Wins against the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks saw the Miami Heat secure their spot in the 2025 NBA playoffs for the sixth straight season.
Friday’s 123-114 win against the Hawks turned out to be a historic night for the franchise, with Miami going down as the first-ever 10th-place team to make it out of the play-in tournament and qualify for the playoffs.
Erik Spoelstra Credits Players After Historic Play-In Tournament Run
For the Heat, the odds were stacked against them, with Erik Spoelstra’s squad needing to win back-to-back road games to keep their season alive. Remarkably, that’s exactly what they did.
MIAMI GRABS THE EAST’S FINAL SPOT 🔥
The @MiamiHEAT become the first 10-seed from the #SoFiPlayIn to make the #NBAPlayoffs! pic.twitter.com/4CRSqXrVdx
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 19, 2025
In what turned out to be an electric back-and-forth encounter at the State Farm Arena, both sides had their chances to close this game out.
The Hawks held a six-point advantage with under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter before a Tyler Herro-inspired fightback saw the Heat regain the lead going into the final seconds. T
rae Young came up with a huge layup to send the game into overtime, but some clutch shooting from Davion Mitchell and Herro was enough to hold off Atlanta and progress to the next round.
It’s been a turbulent season for head coach Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat, but they’re still standing.
After the midseason turmoil surrounding the Jimmy Butler trade saga—which appeared to disrupt the team’s chemistry—the Heat managed to regroup, winning eight of their final 12 regular-season games to earn a spot in the play-in tournament.
Spoelstra, one of the most respected coaches in the league, has been outstanding since taking the reins in 2008. The 54-year-old has led the franchise to two NBA championships and guided them to the Finals in 2014, 2020, and 2023.
But on this occasion, after a memorable night, Spoelstra shifted the spotlight to his players.
“I know how badly our group wanted to get into this thing. I could see it in their eyes and feel it in their heart,” said Spoelstra following the game.
The Heat will have a short rest before traveling to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday.