He celebrated his 81st birthday last month but Heat president Pat Riley is “really pissed” and fully committed to getting Miami back to the playoffs next season.

“I’m not going to retire. I’m not going to resign,” Riley said Monday. “I’m not going to step aside. When I came here almost 31 years ago, I have the same attitude as I had in that press conference on the (cruise line ship) Imagination. Period. I want another parade down Biscayne Blvd. It may come. It may not. It has always been my desire is to win, to win big. I’m not going down that road talking about (retiring). I just clarified it’s not going to happen unless something happens that I can’t control.”

Riley said the only philosophical approach that could lead him to walk away from his 32nd year with the Heat would be ownership deciding to “tank” in an effort to stockpile draft picks. Miami hasn’t been in the lottery — picks 1-14 in the NBA draft — since 2018. But the Heat are in the lottery this year.

Miami missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19 when the Charlotte Hornets beat the Heat in the 9-10 play-in game earlier this month.

“You don’t make radical changes right now, not in my philosophy,” Riley said. “I am not going to tank. We are not going to lose. We are not going into the lottery and do that insanity because I will quit — if I ever get ordered to go down that road. I am always thinking of ways to win. Now all I can give you is a bunch of excuses. And I don’t want to do that. We are just not good enough. We are not happy with it. This is the first time in those three years that we have an opportunity to do something with our roster, with our flexibility, with our players.”

The decision ultimately falls to ownership, Riley acknowledged as part of an admission that outside perception on the pecking order and power structure in Miami. He said the gavel on personnel decisions and organizational plans has always rested with Heat owner Micky Arison.

“There are times when he said, ‘No. I don’t think we should go down that road,'” Riley said of Arison’s role in the decision-making structure of the Heat. “And that is the way it is today. I don’t have final say here. I never had it. Never had it when I came, and quite frankly, I don’t think I want it.”

Arison purchased the Heat franchise in 1995 and hired Riley, who said he still feels the same fire to deliver a winner. Losing and not making the postseason fanned those flames, he said.

“I’m really pissed,” Riley said. “I’m disappointed. Disgruntled. Just like everybody else in the organization that understands what we are about — about winning. The last three or four years, with (the) exception of the ’23 season when we got all the way to the Finals, has been something that I am not, we are not proud of.”

–Field Level Media

Victor Wembanyama is back in full force as the San Antonio Spurs head home looking to finish off the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series.

The Spurs claimed a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series Sunday with a 114-97 come-from-behind win in Portland. If the Trail Blazers win Tuesday, they can force Game 6 in Portland on Thursday.

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points in Sunday’s win and Victor Wembanyama had 27 in his return from a concussion. He sat out the second half of Game 2 and all of Game 3 due to concussion protocol. Wembanyama also had 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals in Sunday’s victory.

Stephon Castle scored 16 points for the Spurs. He’s dealing with an injured left hand and was in foul trouble in Game 4, when Devin Vassell added 11 points. San Antonio trailed by 19 points following a ragged second quarter but dominated after halftime, outscoring Portland 73-35.

“We need to find the answers, you know, before having our back against the wall,” Wembanyama said. “But that also shows the strength of our team. In adversity, we stick together, we get closer to each other. We feed off of each other’s energy. There’s no useless drama between us. You know, we thrive when we do the invisible efforts that benefit others. There’s no jealousy. There’s no nobody cares about their stat line, so it’s our greatest strength.”

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson has witnessed a maturation process with his young team that became more evident with the road playoff win. The next step might prove most difficult — closing out the No. 7 Blazers.

“This gives you a lot of takeaways,” he explained. “A lot of feedback on things you got to be better on and improve upon, and try to not put yourself in a position when you got to dig yourself out of a hole. We have to continue to balance that attack mentality, starting off games while still anchoring to our fundamentals and discipline of game plan, execution.”

Deni Avdija had 26 points in Game 4 to rebound from his poor shooting in the previous two games. Avdija was 8-of-31 shooting combined in Games 2 and 3. The Blazers will need him on his game along with Scoot Henderson, who had a season-high 31 points in the Trail Blazers’ Game 2 win in San Antonio but missed all seven of his shot attempts Sunday.

A hot start could do wonders for Portland’s confidence Tuesday following abysmal second-half showings in Portland.

“We knew they were going to come out and be more aggressive,” Avdija said. “We expected it. I just think coming out the half, we didn’t make shots, and they went on a run. Suddenly, you look up at the scoreboard, and it’s a closer game.”

Portland coach Tiago Splitter said his team would go back to work to try to find a solution and extend the series.

“I think the guys fought hard,” Splitter said. ” In the second half, we mentally kind of like broke down, couldn’t get over the fact that we were up, and then they just came back to the game. Didn’t shoot the ball well, turned over the ball.

“We’ve got to hold our composure and be more present. I tried to, you know, slow down a little bit but couldn’t find a solution. It’s all of us, coaches, players we all got to be better. We got to win every game that we have in front of us, and we’re going to fight one by one.”

–Field Level Media

The Boston Celtics can close out the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

After splitting two games in Boston, the second-seeded Celtics took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by beating the seventh-seeded 76ers twice in Philadelphia.

“Played another about-as-bad-as-you-can-play game,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said following Boston’s 128-96 victory in Game 4. “That’s two out of four in this series. Played well in the other two and we got to get back to playing well quickly. Got to go get one.”

Philadelphia can point to defending the perimeter as one of the must-fix items on the 76ers’ list in order to stave off elimination. The Celtics made 24 3-pointers during Game 4, shooting 48.3% overall and 45.3% from 3-point range.

Payton Pritchard, Boston’s backup point guard, made 6 of 12 3-pointers and tossed in 32 points in the Game 4 victory. Pritchard was 2-of-13 from 3-point territory in the first two games of the series and then made 5 of 10 3-pointers in Boston’s Game 3 win.

“I don’t know if I saw anything different,” Pritchard said. “It’s just more playing with that aggression, playing with that spark. I felt it in Game 3. I was telling some of the coaches I thought it was a step in the right direction as far as my aggression and getting my rhythm back.”

Boston’s 24 3-point field goals set a franchise record for made 3-pointers in a playoff game. Jayson Tatum made five shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

“It was very bad,” Nurse said when asked about his team’s defensive effort in Game 4. “It just didn’t seem like any matchup could guard anybody one-on-one. We had them pushed out and bottled up and physical and really off kind of rhythm for a couple games, and there was none of that ”

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid returned to the court after missing the first three games in the series following an emergency appendectomy on April 9. He finished with a team-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, but didn’t get a lot of offensive support.

Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, but attempted only three shots in the first half. VJ Edgecombe was 2-of-9 from the field and had six points.

“That can’t happen,” Maxey said. “That’s on me. That absolutely can’t happen. That’s unacceptable by me. I was playing within the flow of the game and it kind of just happened that way.

” … We can’t win basketball games with that happening and I take full responsibility on that one.”

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics have to be prepared for Philadelphia’s best effort in Game 5.

“Regardless of who we’re playing against, we have to have an understanding that they are a really good team,” he said. “They can beat you on any given night. They’ve got great talent with the three stars that they have (Embiid, Maxey, and Paul George) and their role players when they are at their best … We’ve got to be disciplined on all the things that we can control – physical, mental, emotional, psychological, tactical, all of them.”

The winner of the Celtics/76ers series will meet either third-seeded New York or sixth-seeded Atlanta in the next round. That series is 2-2 headed back to New York for Game 5 Tuesday.

“We’ve got three chances to win one game,” Jaylen Brown said. “And the goal is just to get it done as soon as possible.”

–Field Level Media

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is week-to-week with a knee injury, the team announced Monday.

He avoided serious ligament damage in his left knee, with an MRI revealing a hyperextension and a bone bruise.

The timeline means Edwards, 24, is likely to miss at least the rest of Minnesota’s first-round playoff series with Denver. The Timberwolves lead 3-1 and can close out the Nuggets with a Game 5 win on the road Monday night.

Edwards was injured when he landed awkwardly after attempting to block a shot in the second quarter of Saturday’s 112-96 victory in Game 4.

The four-time All-Star guard is averaging 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks through four games in the series with the Nuggets.

Minnesota will also be without backcourt partner Donte DiVincenzo, who sustained a torn Achilles early in Game 4.

Edwards averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 61 games (60 starts) during the regular season, his sixth campaign with the Timberwolves since they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2020.

–Field Level Media