Miami

Heat Close Out Home Schedule With Lopsided Win

The Heat easily beat the Magic in their final home game of the regular season on Sunday

The Miami Heat wrapped up the home portion of the regular season with a 118-96 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

The game was the conclusion of a home-and-home series between the teams and came after Orlando had won on Friday. With the win, Miami is once again virtually tied with the Boston Celtics for the fourth seed in the East. While the Celtics currently hold the tiebreaker, the two teams will meet in the final game of the year.

The Heat are trying to finish in the top-four of the East in order to have home-court advantage in the first round. With Sunday's win, Miami finished with a 28-13 record at AmericanAirlines Arena and should benefit greatly from the home advantage.

Hassan Whiteside returned to the starting lineup for the first time since January and he performed well. The center who has been posting big numbers off the bench gave the Heat 19 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Whiteside also added a pair of blocks to move into fifth All-Time in the franchise's record books for career blocks. Shaquille O'Neal previously held that spot with 384 blocks in a Miami uniform.

Leading thge way scoring wise for Miami was Luol Deng who continues to be a big asset for Miami. Deng also added five assists and two steals. The veteran's contributions have been needed in the second half of the season without Chris Bosh and Deng has provided big numbers often.

Justise Winslow was forced to exit the game early with a left ankle sprain and did not return. Winslow's status is considered day-to-day at this point with more possibly known on Monday. Head coach Erik Spoelstra stated that Winslow will travel with the team.

The Heat will take on the Pistons in Detroit on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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