At any rate, the Heat are looking to solidify position in the play-in tournament as they try to lock either a seventh of eighth seed since it would take only one win to make the playoffs. If they end up in the ninth or tenth spot, they would need to win two games, both on the road if they finish in the latter.

This marked an off-night for Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who shot just 4-of-17 from the field (2-of-9 from three) en route to 16 points. He finished minus-11 on the evening. Boston also shot 27.9 percent from three. Jaylen Brown's 24 points paced the team.

The Miami Heat have another Final Four connection besides Jaime Jaquez's sister, Gabriela, playing for UCLA. On the men's side, the Duke Blue Devils are led by

Wednesday's nine-game slate delivered several eye-opening results, like the Miami Heat staying hot in their 21-point throttling of the Boston Celtics, the Victor Wembanyama-less, De'Aaron Fox-less San Antonio Spurs taking down the (admittedly also shorthanded) Denver Nuggets and the Washington Wizards tripping up the Sacramento Kings.

▪ Draft picks: After June’s NBA Draft, the Heat will have two of its own first-round picks that can be traded – in 2030 and 2032. Miami also can trade a first-round pick that it’s owed from Golden State; the Heat will get the pick this June if it falls behind 11 and 30, which seems likely. So that’s three tradable picks.

No, no celebration at the Miami Heat’s team hotel on Tuesday night when the Toronto Raptors’ loss assured Erik Spoelstra’s team of at least a berth in the NBA play-in tournament.

On his podcast with Draymond Green, two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis picked James Harden over Dwyane Wade. He called Shaq "the system" for the Miami Heat in 2006, when they won their first championship.