Heat Collapse in Regular Season Finale, Now Face Elimination Game Against Bulls

MIAMI — The Miami Heat’s rollercoaster regular season came to a close in crushing fashion Sunday afternoon, as rookie Bub Carrington banked in a game-winning floater at the buzzer to lift the Washington Wizards to a 119-118 win at Kaseya Center. It was a dramatic finish to a disappointing campaign for Miami, who now must survive a win-or-go-home play-in matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday just to keep their playoff hopes alive.

With key players like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro resting and a long list of injuries thinning the rotation to just nine available players, the Heat turned to their young guns, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. seized the moment. The second-year forward poured in a career-high 41 points on 17-of-25 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and seven assists—his best performance in a frustrating sophomore season.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

The Heat stormed back late, using an 11-1 run to flip a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit into a four-point lead with just under nine seconds remaining. But everything unraveled in a blink. Justin Champagnie drilled a deep three to cut the lead to one. On the next possession, a botched inbounds play led to a backcourt violation, giving Washington the ball with a chance to win. Carrington, the 19-year-old who became the first Wizards rookie to play all 82 games since 1982, delivered.

The loss, while gut-wrenching, had no impact on Miami’s seeding. They had already locked into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, finishing with a 37-45 record—tied for the franchise’s worst mark since 2015 and just the sixth losing season under Pat Riley’s leadership. But the defeat was symbolic of Miami’s season: competitive, gritty, and ultimately undone by costly late-game mistakes. In fact, this marked the 21st time the Heat lost a game after leading in the fourth quarter, the most in the NBA.

“It’s a shame because we did so many really good things in front of our fans,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “Three things had to go their way at the end—and all three did.”

The Heat now face a brutal path if they hope to return to the playoffs. First, they’ll need to defeat the ninth-seeded Bulls in Chicago. Then, they’d need to beat the loser of the Orlando-Atlanta matchup on the road to clinch the eighth seed and a date with the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

For Miami, a season that began with high expectations now hangs by the thinnest of threads. One more loss, and it’s over.

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