Miami Heat

Heat notes: Two costly defeats leave Miami limping to finish line

Published Apr. 6, 2015 1:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

Just last week, the Miami Heat had a road victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in hand with a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter before losing the game in crunch time.

Sound familiar? That's because the Heat allowed it to happen again on the road, with a commanding 15-point lead with seven minutes remaining not enough to hold back the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

The two costly defeats were part of four games lost this season by a single point margin. The Heat are now 2-9 in games decided by two points or less, and their lack of execution late in games has sunk them in the standings and could cost them a chance at the playoffs.

Two games in the win column against the Bucks and the Pistons could have propelled them to the no. 6 seed at this point, but instead they are limping to the finish line with seven losses in their last nine games while the Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics are surging.

"That's the whole point, that's how quickly it can change," said head coach Erik Spoelstra. "One week ago, these teams were where we are right now and vice versa so we have to put together some wins. We put together a string, it can turn right back in our favor. But we have to put together good basketball though."

With the Heat and Pacers flipping positions in the standings Sunday, the Heat could find themselves in a similar situation in their next game when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday to begin a four-game home stand, with a possible loss sinking them to the no. 11 spot.

After the Hornets game, the Heat will host playoff contenders Chicago Bulls (46-31) and Toronto Raptors (45-32) but then face the Orlando Magic (24-53) and close the season on the road against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers (18-60), the two worst teams in the East along with the last-place New York Knicks.

INJURY UPDATE

Sunday's loss was costly in more ways then one. The team had already suffered the losses of big men Hassan Whiteside and Chris Andersen in the previous night's defeat to the Detroit Pistons, then saw the departure of forwards Michael Beasley and Luol Deng in the second half against the Pacers with left knee injuries.

Beasley was noticeably limping once he suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter and had to be taken out after contributing eight points and four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

"It was scary when Mike went down, there's no question about it," said Spoelstra. "He hyperextended his knee. Luo (Deng) really stiffened up in the second half, so that's why I had to take him out."

Both players will undergo MRIs Monday to properly assess the severity of their injuries, with Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel reporting that Deng's injury could end his season.

"We'll determine and see how many bodies we have for the next game," said Dwyane Wade after the loss to the Pacers. "It's a game-by-game thing so if the next person is down, the next person has to step up. It's nothing personal on this team at all, just go out and play basketball and compete every night and try to get yourself a chance to win. That's all me, as a captain, that I ask for and that's all you can expect out of the guys."

MCROBERTS OFFERS UPDATE ON INJURY REHAB

During the trip, Heat forward Josh McRoberts spoke to the media for the first time since undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn right knee meniscus in December to ofter an update on his progress.

Dashing any hopes of a possible late season comeback similar to Paul George of the Pacers, McRoberts confirmed he was nowhere near a return to the hardwood but instead was recuperating at a steady pace with no reported setbacks.

"I think it's going well," he said of his rehab. "It takes a while to recover from surgery, so I think the rehab has been going well. I think we have a great staff that I'm working with to try to get me back. I'm just doing the rehab-type stuff. I've done a little bit of running and a little bit of stuff in the pool for a while now but nothing too crazy.

Though he was traveling with the team for the first time since he was injured in the closing moments of the Heat's win on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 9, the reason was more likely because the team needed everyone on their training staff to join them on their four-game trip with so many other injured players on the roster.

McRoberts has been largely out of sight from the team since his injury but has increased his workload with Heat trainers as of late. In the first season of a four-year contract signed last offseason, the versatile power forward only played in 17 games and averaged 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists while battling toe and back issues from the start of training camp.

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.