Miami loses to Washington, who entered the game with only 10 wins.
The Miami Heat have now lost three straight games, falling to the Washington Wizards, who entered the game tied for the fewest number of victories in the NBA with 10, 110-108. In what is arguably, but perhaps unquestionably, the worst loss of the season, stars Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke after the game to reflect on what went wrong.
Butler led the squad with 23 points, four assists, and three rebounds, describing the league as “very humbling.” He would emphasize that the team entered the event “with the right mindset,” but didn’t play to their strengths and instead falling short to the Wizards.
Jimmy Butler reacts to the Heat losing to the Wizards, who had 10 wins coming into the game.
“This game is very humbling…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/CywIhjtwkC
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 11, 2024
“This game is quite humbling. “We come out with the right mindset, this is what will happen, and this will continue to happen,” Butler stated. “Ain’t too much to say.”
“I think we came in with the right mindset, but I don’t think we sustained that mindset throughput the entire game,” he said. “I believe we played their game more than ours, moving up and down, like a pickup game. They’re good at it; they made shots tonight and we didn’t guard. “That is the league for you.”
Jimmy Butler talks about the mindset of the team coming into this game.
“I think we came in with the right mindset, but we didn’t sustain it…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/2rRnZlySqp
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 11, 2024
Butler talks about going for a tie instead of win in last ditch opportunity
While the game was a struggle throughout, Miami’s collapse came in the fourth quarter. After the Wizards went ahead by double digits, the Heat went on a run, leaving them with the game’s final shot down two points.
Duncan Robinson was called to shoot a three-pointer to win, but he missed. Butler retrieved the offensive rebound and went for the victory, but he couldn’t connect from deep. When ClutchPoints questioned Butler if the concept of going for the tie ever crossed his mind, he provided a short and honest answer.
“I am never going for the tie. “Never,” Butler replied.
Spoelstra with the bright side on the Heat’s loss to Wizards
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra remained optimistic despite the dismal performance against the Wizards, describing it as a “tough loss.” He stated that they did not lose because the team disregarded Washington, which is low in the standings, but that they enjoy this time of year and would prepare for the upcoming game.
“We know it’s a sad loss. Washington made a few plays down the stretch. “I know my basketball team, and this is not an example of overlooking an opponent,” Spoelstra stated.
“We came in with the appropriate attitude and mindset to approach this game, but that’s what competition is about; occasionally another side will just make more plays, as annoying as that may be. I know the players in the locker room went into both of those games expecting to win, and I believed we did enough in all three games to win, but we didn’t.”
“We dropped this one. We’ll have to live with the results. This is also why we enjoy this career,” Spoelstra said. “We enjoy the context and pressure of this time of year, and we didn’t handle our business in these three games, but I know there will be clubs in the east who don’t, and we won’t leave it up to them. We’re simply going to concentrate on ourselves, but this is going to be a wild journey. Our group has good intentions. We’ll just take a day off tomorrow to recharge and prepare for the big game on Wednesday.
Terry Rozier on if the loss is humbling for him and Miami
Terry Rozier had a solid game, scoring 16 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing four assists. If there is one bright spot, he is beginning to appear at ease in Miami, despite a loss that he describes as a “little bit of both” of being humbled and the issue not being too serious.
“I mean, in this league, when you play 82 games, it’s a little bit of both,” said Rozier. “You don’t want to get too high, or too low, so what can we do today? So we’ve got to worry about the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. So it’s a little bit of both in this league; you have to move on.”
As Rozier said, the Heat’s three-game losing streak continues with an NBA Finals rematch against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at the Kaseya Center. Miami is now 35-29 on the season, ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference.
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