The Heat are headed to Boston after ousting the Bulls 112-91 in East play-in finale
Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game.
Heat rally again to win in OT, eliminate top-seeded Bucks
Jimmy Butler scored 42 points and the Miami Heat staged a second straight stunning fourth-quarter rally before winning 128-126 in overtime at Milwaukee in Game 5 to cap an upset of the top-seeded Bucks in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Mikal Bridges scores career-high 45, Nets beat Heat 116-105
Mikal Bridges scored a career-high 45 points, including 15 in a row for Brooklyn to break open a game that had been close for 3 1/2 quarters, and the Nets beat the Miami Heat 116-105 on in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Miami Heat to open vaccinated-only sections for fans
(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)MIAMI โ Vaccinated fans will soon have their own sections at Miami Heat games. The Heat announced plans Tuesday to open two sections in their lower bowl only for fully vaccinated fans starting with an April 1 game against Golden State. Masks will still be required, even for the vaccinated fans, but social distancing rules will be slightly relaxed in those areas. Fans would have to have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days to be eligible to be in those sections. Teams are also being encouraged to have dedicated concession and restroom areas for the vaccinated fans, and make efforts to limit any chance for those fans to commingle with others inside the arena.
AP source: James becomes partner in group that owns Red Sox
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)LeBron James is becoming a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Sports Group is the parent company of the Red Sox as well as the Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League and the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team. A spokeswoman for the Red Sox and FSG declined to comment. And now, he'll be linked to the Red Sox โ the Yankees' biggest rival. โI still know what I do on the floor and obviously, I give everything to the game,โ James told AP in December.
Butler scores 29 as Heat beat Magic for 4th straight win
ORLANDO, Fla. โ Jimmy Butler started Sunday nightโs game against Orlando by winning the opening tip and ended it with a steal and win-sealing layup as the Miami Heat topped the Magic 102-97. In between, the standout guard was pretty good, too, helping the Heat win their fourth straight and for a 10th time in 11 games. Butlerโs defense led to 23 Orlando turnovers and 26 points off those mistakes for the Heat. The Magic, who are 1-2 this season against the rival Heat, havenโt won since Feb. 21. โฆ GM Anthony Parker and head coach Stan Heath of the G League champion Lakeland Magic attended Sundayโs game.
Heat top Magic 111-103, get over .500 for 1st time this year
MIAMI โ For the first time this season, the Miami Heat have a winning record. Miami opened the season with a loss to Orlando, and had gone 0-6 in opportunities this season to move over .500 โ until Thursday. Tyler Herro scored 17 points, Kendrick Nunn had 13 and Goran Dragic added 11 for the Heat. All-Star Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped six straight. MAGIC CHAMPSOrlandoโs G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, won that leagueโs championship Thursday by topping the Philadelphia-affiliated Delaware Blue Coats.
AP source: NBA set to remove restriction on 2-way deals
Vincent has also been a part-time starter for the Heat, and Miami was one of the teams concerned that those 50-game appearance limits on the active roster was fast approaching. AdโWe all appreciate that they see that each team is in a different place,โ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The rule in past years has been that two-way players could spend 45 days with the NBA club and the rest of the time with a franchiseโs G League team. But with a shortened G League season this year, and not all teams having clubs in that league this season, there were obvious reasons to change things. We are just glad that it was seen that way, objectively, because not everybody is in the same circumstance.โ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Heat hold off depleted Lakers 96-94 in NBA Finals rematch
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, tries to pass as Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. The Heat even kept it together to pull out a win over the defending NBA champions despite a fourth quarter that nearly went wrong. Nunn scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Miami held off the Los Angeles Lakers 96-94 Saturday night in an NBA Finals rematch. Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points while hitting four 3-pointers, and Montrezl Harrell had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. ... Goran Dragiฤ missed his eighth straight game with a sprained left ankle.
Once a Knick, always a Knick: Rose back in New York lineup
New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose looks to pass the ball as Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson (55) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI โ The first thing Derrick Rose did in his second stint with the New York Knicks was start handing out assists. Rose made his second Knicks debut Tuesday night in Miami, scoring 14 points in 20 minutes in New York's 98-96 loss to the Heat. Rose won the 2011 NBA MVP award, capping his first season under Thibodeau and a 62-20 season for the Bulls. โI think heโs in great shape.
Heat's Bradley on COVID-19 diagnosis: 'I was really nervous'
Washington Wizards forward Troy Brown Jr., left, loses control of the ball as Miami Heat guard Avery Bradley (11) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)MIAMI โ Miami guard Avery Bradley went nearly two weeks without seeing his wife and children after testing positive for COVID-19, a brutally hard part of his ordeal with the illness. โI was really nervous,โ Bradley said. โItโs really frustrating,โ Bradley said. The Heat start a seven-game road trip in Houston on Thursday; Bradley isnโt expected to travel because of his injury.
NBA: Zero new players tested positive for virus in past week
(AP Photo/Darren Abate)No additional NBA players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, the league said Wednesday, after nearly two dozen games had to be called off in the past month because of virus-related issues. That continued a good two-week trend: After 27 players were positive in results released between Jan. 6 and Jan. 19, only one player has been positive since. We all need it, not just NBA players, coaches, families. The planet needs it.โThe NBA has called off 23 games this season for virus issues, 22 since Jan. 10. But itโs important to have weeks like this, because it gives everybody hope.โ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Heat say Herro may miss time for virus-related issue
(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI โ The Miami Heat may have another player missing games for virus-related reasons, after second-year guard Tyler Herro revealed that someone who lives with him tested positive for COVID-19. The reason the Heat cited for having Herro on the report is the NBAโs health and safety protocols, which only means it is a virus-related reason and does not suggest that he tested positive. If Herro cannot play Monday, heโd become the ninth Heat player on that list. Herro is tested daily and obviously had not tested positive Saturday, since the NBA and Heat permitted him to be on the floor; he played a team-high 40 minutes and scored 15 points. โSomeone who lives with me tested positive before the game and I found out at halftime.
'We have to figure this out': Heat say turnaround will come
Miami Heat players Udonis Haslem, left, talks to Jimmy Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Miami. The Miami Heat arenโt believing that quite yet โ even after a disastrous start to the 2020-21 campaign. โHeat Nation, we are going to figure this out,โ All-Star center Bam Adebayo said. AdThe year after losing the finals has not been kind to the most recent teams who have dropped the title series. Tyler Herro missed seven games with neck spasms.
Durant, Irving help Nets hold off Adebayo, Heat 128-124
Miami Heat's Gabe Vincent (2) defends against Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in New York. Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Kyrie Irving took over late and had 28 and the Nets overcame Adebayo's career-high 41 points to beat the Miami Heat 128-124 on Saturday night. Irving helped pull the Nets through with 12 points in the final 5:48 after the Heat had erased nearly all of an 18-point deficit. Adebayo beat the buzzer with a jumper, than Miami opened the fourth with a 13-0 run to get within 96-95. Irving, Harden and Durant quickly combined for eight straight points but Adebayo kept coming, and the Nets needed a couple of clutch baskets from Irving and late free throws to pull it out.
More NBA games off, as league continues struggles with virus
(AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)Another three NBA games were postponed Friday, including one in Minnesota only a couple hours before game time, as the league's struggle with increasing coronavirus numbers continued. The Timberwolves' game with the Memphis Grizzlies was called off, as were what would have been Wizards' home games Sunday and Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Washington has seen four of its games pushed back, Boston and Phoenix have had three postponements. The NBA said earlier this week that 16 players tested positive in recent days, which was more than the NBA had seen in the last five weeks combined. The NBA gave Orlando coach Steve Clifford a call recently, telling him he had to do a better job of keeping his mask on during games.
Magic vs. Celtics game postponed due to COVID-19 testing, contact tracing issues
Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) and guard Michael Carter-Williams (7) react to a call during the second half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Oklahoma City. Utah's game in Washington on Wednesday was postponed because contact-tracing issues among the Wizards meant they wouldn't have eight available players for that matchup. Orlandoโs game in Boston on Wednesday is also off, the third postponement since Sunday involving the Celtics. When teams started testing in late November prior to the start of training camps, 48 players had positive COVID-19 tests. Counting the two new postponements and another on Dec. 23 between Oklahoma City and Houston, the league has seen six games moved because of virus issues.
Pritchard's putback pushes Celtics past Heat, 107-105
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) drives to the basket as Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI โ Payton Pritchard wasn't there last season when the Boston Celtics lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Pritchard's putback with two-tenths of a second left capped a wild finish, and the Celtics beat the Heat 107-105 in the first matchup this season of last year's East finalists. Jimmy Butler had 26 points for Miami, which got 16 points from Duncan Robinson, 15 points from Bam Adebayo and 14 from Goran Dragic. The Heat cut the lead to eight by halftime, part of what became a 39-17 run that saw Miami lead by five in the third quarter.
NBA updates mental health policies amid ongoing pandemic
The NBA is urging teams to make increased commitments toward providing mental health resources to players and staff, releasing updated guidelines Wednesday to reflect the challenge of playing amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The NBA has mandated that teams offer access to mental health professionals in recent seasons โ a program the league calls Mind Health was launched nearly three years ago โ but that obviously predates the pandemic and how countless aspects of day-to-day life has changed in recent months. Those are a few of the ways the NBA has changed amid the virus. โAll this is a little bit like the Twilight Zone,โ Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the mental strain of playing amid a pandemic. โThe usage of mental health tools and support platforms has increased as have the modalities to assist those in need.