Heat at Spurs
The Miami Heat were a much different team when they faced the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals last season. The new-look Heat, who are in danger of not even making the playoffs with LeBron James off to Cleveland and Dwyane Wade hurt, will try to end their latest slide at two straight when they visit the Spurs in a Finals rematch on Friday. San Antonio is not at the top of the standings, either, but it has taken eight of its last 10.
Miami is clinging to the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference despite one of the great individual stories of the season in journeyman-turned-star center Hassan Whiteside. The 7-footer went 12-of-13 from the field while collecting a career-high 24 points to go with 20 rebounds in a 102-101 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday that marked the fourth loss in the last five games for the Heat. San Antonio suffered through one of its worst performances in a 105-85 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday but bounced back with a 110-103 triumph over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sun Sports (Miami), KENS (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE HEAT (21-28): Miami was blown out at Detroit on Tuesday and squandered a 10-point lead in the final 10 minutes at the Timberwolves. “It doesn’t matter who we play,” Heat forward Chris Bosh told reporters, “they crawl back into the game with no resistance. It’s like we’re not learning anything.” Bosh’s inconsistency is part of the problem, and the star struggled to 5-of-14 from the field on Wednesday after going for 34 points on 14-of-23 in Detroit.
ABOUT THE SPURS (31-18): Some of the responsibility for stopping Whiteside will likely fall on Tim Duncan, who has made a career of outplaying opposing big men. Duncan had one of his worst games with four points on 2-of-5 shooting in the loss to the Clippers but came back with 26 points on 11-of-17 and 10 rebounds in the win on Wednesday. That marked the third double-double in the last four games for the 38-year-old, who averaged 15.4 points and 10 boards in San Antonio’s 4-1 win in the NBA Finals last spring.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Spurs F Marco Belinelli (groin) returned from an 18-game absence on Wednesday and scored 11 points.
2. Whiteside is averaging 15.3 rebounds in the last six games.
3. San Antonio F Kawhi Leonard is averaging 21 points on 15-of-27 from the field in the last two games.