Once again, the Miami Heat are on the verge of elimination. Now the question is whether he has the fuel left to overcome this as before.
From a playoff mini-tournament to the NBA Finals, a team whose unlikely journey has invented many ways to win, no matter the opponent or any type of adversity.
Being between a rock and a hard place has been part of Miami’s identity these playoffs. But it looks like the Heat now find themselves facing an opponent with a lot more quality and variation.
“I told the boys, ‘Sit as you want tonight, it’s okay. They probably won’t sleep tonight,'” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have an incredibly competitive group. We’ve done everything the hard way, and now have to do it again… You have to bring it back to Miami and things can change very quickly.”
The eighth-seeded Heat are on the verge of elimination after losing 108-85 in Game 4 on Friday to take a 3-1 series lead, which now returns to Denver.
Miami came within minutes of missing the postseason in a playoff game and was forced to play a Game 7 against Boston to avoid the biggest slump in NBA postseason history. Now he will have to be the second to make a comeback after the 3-1 loss in the final.
The Heat was unable to capitalize on relatively low-key nights from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The Heat trailed by 13 points in the third quarter each time, except for a 2–0 lead in the first minute of the game.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with 25 points. Bam Adebayo added 20.
The Heat also got some good minutes from Kevin Love, who finished with 12 points, including a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter, to keep the game close.
