The Miami Heat have a lot to play for as they head into the penultimate round of their season, a Friday conflict against the host Washington Wizards.
On Thursday, the Miami Heat (43-37) defeated the Philadelphia 76ers on the road with a convincing score of 129-101 to move within one game of the Brooklyn Nets (44-36) for the sixth and final automatic playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Since Miami and the Nets share the tiebreaker, the Heat would have to win both of their remaining games and Brooklyn would have to lose both of its home games to stay out of the play-in tournament.
Tyler Herro and the rest of the Heat certainly didn’t take Thursday’s match lightly. Last season’s NBA 6th Man of the Year depleted five 3-pointers to feature his 24-point execution.
Miami’s Jimmy Steward additionally got done with 24 focuses on Thursday while getting the advantage of passing on the final quarter.
Washington (34-46) enters its penultimate game of the season having lost four of its previous five contests, the most recent of which was a 134-116 defeat to the host Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
The in need of help Wizards previously precluded stars Bradley Beal (left knee touchiness), Kristaps Porzingis (non-Coronavirus ailment) and Kyle Kuzma (right lower leg sprain) as well as key patrons Monte Morris (right lower leg irritation) and Deni Avdija (left elbow bursitis) for the Friday game.
Daniel Gafford of Washington scored a career-high 25 points against Atlanta, connecting on 8 of 10 shots from the floor and all nine attempts from the foul line. He also had 10 rebounds, which was a team high. This was his 10th double-double of the season.
Jay Huff scored 14 points against the Hawks after scoring a career-high 17 points in Washington’s 140-128 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, rookie Johnny Davis, a first-round pick, equaled his career high with his second 20-point performance in a row. In his third start in a row, he also had seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.
