A crucial five-game road swing continues for the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday when they visit the Miami Heat, who are in the middle of their own crucial homestand.
Tuesday marks the third of four straight home games and six of seven at home for Miami. The Heat split the first two games at home, losing 111-88 Friday to New Orleans before rebounding with a 121-84 rout of Cleveland on Sunday.
The win over the Cavaliers was Miami’s second against Cleveland in less than a week, and it propelled the Heat (39-32) into Monday’s NBA action just a half-game behind the Indiana Pacers for sixth place – and a guaranteed playoff spot – in the Eastern Conference.
Bam Adebayo said the Heat can’t stop celebrating simple wins like the one against the Cavaliers with a bigger picture in mind.
“When you get into the playoffs, these games don’t matter,” Adebayo said after his 15-point, 16-rebound double-double Sunday. “The game is slowing down. Possession by possession, it starts to look very different.
Where these results matter for Miami is in the playoff race. The Heat are looking for one of the top six spots in the East to avoid the play-in round.
Miami and the Philadelphia 76ers finished tied Sunday, each just behind the Indiana Pacers and just 3 1/2 games behind the fourth-place New York Knicks. The coming weeks will decide which teams will have home advantage in the first round and which will have to present themselves in the play-off round.
Golden State (36-34) finds itself in its own perilous quest for the playoffs, while trying to avoid falling out of play-in entirely.
The Warriors have lost six of their last nine games, including their last two games with a 123-111 loss to Indiana on Friday and a 114-110 setback to Minnesota on Sunday to begin their road trip.
The recent downturn has caused Golden State to fall to 10th in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers and just one game ahead of the Houston Rockets, the last team to exit the playoffs. in, thanks to the matches played on Sunday. .
Stephen Curry was limited to 30 minutes of playing time against the Timberwolves, when he scored a team-leading 31 points. Warriors coach Steve Kerr is managing 15-year veteran Curry’s minutes ahead of the playoffs.
“We have Chris Paul, we have Klay (Thompson), we have Draymond (Green). We have great players,” Kerr said after the loss at Minnesota. “We can’t expect to ride Steph game after game.
“The last few weeks have been really difficult for him. We have been putting the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years. We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes (per game). We have five games in seven days on this road trip.
Curry, a two-time Most Valuable Player, is averaging 26.8 points per game to lead Golden State this season and is shooting 40.4 percent on 12.1 3-point attempts per game. The second leading scorer, Thompson, is averaging 17.3 points and shooting 38.2 percent from long range, with Jonathan Kuminga averaging 16.3 points per game.
While Golden State searches for the right combination of playing time for its leader, Miami continues to deal with the absences of key players. Tyler Herro, averaging 20.8 points per game, has not played since Feb. 23 due to a foot injury.
Duncan Robinson has missed the last three games with back spasms, and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. missed Sunday’s win with a knee injury.
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–Field level media
