Sizzling Heat miss playoffs despite record rally
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[April 13, 2017]
(Reuters) - The Miami Heat
completed a stirring second half to the NBA regular season by
setting a new milestone on Wednesday but their brilliance was not
rewarded with a playoff berth as the growing trend of resting
players took on extra significance.
The Heat were the victims this time, their season drawing to a close
earlier than they would have preferred despite a 110-102 victory
over the Washington Wizards.
Miami made an awful start to the campaign and were 11-30 at the
halfway mark, but the Heat became the first team to rally from more
than 12 games below .500 and avoid a losing record.
They finished 41-41 and needed either the Chicago Bulls or Indiana
Pacers to lose their final games to reach the playoffs.
The Bulls, however, breezed to a 112-73 victory against a Brooklyn
Nets team missing six players, while the Pacers cruised to a 104-86
win over the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks, who rested five players
ahead of the post-season.
"The league has got to step in here, because this is a very big
black eye for this league," former NBA Coach of the Year Hubie Brown
said during the Indiana-Atlanta game.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has expressed concern at the practice
of resting so many players, but apart from promising to schedule
teams to play less games on consecutive days, it has offered few
other answers on how to solve the problem.
Boston clinched the top seed in the East, ahead of the Cleveland
Cavaliers, who lost their last four games, playing the final two
without LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
In the Western Conference, there was nothing at stake on Wednesday
except for home court advantage for the series between the Los
Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz.
The Clippers had to win their game against Sacramento to clinch the
fourth seed ahead of Utah, and they did so easily, 115-95.
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Heat forward James Johnson (16) blocks a shot by Washington Wizards
guard Tomas Satoransky (31) during the first half at American
Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Match-ups for the first round of the playoffs.
Eastern Conference:
Boston (1) v Chicago (8)
Cleveland (2) v Indiana (7)
Toronto (3) v Milwaukee (6)
Washington (4) v Atlanta (5)
Western Conference:
Golden State (1) v Portland (8)
San Antonio (2) v Memphis (7)
Houston (3) v Oklahoma City (6)
Los Angeles Clippers (4) v Utah (5)
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Greg
Stutchbury/John O'Brien) [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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