Heat loses in Minnesota, remains ninth in East

The Heat doesn’t know if it will make the playoffs, but it does know this: This will not be a team that wins more than it loses this season. And in that regard, this season has been a clear regression.

A Heat team that has teased all season but ultimately couldn’t be trusted erupted offensively in a 69-point first half but unraveled for stretches in the second half, losing 111-109 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night at Target Center.

Dwyane Wade’s 25-foot three-pointer rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

In the process, the Heat fell to 38-41, assuring that it can finish no better than .500 and with a tough remaining schedule: at Toronto, Philadelphia and at Brooklyn. That’s a step back from a 44-38 record and a sixth seed last season.

And Miami remained ninth in the East, one game behind No. 8 Brooklyn.

With the Heat down three in the final 1:32, Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic both missed layups. Waiters then missed a three with 34 seconds left, with Miami still down by three.

A Heat steal and Wade layup cut the Heat’s deficit to 110-109 with 10 seconds left.

With the Heat forced to foul to stop the clock, Minnesota’s Keita Bates-Diop then missed the first free throw but hit the second to leave the Heat down 111-109 with 4.7 seconds left.

But Wade, after pump faking three times against Josh Okogie, missed the contested three-point jumper at the buzzer.

Wade, potentially days from retirement, was splendid early, with 21 points in the first half. But after hitting 7 of 9 in the first half, Wade scored three points in the second half on 1 for 7 shooting to finish with 24.

Dragic scored 14 in the first half but just one point on 0 for 6 shooting after halftime.

Miami shot 62 percent in the first half and stormed to a 69-61 lead, before the Wolves erased all of that deficit and surged ahead midway through the third. But the Heat, after that 69-point first half, scored just 40 in the second half on 39 percent shooting.

The Heat went to the fourth ahead 91-90, but struggled to find offense in the fourth, opening 5 for 15 from the field in the quarter.

The Heat started its 27^th different starting lineup, a group that hadn’t played a single minute together all season before Friday – Justise Winslow, Kelly Olynyk, Bam Adebayo, Waiters and Dragic.

Waiters again relied primarily on the three-pointer, with 12 of his 17 shots coming from beyond the arc on a 22-point night.

Winslow contributed 13 points and seven rebounds but also had four turnovers.

James Johnson played well, with 15 points and 5 assists.

The Heat held Karl Anthony Towns – the league’s 15^th leading scorer – in check (13 points and an absurd 11 turnovers), but backup Gorgui Deng erupted for 19.

Minnesota’s Tyus Jones broke down the Heat’s defense multiple times in the second half, and Dario Saric (19) and Andrew Wiggins (18 ) hurt Miami.

Please check back shortly for a playoff update, postgame reaction and more,

This story was originally published April 5, 2019 at 10:18 PM.