In a stunning turn of events, the Miami Heat have turned a disaster 2024-25 season into a playoff appearance in dramatic fashion. They have officially punched their ticket into the postseason and eliminated the Atlanta Hawks Friday evening.
It took some overtime basketball in order to get the job done, but Miami pulled away with the 123-114 victory. Strong efforts from Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu weren’t enough to withstand the Heat on their home floor.
Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell each took the game over with huge clutch plays down the stretch for Miami. Mitchell made a name for himself on a nationally televised stage, providing his usual elite defensive efforts to go along with his 16 points off the bench.
The Heat were in control for most of the game, until a fourth quarter collapse saw the Hawks take their first lead of the night. It seemed to be yet another blown lead resulting in a loss that Miami allowed to slip through their fingers.
Instead, their resiliency responded and they never let go of the rope.
The Miami Heat become the first 10th seed in NBA history to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Miami shot an efficient 50% from the field as a team and 38% from 3-point range. Atlanta went 43% overall and 34% from deep. Additionally, the Heat won the rebounding battle 54-44.
Unlike Herro’s 38-point explosion against the Chicago Bulls in the first play-in victory, this one was a full team effort. Kel’el Ware made his presence known as a rim protector and lob threat, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Haywood Highsmith contributed a 12 and 10 double-double off the bench. Even Kyle Anderson added a pair of much needed 3-pointers to calm down Atlanta’s momentum heading into the final period.
Not only are the Heat the first 10th seed of all-time to reach the postseason, but it will be the first Miami/Cleveland Cavaliers playoff matchup ever. During the regular season, the Cavs had the 2-1 advantage, but even their two wins were hard fought games.
If there is anything that Spoelstra ran teams have proven over the years, it is to never doubt the Heat.
They will fight and battle to the bitter end— just like their play-in path has shown.
The top seed Cavs will be looking to handle business with home-court advantage, as game one of the first round series is set to take place on Easter Sunday at 7:00 PM EST.
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All right! We did it! Not an easy thing to accomplish either. Not going to cast any doubts against the next challenge either. We are going to need everyone to contribute in our top nine, which includes a little Duncan, possibly when Wade is in. Not sure what Jovic’s role will be but maybe when Ware or Bam rest, we can try him a little there as Anderson may be too short for some situations.
Watch out for Ty Jerome, he is a very good player, a player one may not think of. And maybe sic Davion on Donovan.
Come to think of it, we do have a chance! What more can you ask for.
ware 22 minutes thats bad coaching ,he was so good and so much taller than anybody on the ct .ware could of had a line of 30 20 easily
Just saw the Tyler interview…packed for 9 days lol. Again I’m afraid for Cleveland. Getting top seed now facing the boogieman of the east. Not gonna leverage that win against them in regular season this is entirely a different face-off. For now savor our W! See yah all Sunday…well Monday here haha
mitchell an adult male on that court tonight
That was an awesome, fun, fast paced game! A lot of great players tonight. Locksmith played great d, rebounded very well, and made timely buckets, especially that tip in with less then 2 secs on the clock on one possession. Wiggins went 20/8/8 played great, made tough buckets, and played great d the whole night. Bam was everywhere had a block party with 5 blocks had a great all around game, and hit some clutch buckets in the 4th. Boy wonder was Ballin, hit some crazy shots, and went on a heater. When we needed a herro he came through late 4th and in ot. He balled on the great barrier thief as well. He was on fire at one point… straight unconscious trading shots back and forth with Trae. Lastly what can I say about Davion mitchell…. he’s a dawg or a pit bull whatever you wanna call him, that’s what herro said post game. Mitchell was a menace all night and thorn on Trae’s side. He went ballistic In OT. Its crazy cuz he only had 1 point in 1st half. Showed why he was so highly rated coming out of Baylor, he fits heat culture perfectly. I wanted 2 draft picks, but heat said F it, we packed for 9 days, so we going to the playoffs lol.
muscles over heat big? hh was awesome his best game of year.he has it in him to play like that needs to do it night in night out.slomos 2 miracles 3s cant be forgotten although his counterpart slo niang was great until he missed that ez shot over ty at the rim last seconds of game.since we dont have a ss we have to do it collectively.but we do have 4-5 guys that can get u 20 on any night.burks needs to pick it up or lose his minutes,he shoots the caleb martin line drive to much.i wouldnt mind swedish sensation getting some of burks line drive shot minutes .pelle is a swedish dawg.love his toughness and defense.
Man was that nerve racking. They almost choked it up there at the end.
I was very concerned when the team lost it’s lead and went into panic mode for a few minutes there in the 4th quarter. When they went down by 6, it looked like they might be headed home for the offseason. We have all seen that story far too many times this season. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and they were able to weather the storm.
I can’t say enough about Davion Mitchell. I am very happy for him. He single handedly put the game out of reach during O.T. I am glad he is finally receiving the recognition he deserves and is having the light shined on him for the first time in his 4 year career. He is a durable, hard-nosed, unselfish PG who fits perfectly in the Heat Culture. He is durable (75.25 games played per season) and is playing the most minutes per game in his career. He is making 50.4% of his FGs and 44.7% of his 3 point shots. He is a great defender. He has found himself a home in Miami. I sure do hope he is offered an appropriate (long-term) contract extension this summer.
The Cleveland series should be very intense, if nothing else. I’m really looking forward to seeing this group evolve further. I really do like what I see.
GO HEAT!!!
lots of guys played well its gonna take at least 5 guys per night to have good games to beat cleveland.that is def possible.cant wait .rest up heaters
MIAtrix made a good observation, one that I’ve talked about at home. Assuming, and I do, that we keep Mitchell, it is the equivalent of getting a top 10-12 pick (especially as he was the 9th). He is still young, fits perfectly here, and does not need to get acclimated to the requirements of the NBA.
I also continue to believe that Keshad will be like a late first or early second round pick.
Sometimes, it is not the better team that wins in the playoffs, but the team that has the momentum.
DM is Terry replacement. Sad for Rozier, Heat tried did not go well.
in a way we have to thank the gambler for suking .we were forced to find a replacement and no way terry could do what dawgy is doing.
terry gets a ring possibly.does love get a ring hes been dnp for personal reasons the whole fn year what a salary cap thief he is.
in a 7 game series the better team usually wins though.i see us and cleve pretty even.tell me their big advantage please i’ll wait for your response or anybody eleses.
If the league valued Mitchell as a first round pick he wouldn’t be on our team.
Perhaps in terms of immediate on court product he performs at a level that is useful.
Nice! First 10seed to get to playoffs. Good record but i hope we change that by next season and no more play-ins. Straight to playoffs. One day off no rest for the weary. Not gonna expect much in gm1