MIAMI — The Heat may have seen their winning streak end when Ja Morant’s step-back shot slid through the basket Thursday night, but their recent hot streak has kept them in the playoff hunt.
After Thursday night’s games, Miami is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and doomed to its first losing record since 2019. They trail eighth-seed Atlanta by a game and a half and lead 10th-place Chicago by just half a game.
The Bulls can catch Miami on Friday night when they play the Trail Blazers, who are in 12th place in the Western Conference.
The Hawks have a back-to-back weekend set, facing the third-place Knicks at home on Saturday afternoon and the last-place Jazz in Atlanta on Sunday.
Miami’s next opponent is fifth-place Milwaukee on Saturday night.
Bam for three?
It was not long ago that a Bam Adebayo 3-point attempt was a rarity. In the 2022-23 season, he attempted only 12 threes, making one.
Even last season, he made 15 threes on 42 attempts, but that is still only one attempt about every two games.
This year, 3-pointers are becoming a more reliable part of Adebayo’s game. The Heat captain has attempted 205 threes and hit 70 of them. He knocked down two in Thursday’s loss to Memphis, marking the ninth straight game he has scored a 3-pointer.
“To me, man, it makes me harder to guard,” Adebayo said. “At that point, you’re dealing with close-outs, so it just adds something to my arsenal.”
Adebayo is shooting 34.1 percent from behind the arc this season, which is not that much worse than 3-point contest winner Tyler Herro’s 37.3 percent this season.
Rookie center Kel’el Ware is in a similar boat. He took only 40 threes in college last year, but he has shot 105 so far this season. He is shooting 32.4 percent from 3-point range this season, making two on Thursday.
“It helps open up the offense,” Ware said. “… It helps us stay spaced out and allows the offense to flow.”
Ja Morant fined for gesture vs. Heat
Morant may have sunk the game-winner against Miami on Thursday, but the league was focused on something else he did during the win.
The NBA fined the Memphis star $75,000 for making a finger-gun gesture during the game after previously warning him not to do that.
The league has suspended Morant twice after displaying guns in social media posts.
