With the playoffs commencing on Saturday, and the second seed in the Eastern Conference already secured, the Heat let their bench take the wheel in their final regular season match-up Wednesday night.
Miami beat the Toronto Raptors 97-79.
Eddie House scored a career high 35 points on 7-of-13 three-point shooting to lead Miami. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did not play at all against the Raptors, while regular starters Mike Bibby and Zydrunas Ilgauskas played less than half the game.
The Heat reserves, often derided and frequently outscored by their opponents' bench players, got a chance to assert themselves against the Raptors, who finished the year 22-60 as the NBA's sacrificial lamb.
The Toronto fans did not even get a chance to boo their teams' former centerpiece, while Wade didn't even suit up for the Heat. Instead, Jamal Magloire helped lead a blowout of one of the worst teams in the NBA notching 19 rebounds in his hometown.
The win was Miami's 58th of the season, closing the year on a 15-3 run. They open their first-round playoff series at home on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The real season is about to start.
Sports
David Hill is a Miami native and former owner of a youth replica Rony Seikaly jersey.
