MIAMI – While you were watching college basketball, the Miami Heat were playing a game Monday night that no one should have had to watch.
No Bam Adebayo or Andrew Wiggins for the Heat, no anyone and everyone for the Philadelphia 76ers, with Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey out of the mix amid yet another tankathon from the City of Brotherly Lottery.
Against that backdrop, in arguably the worst of basketball counterprogramming against the NCAA Final Four championship game, the Heat did enough to move forward with a 117-105 victory that made it seven wins in the last nine games for Erik Spoelstra’s team.
Keeping alive hope of potentially further moving up in the play-in seedings, currently still at No. 10 in the East, the Heat got 21 points from Duncan Robinson, 20 from Tyler Herro and a 19-point, 17-rebound double-double from Kel’el Ware, with the rebound total a career high.
Former University of Miami forward Lonnie Walker IV and Quentin Grimes and, essentially the last men standing for Philadelphia, contributed 29 points apiece respectively for the 76ers.
It was one of only two games on Monday night’s NBA schedule, a day the NBA typically defers to the higher stakes of the NCAA men’s championship game.
Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:
— Closing time: The Heat led 29-28 after the first period and 61-53 at halftime.
Up 12 in the second period and then ahead 11 early in the third, the Heat saw the 76ers move ahead 71-71 midway through the third.
The teams then went into the fourth tied 83-83, with Herro and Ware opening the period on the bench for the Heat,
Ware returned with 8;20 to play in an 88-88 tie, with Herro returning with 5:48 remaining and the Heat up 99-91.
From there, the Heat pushed their lead back into double-digits, effectively ending it.
— Stepping up: With Adebayo out, Ware already was up to six points and six rebounds by the end of the first quarter.
The double-double was the 14th of the season for Ware, tying him with Grant Long (1988-89) for the third-highest total by a Heat rookie. The record is 18 apiece by Rony Seikaly (1988-89) and Sherman Douglas (1989-90).
Ware closed 8 of 16 from the field.
— Cautionary or planned?: Despite Wiggins indicating a return was imminent, he may well have been held out in deference to the potential significance of Wednesday night’s game in Chicago.
“He’s very close,” Spoelstra said pregame.
That could have been the case, as well, with Adebayo, with the tanking 76ers without any of their primary big men.
The reshuffled rotation left the Heat with a starting lineup of Herro, Ware, Pelle Larsson, Alec Bucks and Haywood Highsmith.
In addition, Jaime Jaquez Jr. received his first minutes in three games, entering in the first quarter, also playing in the fourth.
— Supporting cast: With the Heat light on leading men, and with Spoelstra seemingly conserving Herro, it again was another night of a solid support system
Particularly efficient in that regard was Anderson, who deftly filled the box score while playing in his typically patient mode, closing with eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Davion Mitchell also did part with his playmaking, closing with 12 points and nine assists.
As for Robinson, he closed 7 of 8 from the field, including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers.
— Three left: That Heat close out their regular season against three opponents with losing records.
First up is Wednesday night’s start of a two-game trip, against the Chicago Bulls (36-42) in a game that could determine play-in seeding.
That trip concludes Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans (21-57), who have shut down players such as Zion Williamson, Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy.
Then comes the season finale Sunday against ...
