Written by Ethan Skolnick at CBSSports.com
When you call yourself “a championship organization,” you don’t typically celebrate mere contention for the playoffs, and you certainly don’t fish for favors.
But you also don’t turn away any assistance that is offered, not in a season like this. Not when your roster is short on the regal stars of the past, and loaded instead with former Red Claws, Valley Vipers, Blue Whales and Sioux Falls Skyforce — so many Skyforce.
Not when your highest-paid player (Chris Bosh), 2015 first-round pick (Justise Winslow) and primary late-game option (Dion Waiters) have missed all, most or part of the season, all presently unavailable.
Not when you started 11-30.
So the Heat had no reason to apologize for anything that occurred Monday night, even if it took a furious rally, all of overtime and the miraculous avoidance of a third 4-point play to outlast a Cavaliers squad playing on the second night of a back-to-back without LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, 124-121.
No reason at all.
Even without James — sitting for a third time in six Cavaliers visits to Miami since he returned to them — and the two other starters, Cleveland’s top seven had 81 years of collective experience. One of those veterans, Deron Williams, scored 35 points in 46 minutes. And the Cavaliers led by 15 in the second quarter, and 11 in the fourth.
“Survive and advance,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who appears to be enjoying this team more than more talented ones of previous seasons. “That’s what this regular season is about.”
And the Heat will have no cause for shame, even if this ride ends when the regular season does Wednesday. Even if Miami can reach .500 for the first time in four tries, by beating the locked-into-the-fourth-seed Wizards, they’ll still need either the Bulls or Pacers to lose at home to the Nets or Hawks, respectively.
“We think it’s meant to be,” Spoelstra said. “We have to take care of us.”
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