Tyler Herro scored 35 points for Miami, which had its six-game winning streak snapped. Bam Adebayo had 26 points and Kel’el Ware finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat — who were the third team in NBA history to lose at least 10 in a row, then immediately follow that with six straight wins.
The Heat became locked into the play-in tournament when Milwaukee beat Philadelphia earlier Thursday. It's the third consecutive play-in berth for the Heat, who went from there to the NBA Finals in 2023 and reached the playoffs before falling to Boston last year.
Takeaways
Grizzlies: Morant had 11 of his 30 in the fourth for Memphis, which desperately needed a win to revive its hopes of a top-six seed.
Heat: It was the fourth time this season that Adebayo and Herro combined to score at least 59 points in a game. Miami, oddly, is 0-4 in those contests.
Key moment
The Grizzlies got caught in a mismatch with about 50 seconds left, with Morant caught in a switch and forced to guard Adebayo near the foul line. But Adebayo's shot over Morant was short, and Memphis kept a two-point lead.
Key stat
Neither team had a double-digit lead in the game.
Up next
Both teams play Saturday, with Memphis visiting Detroit and Miami hosting Milwaukee.
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