The Miami Heat have a chance to improve their position for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with two games left in the regular season.
The 10th-place Heat (36-44) will visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. The Heat missed an opportunity to move into ninth place when they dropped a 119-111 decision to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
“This was a big game and we lost,” Heat forward Andrew Wiggins said. “But we’ve just got to stay with it, believe in ourselves. The journey is going to be a little harder, but it’s nothing that we can’t handle.”
Wiggins, the team’s second-leading scorer, had 14 points in his return from a six-game absence due to a hamstring injury. His presence could be a boost for Miami going forward as he has played in just 16 of the Heat’s 31 games since they acquired him from Golden State in the Jimmy Butler trade.
Tyler Herro led Miami with 30 points and Bam Adebayo added 18 as they played in the same game as Wiggins for the first time since March 27.
The Heat, who host the Washington Wizards on Sunday, still are alive for the eighth and ninth spots, but they’ll need to win both of their games and either Chicago or the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks must lose both of their games for Miami to move up.
“Our focus will be on finishing out the season strong,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And then we’re going to do whatever we need to do to seize that opportunity to get in the playoffs.”
The Heat have lost three of their past four games on the heels of a six-game winning streak.
In the teams’ first meeting of the season, the Heat never trailed during a 119-108 victory over the visiting Pelicans on New Year’s night. Trey Murphy III led New Orleans with 34 points and CJ McCollum added 22. Both players are out for the rest of the season due to injuries as is Zion Williamson.
The Pelicans (21-59), who have been playing without eight of their top nine scorers, were missing their top 11 scorers for a 136-111 loss at Milwaukee on Thursday night. Guard Jose Alvarado (calf), forwards Kelly Olynyk (Achilles) and Bruce Brown (knee) as well as center Yves Missi (ankle) were sidelined for that game.
New Orleans, which has lost five straight games, had just eight players dressed for its road finale. Milwaukee used 14 players to wear down the Pelicans and outscore them 115-85 in the final three quarters.
Six of the Pelicans scored in double figures, led by Lester Quinones (21 points), Keion Brooks Jr. (20) and rookie Jamal Cain (20) all of whom had career-highs. Elfrid Payton added 15 assists, his fourth consecutive game with at least 10 assists.
“We love teaching and we love seeing our young guys grow,” head coach Willie Green said. “They make some mistakes, but there are a lot of positives and they get to play through their mistakes against a high level of competition.
“They get to go back and evaluate what they’re doing well and the areas they can improve on. That part is fun.”
–Field Level Media
