Turning up the Heat: Big plays and clutch shots for Miami

The Miami Heat have thrived in do-or-die situations over the past week, and their stellar play has them surging into the top-half of the Eastern Conference.

It was Sunday and the Miami Heat were playing. The weather outside was far below freezing. A pipe outside of my house had just burst. And I was coming down with a nasty case of the flu; just three days before spring semester was scheduled to start.

My nostrils were congested beyond immediate repair, and alongside DayQuil and NyQuil, Hall’s made up the vast majority of my diet.

There I sat, swaddled up from head-to-toe in black sweats, my hood covering my head and a blanket over my waist. Gatorade sat to my right, a bowl of chicken noodle soup nestled to my left.

Miami, on the other hand, found itself hosting the Utah Jazz in the comfortable depths of the AmericanAirlines Arena, on the shores of beautiful Biscayne Bay.

I couldn’t have been more jealous.

Until the Heat trailed late to a team that currently sits tenth in the Western Conference, I thought these players had it made.

There were 10.3 seconds remaining following a missed 3-pointer from Rodney Hood. Unlike in years past, Miami didn’t have a Dwyane Wade, LeBron James or Chris Bosh to go to down the stretch of close games.

So my money was on Goran Dragic. Out of all the players head coach Erik Spoelstra had at his disposal, I felt he was best-equipped to handle a potential isolation situation such as this. But once Kelly Olynyk set a screen at the foul line, I knew the ball was going to Josh Richardson.

In one fluid motion, the former Tennessee Volunteer darted past Derrick Favors and scooped the ball off the glass with 5.1 to play. A missed jumper by Donovan Mitchell followed, and despite nearly spilling my soup, I felt relieved.

Not just because the Heat pulled through, but because of how they pulled through.

Just two days later, they would find themselves in the exact same situation. As I continued to feast on Hall’s, Miami travelled north of the border to take on the red-hot Toronto Raptors.

On the road against the East’s current second best team, the Heat were able to hang in through three quarters, despite the Raptors being without Kyle Lowry. Down one with less than five seconds, Miami was in need of a big play once more.

Enter Wayne Ellington, but not from beyond-the-arc. Retrieving the inbound pass in the corner from Dragic, Ellington noticed how hard Pascal Siakam was charging toward him. Instead of attempting to rise over him, the veteran guard drove and gently placed one off the glass with less than a second remaining.

For the second time, I had been pleasantly surprised.

Ellington’s clutch-shooting would travel with the team to Indianapolis, where the Heat went toe-to-toe with Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers for 48 minutes.

In eerily similar fashion, Miami found itself in another close contest, late in the fourth period. The effort was there, and so was the cohesion. With 26 seconds to play, the Heat were up by three and looking for something to ice the crowd.

The shot clock was winding down, and a desperation heave seemed appropriate at the time. Using Hassan Whiteside’s body as a screen, Ellington raced around the seven-footer, took the handoff and with poise, rose up from about 27 feet.

While the rim may have lent a helping hand, Ellington had done it again. With 25.5 to go, the Heat were now up six and in complete control. Although my heart may have been racing, my bronchial tubes certainly gave me a run for my money as the contest closed out.

In the end, the Heat now find themselves just 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third spot in the East.

Next: The Miami Heat have 17 superstars on their roster

And thanks to clutch plays, big shots and a tremendous amount of heart, they’re back in the midst of the playoff race.