PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jimmy Butler knocked Joel Embiid out of the playoffs, then walked over to his former 76ers teammate and hugged him, told him he loved him and was proud of him.
Butler then headed out of a familiar court a winner — and straight into another conference finals with Miami.
MIAMI (AP) — Shots fell again for the Miami Heat. They kept Joel Embiid and James Harden in check. Their coach got an in-game massage from DJ Khaled.
Yes, really.
It was that sort of night for the Heat, who — even without everyone getting shoulder rubs — are feeling pretty good about their playoff prospects again.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid inspired Philadelphia with his return from a facial injury, Danny Green and Tyrese Maxey each scored 21 points and the 76ers beat the Miami Heat 99-79 on Friday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo caught a lob for an alley-oop dunk midway through the fourth quarter, then threw a lob to Jimmy Butler for another dunk about a minute later.
Both were very easy.
Joel Embiid could complicate those plays going forward — and the Miami Heat are heading north expecting that he might be waiting for them.
MIAMI (AP) — The NBA fined two Miami Heat players and the team itself a total of $55,000 on Thursday, over two incidents in the team's series-clinching win earlier this week against the Atlanta Hawks.
MIAMI (AP) — It was about a year ago. Victor Oladipo was sitting alone in a dark room. The realization that he needed a second surgery on his right leg was settling in. Frustration, fear, sadness and anger just came pouring out of him.
MIAMI (AP) — If one play could tell the story of a five-game series, consider this one: Trae Young's final shot from the field was a corner 3-point try that he rushed because he knew a defender was coming his way.
ATLANTA (AP) — Miami used team defense to smother Atlanta's Trae Young and then leaned on Jimmy Butler to take the scoring lead.
Butler scored 13 of his 36 points in a dominant second quarter and the Heat beat the Hawks 110-86 while again shutting down Young on Sunday night to take a 3-1 series lead.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Chris Paul scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and the Phoenix Suns overcame Devin Booker’s absence to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 114-111 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round series.
ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young struggled in the first two games of the playoffs.
Didn't really matter.
With Game 3 on the line and the season hanging in the balance, the Atlanta Hawks wanted the ball in his hands.
MIAMI (AP) — These are Jimmy Butler’s three highest-scoring games in a Miami uniform: 40 points against Milwaukee, 40 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, 45 points against Atlanta. And those efforts have quite a bit in common.
MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler walked off the floor when his night's work was complete, lifted his arms in the air and heard a sold-out arena serenade him with screams.
That didn't happen in the bubble two years ago, since nobody was there.
MIAMI (AP) — Duncan Robinson couldn't miss shots. Trae Young couldn't make shots.
In simplest terms, that's how Game 1 went for Miami and Atlanta.
Robinson came off the bench to set a franchise playoff record with eight 3-pointers, and the top-seeded Heat forced Young into matching the worst-shooting game of his career on the way to a 115-91 win over the eighth-seeded Hawks in the opener of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Most of the Miami Heat didn't show up for Sunday night for the season finale against the Orlando Magic.
Victor Oladipo did, scoring 40 points in what turned into a 3-point shooting contest in a 125-111 loss to the Magic.
MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo made the go-ahead dunk with 27 seconds remaining and scored 24 points in the Miami Heat’s 113-109 comeback victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points, Kyle Lowry finished with 16 points and Tyler Herro had 15 for the Heat.
MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 35 points off the bench and the Miami Heat moved closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 144-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Miami Heat appear to be back on steady ground after stumbling through a season-high four straight losses. Their grip on the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is tightening, too.
BOSTON (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry added 23 and the Miami Heat rallied in the fourth quarter to hold off the Boston Celtics 106-98 on Wednesday night to stay atop a tight race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
BOSTON (AP) — An untimely losing streak has left the Miami Heat with some late-season competition for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
They took a step toward regaining some of the ground they lost recently against one of their chief challengers.
MIAMI (AP) — The worst losing streak of Miami's season is over. Not only that, but the Heat returned to the top of the Eastern Conference.
And now a road trip with massive seeding implications awaits.
MIAMI (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Seth Curry added 17 and the Brooklyn Nets overwhelmed Miami 110-95 on Saturday night, sending the Heat to their season-worst fourth consecutive loss.
Andre Drummond had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn, which got 11 points from Kyrie Irving — who will play his first home game of the season for the Nets on Sunday — and 10 from Nic Claxton.
MIAMI (AP) — Just when it looked as if the Miami Heat were going to open a little bit of breathing room atop the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks had other ideas.
And a stunning rally might set the stage for some down-the-stretch chaos.
MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem were shouting at each other, fingers were pointed in various directions, some Miami players were trying to play peacemaker and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra slammed a clipboard to the floor in frustration.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jimmy Butler was standing a few feet away from the stadium court at the Miami Open and surveyed the shelves that were built for his latest obsession.
Rows of coffee mugs were lined up, some black, some white, some with big logos, some with smaller ones.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in a row during a crucial stretch, and the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers — without stars Joel Embiid and James Harden — beat the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat 113-106 on Monday night.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey told teammate Joel Embiid he’d step up in his absence. Then, Maxey took over the game and the fans’ chants normally reserved for the 76ers' star center.
Maxey scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in a row during a crucial stretch, and short-handed Philadelphia — without Embiid and James Harden — beat the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat 113-106 on Monday night.
MIAMI (AP) — The game plan didn't call for Max Strus to play Tuesday night. He was not in the Miami Heat rotation to start the game, only entering after halftime because Jimmy Butler left with a sprained ankle.
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat are campaigning for Bam Adebayo to get defensive player of the year consideration.
Their center reminded them again that he's pretty good at the other end of the floor, too.
MIAMI (AP) — Everything is to Miami's liking right now. The Heat are at home for most of the month, they're enjoying their largest cushion of the season atop the Eastern Conference, and they added distance between themselves and Philadelphia.
MIAMI (AP) — Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro each scored 20 points, and the Miami Heat improved their standing atop the Eastern Conference by topping the Chicago Bulls 112-99 on Monday night.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 15 points for Miami, which has won nine of its last 10 games.
MIAMI (AP) — For the first time all season, the Miami Heat have a bit of a cushion atop the Eastern Conference.
Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro each scored 20 points, and the Heat topped the Chicago Bulls 112-99 on Monday night for their ninth win in their last 10 games.
MIAMI (AP) — Gregg Popovich is going to have to wait at least a couple more days before tying the NBA record for regular-season victories.
The starting center from his Olympic gold-medal-winning team at the Tokyo Games saw to that.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Jimmy Butler had 23 and the Miami Heat overcame RJ Barrett's career-high 46 points to beat the New York Knicks 115-100 on Friday night.
Kyle Lowry added 19 points in the Heat's first game after the All-Star break after they were tied with Chicago for the best record in the Eastern Conference going into it.
NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been fined $25,000 for violating league rules regarding media interview access and for his noncompliance with the resulting NBA investigation.
The league announced the fine Friday, saying it stemmed from Butler’s failure to comply with his media availability obligations during the NBA All-Star weekend, including following the game on Sunday night.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Lowry scored 12 of his 25 points after regulation and the Miami Heat entered the All-Star break tied for the Eastern Conference lead, rallying to beat the Charlotte Hornets 111-107 in double overtime Thursday night.