Miami’s struggles continue. Suns end long losing skid with win over Heat
With the Heat standing in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and just six weeks remaining in the regular season, the margin for error to earn a playoff berth has shrunk.
Miami couldn’t afford to allow a game against the team with the league’s worst record slip away.
Well, it happened. The Suns (12-50) snapped a 17-game losing skid with a 124-121 win over the Heat (26-33) on Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
It marked Miami’s sixth consecutive home loss. The Heat hasn’t won a game at AmericanAirlines Arena since a Jan. 12 victory over the Grizzlies.
The Heat never trailed through the first three quarters, but the Suns began the fourth on a 20-9 run to take an eight-point lead with 7:10 to play. It was a back-and-forth game from there, with Phoenix holding a one-point lead with 30.9 seconds remaining.
After Kelly Olynyk hit a jump shot to put the Heat ahead by one with 18.9 seconds to play, Josh Richardson fouled Phoenix’s Devin Booker on the inbounds pass with 17.3 seconds on the clock. Booker made both free throws, which ended up being game-winning free throws, to give the Suns a one-point edge that would stand.
Miami had another chance to win the game, but Dwyane Wade missed a 16-foot turnaround jump shot and Bam Adebayo couldn’t convert on the tip in with 2.1 seconds to play.
After Phoenix’s Kelly Oubre Jr. sank two free throws following an intentional foul, Wade missed a halfcourt shot as time expired that would have sent the game into overtime.
In his return to Miami after being traded by the Heat on Feb. 6, Tyler Johnson finished with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Booker recorded a team-high 20 points for the Suns.
Heat big men Hassan Whiteside (29 points and 11 rebounds) and Kelly Olynyk (28 points and 10 rebounds) turned in strong performances, but the rest of the team shot just 37.7 percent.
The Heat remains at No. 10 in the East and 1.5 games behind the eighth and final playoff spot occupied by the Hornets. Miami is one game behind No. 9 Orlando.
The Heat closes its three-game homestand Wednesday against the two-time defending NBA champion Warriors.
This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 10:13 PM.
