play-in tournament last season on the way to making an improbable run to the NBA Finals before losing in the championship series to the Denver Nuggets.
“I feel like everybody is confident, everybody is decently healthy for the most part and we just got to go out there and hoop, man,” Butler said of the approach entering Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia. “Leave it all out there on their floor and come out with one.”
How is the play-in tournament structured? Here’s how it will go in the East ...
The 76ers will host the Heat in a play-in game on Wednesday. The winner earns the conference’s No. 7 playoff seed to face the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
The Chicago Bulls will host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The loser of this matchup is eliminated from playoff contention, while the winner goes on the road to take on the loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game on Friday to secure the East’s No. 8 playoff seed and a firstround playoff matchup against the top-seeded Boston Celtics.
The Heat remained without Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier, as uncertainty looms over Rozier’s status for the postseason.
Robinson (left facet syndrome) and Rozier (neck spasms) each missed their fourth straight game for the Heat with their respective injuries.
While Robinson was at least upgraded to questionable on the Heat’s injury report for Sunday’s game before being ruled out, there’s some uncertainty surrounding Rozier’s status for the start of the postseason.
There’s still hope that Rozier will be ready in the coming days to be available for the start of the postseason, according to multiple sources, but he’s set to undergo further testing on his neck injury to determine his status. The Heat continues to label Rozier as day-to-day.
“He will not play today and that’s all I got for you,” Spoelstra said before Sunday’s game when asked whether Rozier will be back for the postseason. “We’ll give you an update when we get one, but he’s not ready to play today.”
Robinson has also been sidelined for the last week with his back issue, as the last time he played was in the Heat’s April 7 loss to the Pacers in Indianapolis.
“It’s been good for both of them,” Spoelstra said of the last week of recovery for Robinson and Rozier. “Both of those guys, their bodies will let us know. They’re making progress. I know how badly both of them want to be out here right now. But we’ll just continue to treat them.”
Regular-season finale included a new injury to a rotation player.
Heat backup center Kevin Love exited Sunday’s game with 22.8 seconds left in the first quarter and did not return because of a left upper arm contusion.
After Love left, the Heat used Thomas Bryant as its backup center against the Raptors. Bryant closed the win with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
Love has established himself as an important part of the Heat’s rotation this season, providing positive minutes when Adebayo heads to the bench. The Heat entered Sunday outscoring opponents by 6.6 points per 100 possessions with Love on the court this season.
But Love’s status for the
For summaries and results go to the eEdition at MiamiHerald.com.
Atlantic
y-Boston x-New York p-Philadelphia Brooklyn Toronto Southeast
y-Orlando p-Miami p-Atlanta Charlotte Washington Central
y-Milwaukee x-Cleveland x-Indiana p-Chicago Detroit
Southwest
y-Dallas p-New Orleans Houston Memphis
San Antonio Northwest
y-Oklahoma City x-Denver x-Minnesota Utah
Portland
Pacific
W
64 50 47 32 25 W
47 46 36 21 15 W
49 48 47 39 14
W
50 49 41 27 22 W
57 57 56 31 21 W
L
18 32 35 50 57
L
35 36 46 61 67
L
33 34 35 43 68
L
32 33 41 55 60
L
25 25 26 51 61
L
Pct
.780 .610 .573 .390 .305
Pct
.573 .561 .439 .256 .183
Pct
.598 .585 .573 .476 .171
Pct
.610 .598 .500 .329 .268
Pct
.695 .695 .683 .378 .256
Pct
GB
— 14 17 32 39 GB
— 1 11 26 32 GB
— 1 2 10 35
GB
— 1 9 23 28 GB
â — 1 26 36 GB
y-L.A. Clippers 51 31 .622 x-Phoenix 49 33 .598 p-L.A. Lakers 47 35 .573 p-Sacramento 46 36 .561 p-Golden State 46 36 .561 p-clinched play-in spot; x-clinched playoff spot; y-clinched division
SUNDAY
Miami 118, Toronto 103
Boston 132, Washington 122
Charlotte 120, Cleveland 110
Indiana 157, Atlanta 115
New York 120, Chicago 119 (OT)
Orlando 113, Milwaukee 88
Philadelphia 107, Brooklyn 86
Denver 126, Memphis 111
Phoenix 125, Minnesota 106
L.A. Lakers 124, New Orleans 108 Oklahoma City 135, Dallas 86
San Antonio 123, Detroit 95
— 2 4 5 5 postseason now is up in the air after Sunday’s injury. This comes after Love recently returned from a bruised right heel that forced him to miss 14 straight games.
“He got hit in the arm
Toronto Min FG-A FT-A R A F Pt Agbaji 32:45 4-11 2-3 623 10 Dick 29:01 5-13 3-4 211 14 Olynyk 22:15 5-9 0-0 824 11 Fr-Liberty 32:45 3-6 2-2 171 8 Trent Jr 23:15 6-14 3-3 411 18 B.Brown 20:25 3-5 0-1 002 6 Jl.McDnls 23:12 2-7 2-2 223 7 Nwora 20:30 6-10 0-0 11 1 1 14 Temple 24:45 1-8 6-6 373 9 Ml.Wllms 11:07 3-7 0-0 402 6
Totals 240 38-90 18-21 41 23 21 103
Percentages: FG .422, FT .857. 3-Point Goals: 9-34, .265 (Trent Jr 3-8, Nwora
2-4, Jl.McDaniels 1-2, Olynyk 1-3, Dick
1-5, Temple 1-5, B.Brown 0-1, Ml.Williams 0-1, Freeman-Liberty 0-2, Agbaji 0-3). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 19.
Blocked Shots: 3 (Freeman-Liberty 2, Agbaji). Turnovers: 19 (Agbaji 4, Olynyk 4, Freeman-Liberty 3, Dick 2, Jl.McDaniels 2, Nwora 2, B.Brown, Temple). Steals: 6 (Agbaji 2, Dick 2, Jl.McDaniels, Olynyk).
Miami Min FG-A FT-A RAF Pt Ji.Butler 24:24 6-9 3-4 541 15 Jovic 15:57 1-4 0-0 312 3 Adebayo 19:29 8-10 1-1 621 17 Herro 29:27 5-11 5-5 681 17 Ca.Martn 23:40 5-12 0-0 521 12 Bryant 23:23 8-10 2-2 10 1 1 18 Cain 1:53 0-0 0-0 001 0 Hghsmth 24:20 2-5 0-0 313 5 Jaquez Jr 32:19 6-12 6-7 451 18 Love 3:15 0-1 0-0 000 0 Mills 7:57 0-3 0-0 110 0 O.Rbnsn 1:53 0-0 0-0 000 0 Swider 1:53 0-1 0-0 002 0 AWillms 1:53 1-2 0-0 001 2 Wright 28:17 4-7 0-0 3 4 1 11
Totals 240 46-87 17-19 46 29 16 118
Percentages: FG .529, FT .895.3-Point
Goals: 9-36, .250 (Wright 3-5, Herro 2-5, Ca.Martin 2-6, Highsmith 1-4, Jovic 1-4, Adebayo 0-1, Bryant 0-1, Love 0-1, Swider 0-1, A.Williams 0-1, Mills 0-3, Jaquez Jr 0-4).Team Rebounds: 4.Team Turnovers: 19.Blocked Shots: 7 (Jaquez Jr 2, Adebayo, Bryant, Ca.Martin, A.Williams, Wright)
.Turnovers: 19 (Herro 6, Adebayo 4, Bryant 2, Highsmith 2, Ji.Butler, Jaquez Jr, Ca.Martin, A.Williams, Wright).Steals: 13 (Wright 4, Adebayo 3, Jovic 2, Herro, Highsmith, Jaquez Jr, Ca.Martin). and it was like a stinger,” Spoelstra said of Love after Sunday’s win. “So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”