Hapless Heat at their worst in 4th quarter

MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat are last in the Atlantic Division because they're at their worst in the fourth quarter.

Coach Pat Riley's team has blown late leads in back-to-back defeats, continuing a trend that has sabotaged their season. The collapses dropped Miami four games behind Wednesday's opponent, the New York Knicks, in the race to escape the division cellar.

"The team is playing hard, and they deserve to win," Riley said. "They can kick themselves for not finishing games and not making plays and not rising up. They, we, I -- we all lose our poise at the end of the game."

The latest fourth-quarter fade came Monday night at home against Indiana. The Pacers led for a total of 12 seconds in the first three quarters, then scored the game's final nine points to win 102-95.

"We just couldn't close it out," Riley said. "We don't mentally hang in there at the end of a game."

The defeat left the Heat (15-29) one game behind last season's pace, when they finished 36-46, Riley's worst record in 20 years of coaching.

This year's team has plenty of problems, including inexperience, poor depth and the absence of center Alonzo Mourning, who is expected to miss the entire season because of a kidney illness. All help explain Miami's tendency to wilt at the wire.

In the first three periods, the Heat essentially play like a .500 team. They've trailed after three quarters in 22 of 44 games.

But eight times the Heat have lost after leading at the start of the fourth quarter. By contrast, they've rallied to win when trailing after three periods only once.

"It's like getting kicked," forward Brian Grant said. "It knocks the wind out of you."

The Heat's frustration is hardly limited to their struggles down the stretch. Following the latest loss, Riley renewed his railing against a perceived disparity in the way fouls are called.

He was fined $50,000 by the NBA in December for saying officials treat his team unfairly because they dislike him. But he noted that the Pacers shot 39 free throws, while Miami shot 23.

"It's pretty hard to overcome that," Riley said. "The officiating simply is not being consistent at all. I went through this a month ago and it cost me $50,000, but we're right back to where it was."

Even so, Riley acknowledged that when it comes to fourth-quarter failure, the Heat have themselves to blame.

The problem is at both ends of the court. The fourth period is the only quarter in which the Heat are averaging less than 20 points. They're also prone to late defensive breakdowns, such as the one that allowed Reggie Miller an uncontested layup on a backdoor cut in the final minute Monday.

"We had them beat," Grant said. "It was a man's game. We played the whole game, and then our minds give out in the last three minutes."

Miami fell to 5-12 in games decided by less than eight points. Riley, who never endured a losing season until a year ago, has been forced to learn a new kind of persistence.

"Back to the drawing board," he said.

 

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