Just a week ago, Miami was within striking distance of the 5th seed. They respond with 3 straight L’s.
The Miami Heat have had several chances to take control of the standings. They made a push to come so close to the 5th seed, trailing by only 1.5 games at one point. Now it’s looking more and more slim of getting there, as the Heat have dropped 3 straight games since, including tonight’s loss in New York 101-92. Miami is now sitting at an underwhelming 40-37 record and now 1.5 games behind the 6th seed Brooklyn Nets. The Nets have a much easier remaining schedule and also own the tie breaker against the Heat.
Heat lose. Brooklyn wins.
Margin between 6th and 7th now 1-1/2, plus the Nets hold the tiebreaker.
Even if Nets go 2-4 the rest of the way, Heat would have to go 4-1 to pass them.
Miami only 1-1/2 games up on 8-Atlanta and 9-Toronto.
Buckle up.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) March 30, 2023
There was more than 24 different lead changes throughout this game. Poor shooting from the field and free throw line to go along with simply being outplayed down the stretch was enough for the Knicks to secure the win. It was a close one for the majority of the night, but an 8-0 run in the 4th quarter wound up being the tipping point for the Knicks. The Heat gave up a layup, two dunks and a pair of free throws during that run. They never were able to cut into the lead after that and New York ran away with it.
Miami shot just 33% from three and 64% from the free throw line. They also got out rebounded 47-35. Aside from Gabe Vincent who had 21 points on 8/11 shooting, it was a mediocre night for most of the rotation. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler both couldn’t find a way to make a consistent impact on the game. Adebayo had 11 rebounds, but just 9 points on 4/10 shooting. Butler had 12 points and 6 assists on 5/10 shooting. The All-Star big man in Bam just simply has not looked himself after the break.
He is looking unsure of himself on offense, and that wheel house mid range pull up that Heat fans were accustomed to seeing all season long has slowly but surely disappeared. Butler was efficient tonight going 50% from the field, but he didn’t take nearly enough shots as he should have. He wasn’t getting to the free throw line either, which has been a big part of his best games this year. Tyler Herro had 16 points on 6/16 shooting, so his efficiency wasn’t there as well.
As for the other guys, Duncan Robinson had 12 points on 4/6 shooting from deep. It was nice to see him getting playing time and making the most of his minutes. Victor Oladipo had just 9 points on an abysmal 3/10 shooting. Both Kevin Love and Caleb Martin didn’t show up, as Love played a season low with the Heat 16 minutes in this game.
It’s a shame to see this team drop these games after finally giving the fan base some slim sort of hope after that win against the Knicks last week in South Beach. Miami is running out of time, and it’s looking more likely that the team winds up with the 7th seed. Went from the best team in the East and a shot away from the NBA Finals to being on the verge of a play-in team.
The Heat will now get ready to welcome Luka Donic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks to Miami-Dade Arena on Saturday night.