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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 14: Head coach Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat reacts in the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on November 14, 2025 in New York City. The New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 140-132. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
If there was some concern about whether players and teams would exhibit some buy-in when it comes to the seriousness of the league’s NBA Cup, now in its third year, don’t count the Miami Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra among the skeptics. The Heat went into Tuesday’s cup quarterfinal matchup against the Magic in Orlando with hopes of walking away with a win, in a game that saw Franz Wagner out with an injury.
Indeed, Miami got off to a 15-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, but gradually let the Magic back into the contest for a 117-108 loss that sends the Heat’s skid to four straight losses. That six-game winning streak that had the Heat at 13-6 going into Thanksgiving has given way to a stretch of five losses in six games.
Worse, the Heat appear unable, still, to establish an identity that allows them to play well on both ends of the floor, even when shots are not falling.
Miami Heat 3-Point Shots Have Gone Astray in Losing Streak
That was the lament of Spoelstra when talking to Miami Heat reporters after Tuesday’s loss. The loss to the Magic and the elimination from the Cup chase, Spoelstra said, was met with major surprise and disappointment in the Heat locker room.
“It’s high,” Spoelstra said. “We have a very competitive group, and there was something to really play for right now and we had all wrapped our minds around it and we are all kind of shocked about it. It’s two competitive franchises going at it, both teams really wanted it. It felt like a playoff type feel to it and we just were not really able to get it done.”
It was another subpar showing for the offense, which scored an average of 124.3 points on 48.3% shooting and 38.2% 3-point shooting in the first 21 games of the year. During the four-game losing ski, that’s collapsed to 108.0 points on 45.4% shooting and 29.2% 3-point shooting.
Erik Spoelstra: ‘You Can’t Live or Die With Your Defense’
What’s been frustrating for Spoelstra and those around the Miami Heat has been team’s tendency to slack off defensively when the perimeter shots are not falling. Too often, missed shots on one end mean a defensive letdown on the other, and that combination is too much to overcome.
“You can’t live and die with your defense, on if you’re making 3s or not,” Spoelstra said. “That’s not how we are built. We have to build this competitive toughness to be able to find a different way to win—3-point shooting will go up and down. We have great shooters on our team. It’s just a handful of games ago we hit 24 3s. There will be another game where we hit 20-plus 3s. Soon. We have that kind of fire power.
“But we don’t want to rely on that to win games. We have to be able to defend at a high level and more importantly, defend in the moments of truth. In the competitive moments of truth, that you are collectively able to get stops that put you in position to win a game.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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