On the eve of one thing dramatically and desperately new for the franchise, the Miami Heat first paid tribute to somebody enduring and exemplary.
In a recreation with no impression on their place within the standings, the Heat as an alternative put the main target Sunday on the ultimate regular-season recreation of the 20-season profession of 42-year-old group captain Udonis Haslem.
For the Heat, the 123-110 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic stood secondary to the tribute to Haslem, who arrived undrafted in 2003 and went on to contribute to 3 championships throughout his twenty years along with his hometown group.
Haslem acquired quite a few ovations throughout his 24-point efficiency, together with when he completed an alley-oop dunk and transformed three 3-pointers, a profession excessive for any earlier season. He checked out with 58.9 seconds to play to a standing ovation. The effort tied his second highest scoring whole in a regular-season recreation.
“I just wanted to ride the wave until the game was over,” he mentioned. “I just wanted to go out and put on a good show.”
As for the sport itself, it principally was a automobile for the Heat’s rotation regulars to briefly get some cardio, excluding ahead Jimmy Butler, who was given the time off for relaxation.
What follows would be the most consequential second of the season, Tuesday’s play-in recreation towards the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
If the Heat win that recreation, they’ll obtain the No. 7 playoff seed within the Eastern Conference and play the No. 2 Boston Celtics within the best-of-seven opening spherical of the playoffs. If the Heat lose, they’ll on Friday night time host the winner of Wednesday night time’s Chicago Bulls-Toronto Raptors recreation for the No. 8 East playoff seed and a first-round matchup towards the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks.
Should the Heat go with no win in that play-in spherical, they might miss the playoffs and be seeded into the NBA draft lottery.
Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s recreation:
1. As for the sport: The Magic led 24-23 after the primary quarter, earlier than the Heat moved to a 52-50 lead at halftime. Orlando then took an 85-82 lead into the fourth.
From there, a 16-0 run put the Heat up 102-89.
In addition to Haslem’s 24, The Heat obtained a season-high 20 factors from Duncan Robinson, 19 from Victor Oladipo, 18 from ahead Jamal Cain and 14 from Omer Yurtseven.
In an oddity of the kind of day it was, the Heat closed with 111 bench factors.
2. Haslem-a-thon: The focus singularly was on Haslem, who entered to a rousing ovation with 9:05 to play, his first look since Feb. 2 and simply his seventh of the season.
He then missed his first try, a baseline drive, however then transformed a driving layup for his first rating, and, after two missed makes an attempt from past the arc, transformed a 3-pointer. It was his first 3-pointer since March 28, 2022, towards the Sacramento Kings and simply the seventh of his 20-season profession.
Along the way in which, he grabbed two rebounds earlier than the sport’s first timeout, extending his Heat all-time profession file.
Later within the opening interval, Haslem completed an alley-oop play from Duncan Robinson with a dunk, giving him 13 factors within the opening interval, matching the highest-scoring quarter of his profession and essentially the most factors he had scored in a recreation since 2015.
The earlier time Haslem had scored in double figures in a recreation was Dwyane Wade’s profession finale on the finish of 2018-19.
3. Pregame tribute: In addition to varied video montagues all through the sport, Haslem addressed the group pregame.
“Whether I was starting, whether I was the first guy off the bench, or whether I didn’t play at all, you guys always had my back and showed love,” he mentioned. “For me, that’s priceless. That’s beautiful. And that’s why it made it all so easy, just to sacrifice everything.”
Center Bam Adebayo offered Haslem with a rocking chair through the temporary pregame ceremony that had the Haslem household alongside.
“There you go man,” Adebayo quipped, “take your seat.”
Haslem did.
Wade, who watched from courtside in a Haslem jersey, praised Haslem throughout a televised interview.
“People talk about Hall of Fame careers.” mentioned Wade, who shall be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August, “but they don’t talk about role-player careers and what they mean for the team and for the franchise.”
Wade known as Haslem the “greatest Miami Heat of all-time.”
4. Last legs: Despite solely a two-day turnaround earlier than their play-in opener, the Heat opened with 4 of their common starters, with Adebayo, Max Strus, Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent on the courtroom for the opening tip.
With Butler given a second consecutive recreation off, Haywood Highsmith rounded out the beginning lineup.
Vincent performed simply the opening 7:19, Adebayo the opening 7:56, Herro the primary 8:40 and Strus the preliminary 10:38. There additionally have been temporary, first-half cameos from Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love.
The Heat then opened the second half with Haslem, Highsmith, Yurtseven, Robinson and Oladipo.
5. New look: The recreation was the primary for the Heat for the reason that constructing was renamed the Kaseya Center, with the emblem of the Miami software program firm painted in two locations on the courtroom and a short lived signal on the constructing’s entrance.
The Heat beforehand performed this season with the power known as FTX Arena, The Arena and Miami-Dade Arena.
Kaseya branding additionally was in place for Saturday night time’s UFC occasion on the constructing.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com