Heat Clinch East’s No. 8 Seed After Historic OT Win Over Hawks in Play-In

For the third consecutive year, the Miami Heat navigated the NBA play-in tournament to secure a playoff berth, but this time with a historic twist. Their 123-114 overtime victory against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at State Farm Arena marked them as the first No. 10 seed in either conference to advance to the playoffs via the play-in since its inception in the 2020-21 season. The Heat now enters the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed.

Qualifying as a 10th-place team through the play-in is a challenging feat, demanding two consecutive road wins. The Heat accomplished this, first defeating the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and then the Hawks in Atlanta on Friday. Their journey continues to Cleveland, where they will face the top-seeded Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday at Rocket Arena.

“What I really love about this group is the adversity that we all collectively experienced together, we all viewed it as a gift,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra commented after the win. “And it’s an amazing gift to be able to go through adversity and to be able to take on those lessons, those hard lessons to be able to try to improve and to have better growth, bigger opportunities. And I think tonight was an encapsulation of that.”

The Heat, making their sixth straight playoff appearance, started strong with a 10-0 run and built a 17-point lead before entering the fourth quarter with a nine-point advantage. However, the Hawks rallied with a 21-6 run to take their first lead and extend it to six points. The Heat responded with a crucial 9-0 run, featuring a three-pointer by Davion Mitchell, two jumpers from Tyler Herro, and a layup by Andrew Wiggins, regaining a three-point lead late in the fourth.

After Herro made a free throw to put the Heat up by two with 12.2 seconds left, Trae Young’s layup for the Hawks tied the game at 106, forcing overtime. The extra period belonged to the Heat, who outscored Atlanta 17-8, fueled by clutch shots from Mitchell and Herro. This victory marked a significant moment for the Heat, who had struggled to hold onto leads throughout the regular season.

“We’ve been battle tested all year, ups and downs, winning streaks, losing streaks, games we should have won and we lost,” Herro said. “I feel like all of that kind of built us up for that last five minutes of tonight and we didn’t fold. We stuck with it and came out on top.”

Herro led the Heat with a game-high 30 points, along with seven rebounds and seven assists. Bam Adebayo anchored the defense with five blocks and added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Wiggins contributed 20 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Mitchell provided a spark off the bench with 16 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter and overtime.  

“The first 10th seed to make the playoffs,” Adebayo emphasized. “Both games on the road, going in somebody else’s house and getting a W. That always has to be celebrated.”

Despite being one of the NBA’s worst clutch teams during the regular season, the Heat excelled in the clutch against the Hawks. Mitchell and Herro combined for 15 of the Heat’s 17 overtime points, and the defense forced three turnovers.The Heat utilized a key lineup of Herro, Mitchell, Wiggins, Haywood Highsmith, and Adebayo for most of the crucial moments.Trae Young, despite a slow start, finished with 29 points and 11 assists but has historically struggled against the Heat. Mitchell notably defended Young effectively.  The Heat was relatively healthy entering the game, with only Kevin Love unavailable due to personal reasons.The Heat’s victory means their first-round draft pick will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder, while they will receive the Golden State Warriors’ first-round pick.

Looking ahead, the Heat faces a formidable challenge against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who finished the regular season with an impressive 64-18 record and boast a strong offensive and defensive rating. The Cavaliers also feature former Heat player Max Strus. Historically, only six No. 8 seeds have upset a No. 1 seed in the first round, with the Heat being the last to do so against the Bucks in 2023. The Heat lost their regular-season series against the Cavaliers 2-1.  

“Cleveland has been No. 1 in the East all year,” Adebayo acknowledged. “They’ve been having a historical season. So for us, it’s understanding what’s at stake for them. For us, it’s figure out how to get one in Cleveland and worry about everything else later.”