MIAMI — The days ahead for the Miami Heat will be all about finding a way into the playoffs through the play-in tournament. But Sunday’s regular-season finale was all about celebrating Udonis Haslem’s 20-year NBA career.
With former Heat teammate and close friend Dwyane Wade sitting courtside, the spotlight was on Haslem and he delivered as the Heat (44-38) defeated the Orlando Magic 123-110 on Sunday afternoon at Kaseya Center in the final regular-season game of his career.
“It was an amazing day,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
With the Heat already locked into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, Haslem made the most of a rare opportunity to play extended minutes. He closed with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-3 shooting from the foul line and three rebounds in 25 minutes.
It’s tied for the second-most points Haslem has scored in a game during his NBA career and the most he has scored in a game since 2009. It’s also the first time Haslem has finished a game as the Heat’s outright leading scorer since 2009.
More importantly for Haslem, the day ended with a Heat win.
“I probably couldn’t have envisioned it going any better,” Haslem said.
After the Magic pulled ahead by three points with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Heat closed the game on a 37-21 run. The Magic (34-48) was already out of playoff contention.
Led by Haslem’s performance off the bench, the Heat’s reserves combined for 111 points on Sunday to set a new NBA record.
Duncan Robinson contributed 20 points, Victor Oladipo scored 19 points, Jamal Cain added 18 points and Omer Yurtseven finished with 14 points off the Heat’s bench.
“I was trying to just take in everything,” Haslem said. “Every sound, every move. There were times I felt it was just me out there by myself, to be honest with you. I just wanted to take it all in and not miss a beat. Allow myself to feel how I needed to feel, allow myself to think what I needed to think and I just didn’t want to leave this moment with any regrets.”
Next up for Miami is the play-in tournament. The Heat will host the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in a play-in game aired exclusively on TNT for the right to the East’s seventh playoff seed.
Five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Magic on Sunday to close the regular season:
Prior to the final regular-season game of Haslem’s NBA career, he addressed the crowd with his family by his side and then was presented with a ... rocking chair.
Standing alongside his wife, Faith, and three sons, Kedonis, Elijah, and Josiah at center court, Haslem spoke to the home crowd minutes before tipoff.
“Heat Nation, what can I say,” said Haslem, who was born in Miami and grew up in Liberty City. “It’s crazy to say 20 seasons have gone by fast because I literally feel like it’s gone by so fast. So many ups and downs. The one thing that has remained consistent is the connection I’ve had with you guys and this organization. ... You guys always had my back and showed me love. For me, that’s priceless and it’s beautiful.
“You allowed me to be me and you accepted me for me and because of that I evolved into the best version of me.”
At the end of Haslem’s speech, Heat center Bam Adebayo emerged with a big smile on his face to jokingly present Haslem with a rocking chair.
“That was just a retirement joke. That was my last one,” Adebayo said of the moment with a smile.
Haslem quipped: “I didn’t want sit in that damn chair until I saw the trophies on the side. When I saw the three trophies on the side, I was like: OK, I can sit on it.”
The Heat also played a video tribute to Haslem in the arena before the game.
Haslem, who turns 43 on June 9, has spent his entire NBA career with the Heat and currently holds the longest streak by any active player with only one team in the league.
Haslem is only the third player to spend an entire NBA career lasting at least 20 seasons with one team. The others on that short list are Dirk Nowitzki (21 seasons with Dallas Mavericks) and Kobe Bryant (20 seasons with Los Angeles Lakers), and Haslem is the only one to do it in his hometown.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere in the world but right here getting the chance to watch my brother, my daughter’s god dad, our friend, our family,” Wade said from his courtside seat in Miami during an interview during Sunday’s Bally Sports Sun broadcast. “Just kind of enjoy this last ride.”
Haslem then went out and put on a show.
Hasem didn’t start Sunday’s game, but entered to a loud ovation with 9:05 left in the first quarter.
“Look, I actually did not sleep well last night and I was deliberating back and forth,” Spoelstra said of his decision to play Haslem off the bench instead of starting him against the Magic.
“I settled it finally at the walkthrough today that he would be able to address the crowd, so that would handle that at the beginning. And I wanted him to have that moment when everybody settled into their seats in true Miami style to be able to really give him the ovation that he needed. Then of course, he captures the moments.”
Haslem erupted for 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting from three-point range in the opening period.
Haslem’s six made shots in the first quarter: A layup on a roll to the basket, the seventh made three-pointer of his NBA career, three midrange jumpers and an alley-oop dunk on a lob from Duncan Robinson. The alley-oop dunk is Haslem’s first since throwing one down in a Nov. 14, 2014 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’ve been waiting to show people that I can still dunk for a long time,” Haslem said with a grin.
With 13 points in Sunday’s opening period, Haslem set a new career-high for the most points scored in a first quarter and matched his career-high for any single quarter. He has now scored 13 points in a quarter five times during his career.
Haslem then made the eighth three of his NBA career in the third quarter.
Haslem re-entered the game for his final stint of the day with 3:49 to play before exiting to another loud ovation with 58.9 seconds left on the clock.
Haslem hit his third three of the game during that three-minute fourth-quarter stretch to set a new career-high for threes made in a game. He also incredibly set a new career-high for threes made in a season with his three makes on Sunday.
“We say stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” Haslem said, “so I’m just thankful that at 42 I can go out here and play this game at a high level like this.”
For the first time since he was named the Heat’s head coach in 2008, Spoelstra is starting to prepare himself to lead a locker room that doesn’t include Haslem.
“Unfortunately, I have started to think about it the last couple weeks,” Spoelstra said Sunday when asked if he’s starting to contemplate the reality of coaching a Heat roster that doesn’t include Haslem next season. “I haven’t wanted to and I’m usually really disciplined on just focusing on the task at hand. But of course, you’re going to feel a certain way about it and have certain different emotions about it.
“It’s somebody I care so deeply about as a competitor, but even more as a person. And our relationship has really just grown in so many different ways over the years. I’m just going to miss his spirit, I’m going to miss his voice, I’m going to miss his intentions.”
Haslem was in his sixth NBA season when Spoelstra became the Heat’s head coach. But Spoelstra’s relationship with Haslem goes beyond the last 15 years, as Spoelstra was a Heat assistant coach for the first five seasons of Haslem’s Heat career.
“He has incredible pure team intentions every single day,” Spoelstra continued on Haslem. “He doesn’t have a bad day. He may express himself with anger at times at his teammates or even with me. But his intentions are pure, he doesn’t have bad days, there’s not a moodiness. He doesn’t come in with any kind of baggage. It’s pure. It’s always about winning, how can he help somebody else, how can he help the team, how can he help mentor.”
Despite already being locked into a spot in the postseason bracket, the Heat actually played most of its rotation players in the regular-season finale.
The only Heat regular who missed Sunday’s game was Jimmy Butler (rest). Rookie forward Nikola Jovic also remained out with back spasms.
The Heat opened the game with four of its usual starters on the court, using a starting lineup of Gabe Vincent, Tyler Herro, Max Strus, Haywood Highsmith and Adebayo. Highsmith started in place of Butler.
Key reserves Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love and Caleb Martin also played on Sunday.
But their minutes were all limited.
Adebayo played just 7:55, Herro played just 8:40, Strus played just 10:38 and Vincent played just 7:19. All of their minutes came in the first quarter.
Lowry logged 9:33 and Love logged 8:57. All of their playing time came in the first half.
Why did they play in an essentially meaningless game? Some wanted to simply play alongside Haslem one final time and also to avoid having too much time off prior to Tuesday’s play-in contest against the Hawks.
“It is a little bit of a balance,” Spoelstra said ahead of Sunday’s game. “The guys that are usually fully in our rotation, these will be limited minutes. It will be a salute [to Haslem] and also check the box of getting a little bit of rhythm.”
Adebayo added: “I feel like today’s game was really about the [Haslem] moment. I feel like a lot of people wanted to be a part of that. That’s why I told coach to leave me in the game when he checked in. It was just a surreal moment for me.”
The Heat opened the second half with a lineup of Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Highsmith, Haslem and Yurtseven.
The Heat played its first game at Kaseya Center.
It’s the same home arena the Heat has played in since 2000, but the building’s name changed to Kaseya Center after Miami-Dade County commissioners unanimously approved the $117 million naming-rights agreement with the software company headquartered in the city’s Brickell Avenue district on Tuesday.
A temporary banner that read “Kaseya Center” hung from the front of the arena and the Kaseya logo was already on the Heat’s court for Sunday’s game against the Magic.
The hope is that this will be the building’s final name change for the foreseeable future. The switch to FTX Arena in June 2021 marked the venue’s first name change since it opened as AmericanAirlines Arena in 1999 on New Year’s Eve.
