Heat say they'll try to rally after 'embarrassing' 37-point loss to Cleveland in Game 3
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MIAMI (AP) — Heat captain Bam Adebayo walked slowly to the postgame interview room Saturday, almost as if he was putting his thoughts together.
He summed everything up with the first two words he said upon arriving there.
“It's embarrassing," Adebayo said.
A season that started, as most do, with great expectations is on the brink of ending in Miami. The Heat — who had to win two road play-in games just to move from No. 10 to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference and actually get in the playoffs — endured their worst playoff loss ever Saturday, a 124-87 defeat to Cleveland.
The Cavs lead the series 3-0 and can finish a sweep in Miami on Monday night.
“This is our reality right now," Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “I told the guys it's not time to let go the rope. We’re going to play to the final buzzer, and whether that’s the next game, Game 5, 6, 7, another series after this, you just got to keep playing. That’s what we’re paid to do. And that’s who we are as an organization. We want to compete. We're not going out 4-0.”
He knows Miami faces overwhelming odds now. No team has successfully rallied from a 3-0 deficit in an NBA series, even though the Heat nearly blew such a lead two years ago in the East finals against Boston — having to win a Game 7 on the road to avoid making the wrong kind of NBA history.
“Yeah, but I don't think the expectation was high on us to start the series either,” Herro said. “We'll see what happens. I just know we need a better disposition throughout the entire game.”
It has been a season of ebbs and flows for Miami, a team that started the year with reasonable odds — +4000, according to BetMGM Sportsbook — of winning the NBA title. Jimmy Butler was still with the Heat, Jaime Jaquez Jr. was coming off an All-Rookie team season, and Terry Rozier was the starting point guard.
Butler got suspended three times and eventually got traded to Golden State. Jaquez and Rozier are out of the rotation. The Heat had a 10-game losing streak late in the season, finished the season 24th in points per game in a 30-team league, but fought their way into the playoffs anyway.
And now, this.
“Just worry about the next game Monday,” Adebayo said. “There's no point in looking at film at this point. Scratch this game and move on to Monday.”
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