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Returning as championship contenders, Miami finished with a 59–23 record, consequently garnering the first overall seed in the Eastern Conference. Sweeping through the first round and the semifinals, Miami went back to the Conference Finals for the first time in eight years, where it met the defending champion Detroit Pistons. The Heat would go on to lose Game 7 at home despite Wade's return. The Heat finished 58–24, acquiring the southeast division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat cruised through the Playoffs without much competition, eliminating every team – the Philadelphia 76ers, defending Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics and the top-seeded Chicago Bulls all five games.
The current Heat uniforms have been in use since the 1999–2000 season. These uniforms, though similar, have marked differences such as striping on both sides, change from orange to yellow trim, updated lettering and block numbers, and a modified 'flaming ball' logo on the right leg. The black away uniform numbers are now consistent with the lettering colors . Shares of the electric-car maker jumped 5.0% in premarket trading after the poll showed about 57.5% of the 17.5 million people voted in favor of him stepping down from Twitter.
Dallas Mavericks
Miami lost Game 1 of the Finals on their home floor in a close game that was decided by a last-minute buzzer beater by Tony Parker. The Heat went on to win Game 2 with a 33–5 run in the second half. The two teams continued to trade wins leading up to Game 6 where the Spurs, up 10 heading in the 4th quarter, were in position to close out the series and win the championship. James went on to score 16 points in the period, outscoring the entire Spurs team by himself at one point.
The Heat were the first team since the 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers to miss the playoffs after going to the NBA Finals the previous year. Miami had qualified for the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. If you're outside of the Heat TV market, you'll still be able to watch games. With an NBA League Pass subscription, you'll get access to out-of-market live broadcasts of NBA games.
present uniforms
Cavaliers fans rejoiced in the Heat's loss due to the anger that was caused by LeBron's decision to join the Heat, which they felt was unfair and a betrayal. After the second NBA Lockout ended, the Heat signed veteran Shane Battier. However they would struggle for the second half of the season, going 19–13. The Heat finished 46–20, earning the second seed in the East for the NBA playoffs.
Mourning and Hardaway led the Heat to four consecutive division titles prior to their departures in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The team also experienced success after drafting Dwyane Wade in 2003. The Bulls ended another Miami Heat winning streak by beating the Heat 93–87 in game 1. The Heat came back in game 2 and set a record for the largest margin of victory in franchise playoff history with a 115–78 win.
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All three uniforms are now used regardless of home or away games. As part of Nike's uniform contract with the NBA, the so-called "Classic" edition was introduced and featured modernized throwback uniform designs from past years. During the 2017–18 season, the Heat were one of eight teams who participated in this line and wore their black 1988–99 uniforms, updated to the current Nike uniform cut. In the 2022–23 season, the Heat wore a white version of the uniforms from the same era.
The first two games in San Antonio were split but the Heat fell to the Spurs 4–1, failing to repeat as champions for the third consecutive season. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel gets slammed on Twitter after asking officials to penalize the Bills for fans throwing snowballs at Highmark Stadium. While the Dolphins packed 1,400 pounds of protective gear to play in the snow, they didn’t have anything to protect them from flying snowballs. During the game, fans continuously pelted snowballs onto the field, the bulk of which appeared to be targeting Dolphins players. While a digital sign went up at Highmark stadium asking fans to stop throwing snowballs, the message didn’t work.
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The two teams first squared off in the playoffs in 2010, with the Celtics defeating the Heat four games to one en route to an eventual NBA Finals appearance by the Celtics. Having suffered first-round losses in three straight years, it was the loss to the Celtics that prompted Dwyane Wade to declare that the loss would be "my last" in the first round for the near future. Miami's 2021 "Earned" uniform marked the first time the team used yellow as a base color; previously it was only utilized as an accent color on the logo and uniforms. Letters were rendered in black with white trim, but red was not used at all in the uniform. The original white and red uniforms were reintroduced as throwback uniforms during the Heat's 20th and 25th anniversary seasons, respectively, while the original black uniforms were used as throwbacks in the 2013–14 season. The classic white uniforms were used again for the 2015–16 season.
The Heat have also honored the ABA's Miami Floridians by donning throwback uniforms; first the road jerseys in the 2005–06 season, then the home jerseys in the 2011–12 season. The Heat wore a variation of their current home uniforms on the opening night of the 2012–13 season, with gold accents and a patch of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy on the right chest. They used another variation on opening night of the 2013–14 season, this time with gold lettering. On July 11, 2014, LeBron James announced on Sports Illustrated's website that after opting out of the final year of his contract, he would leave the Heat and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Like the Cavaliers in the 2010 off-season, the Heat focused on how it would maintain itself without LeBron. Wade and Bosh were joined by returning players Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen along with former rivals Luol Deng and Danny Granger.
After taking a 2–1 lead however, the Heat stumbled in the next three games. They were eliminated on their own home floor after losing 95–105 during Game 6 in Miami – extending LeBron's quest for a ring. The loss had also brought further public humiliation for LeBron James, who had been scrutinized and negatively criticized for leaving the Cavaliers to join the Heat.
They entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference 2nd seed with a record of 54–28 team, and with the "Big 3" healthy. They went on to play the 1st seeded 56–26 Pacers in the Conference Finals, in a rematch of the previous year's Conference Finals. The Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs for a third consecutive year by the Heat. The Heat went to a fourth consecutive Finals, and faced the Spurs again.
Dallas hosted the Heat for the season opener on December 25, 2011, of the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season that was shortened to 66 games. The Heat spoiled the Mavericks' championship banner-raising night, giving them a 105–94 blowout loss. In the 1995–96 season the Heat introduced a red alternate uniform with lettering and numbers in black, white and orange trim. Diggs said during an appearance on Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz that it was an exhaustion level that the eight-year NFL veteran has never felt.
An 11–10 record early into the 2005–06 season prompted Riley to come out of retirement and replace Van Gundy. Shortly thereafter, Riley would win his fifth and final championship as a head coach, as well as Miami's first championship in 2006. Riley would retire permanently following the 15-win 2007–08 season, but once again remained as team president.
After taking a 2–1 series lead, the Heat lost the final three games to the Mavericks. The Heat experienced four years of post-title struggles from 2007 through 2010, including a 4–0 sweep by the Chicago Bulls in the 1st round of the 2007 NBA playoffs. In the 2007–08 season, Wade was plagued by injuries and the Heat had a league-worst 15–67 record. Riley resigned as head coach following the season but retained his position as team president. A healthy Wade led the Heat to 43 wins in 2009 and 47 wins in 2010, making the playoffs both seasons, though they lost in the first round, 4–3 in 2009 and 4–1 in 2010.
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