The progressively loud cheers were interrupted by a collective pause and sense of indecision when it was announced that the Heat would pick No. 2 in next month's draft.
Then, without warning, a flurry of white ping-pong shots were shot out of cannons into the crowd and nobody knew what to think.
It takes more than a few fleeting seconds, and no ping-pong balls hitting you in the eye, to truly digest what happened to the Heat on Tuesday night.
The NBA Draft lottery left the Heat in a good spot, knowing that it will either draft scoring forward Michael Beasley or triple-double-in-waiting Derrick Rose.
GOOD POSITION
But that knowledge still comes with a heavy dose of helplessness. Sure, Miami will get one of those two, which is great, but it will be the player that falls in its lap. There really is no decision to be made. Really, it's sit-and-wait time for Pat Riley, who doesn't like the feeling of not being in control.
Had the Heat gotten the No. 1 pick, it already could start planning how to build the team this summer: Draft Rose, add a free agent big man, find a shooter or two and hope that translates into a playoff appearance.
With the Chicago Bulls defying the odds and stealing that top pick, that planning process basically gets placed on hold for five weeks until the June 26 draft.
Of course, there is only one thing to do with all that free time: Figure out whom the Bulls will pick.
The initial, knee-jerk reaction would point to Chicago taking Michael Beasley.
Looking at the Bulls' roster, it includes a starting point guard in Kirk Hinrich, who is under contract for several years. They also have Larry Hughes, who likes to dabble in point guard duties and is weighing down the Bulls' payroll for another couple seasons (Ben Gordon also plays the point, but he is a restricted free agent who will quickly become expendable if Chicago chooses Rose).
Anyone who even pretends to be a basketball expert will tell you the Bulls sorely lack a confident, reliable inside scoring presence, which is what Beasley would bring to them. And selecting Beasley also would give the Bulls some added leverage in any negotiations with restricted free agent Luol Deng, who doesn't exactly duplicate Beasley but would take up some of Beasley's work space.
There are even a few less-reasonable signs pointing to the Heat getting Rose.
Perhaps this is where the karma of Miami retiring Michael Jordan's jersey comes into play. It seemed silly at the time, but now it all makes sense.
Add to that Riley already playing mind games with the Bulls, saying Tuesday night when asked about Chicago: ''They have a starting point guard in Kirk Hinrich. Gordon plays that position a lot,'' also dropping the nugget of Deng's impending free agency.
NOT SO EASY
So it is a cinch, right? The Bulls draft Beasley and Rose falls from the sky into the Heat's house. Not quite.
The Bulls don't even have a head coach in place, so there are no guarantees as to how their roster might be reshaped. If it remains similar, that roster still includes a logjam of power forwards, including Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.
Plus, Rose is a Chicagoan who would make the home fans thrilled. He has drawn some comparisons to fellow Chicago native Dwyane Wade, and we know how well he worked out.
So Rose could be in Chicago's future, which would leave the Heat with Beasley.
Of course, most would consider that a win for Miami. There was even a Heat fan sporting Beasley's Kansas State jersey.
Then again, there was this reaction from another fan after hearing ESPN's Jay Bilas break down Beasley's talents: ``He compares to Derrick Coleman? Oh no!''
And rather than settle any feelings of uncertainty, both Riley and Randy Pfund threw out the possibility of trading the second pick for a win-now solution.
''If somebody offers us something like Kevin Garnett, then you have to make a decision,'' said Riley, adding that three other teams have contacted him in hopes of having future conversations.
You can expect five more weeks of guesswork. It is what became inevitable once that envelope opened up to show the Heat logo.
And it is why there was that hesitation from the party people at the AAA on Tuesday. You won't know what to think until the Bulls tell you what to think.
For now, it is probably best to save yourself the mental strain and take Wade's approach: Assume it's a win-win situation and hope for the best. That would include no more ping-pong ball attacks for years to come.
''It's gonna be hot again in the triple-A,'' Wade said. ``We back.''
