Once again, the Miami Heat are on the brink of elimination. The question now is whether he has the fuel left to get over it like he had before.
The team whose unexpected march from playoff mini-tournament to the NBA Finals has devised many ways to win, no matter the opponent or the type of adversity.
Being between a rock and a hard place has been part of Miami’s identity in these playoffs. But the Heat now seem to have found themselves facing an adversary with too much quality and variations.
“I told the guys, ‘Sit however you want tonight, that’s fine. They probably won’t get any sleep tonight,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have an incredibly competitive group. We’ve done everything the hard way, and that’s the way it’s got to be done now again…You’ve got to get this 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, falling to 3-1 in the series, which now returns to Denver.
Miami came within minutes of missing the postseason in a playoff game and was forced to play Game 7 against Boston to avoid the biggest collapse in NBA postseason history. Now, he will have to be the second to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.
The Heat were unable to capitalize on relatively low-key nights from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Except for a 2-0 lead in the first minute of the game, the Heat trailed every time, even by 13 points in the third quarter.
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.