Timberwolves at Heat
Sitting in a virtual tie for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat can't afford any slip-ups if they want to secure homecourt advantage throughout the East playoffs. The Heat will try for their fifth straight win Friday when they host Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Miami's four straight wins have all come by double-digits, including a 96-77 rout of league-worst Milwaukee on Wednesday.
"It's tempting to start to look ahead. We're only two weeks away (from the playoffs)," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But there's so much basketball left in these two weeks. And it is very compelling at this time of year, and we are trying to accomplish some things." At this point, the Timberwolves' primary goal is playing spoiler by defeating teams that are still competing for playoff seeding. "Everybody else has something on the line," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said after his team's 102-88 triumph versus Memphis on Wednesday. "So we want to go out and play as well as we can and spoil it for them and see if we can't be a factor in it."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports North (Minnesota), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (37-37): Minnesota, which is on the verge of playoff elimination, had lost five of seven prior to Wednesday's victory. Kevin Love, as usual, was the Timberwolves' star in that one with 24 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, good for his third career triple-double. Ricky Rubio contributed 14 points and seven assists, giving him at least seven assists for the 13th time in the last 15 games.
ABOUT THE HEAT (52-22): The Heat improved to 11-1 in the last 12 games that Dwyane Wade has missed — including the last four straight — as the star guard continues to battle a hamstring issue. LeBron James recorded 17 points and eight assists to lead the way against the Bucks while Chris Bosh chipped in 15 points but did not have a rebound in 26 minutes. Mario Chalmers added 14 points and is 10-of-16 from the field — 5-of-8 from behind the arc — in two games since returning from a thigh injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Heat G Ray Allen (flu) may be ready to return Friday while the status of Miami C Greg Oden (back) is up in the air, as well.
2. Love missed the first meeting between the teams — a 103-82 loss on Dec. 7 — due to the death of his grandmother. Minnesota shot a franchise-low 29.3 percent that night.
3. Minnesota G Kevin Martin has committed more than two turnovers just once in his last 17 games.