MAX STRUS

“I thought it was the end of the path,” Strus told Yahoo Sports. At 23, Strus had already been cut from the Celtics’ training camp that fall. “That was like the last step,” Strus told Yahoo Sports. When his deal was converted to a standard training camp contract, it could have been seen as a vote of confidence. Despite Strus’ progress, Chicago didn’t look to retain Strus when free agency began that August.

A frustrated Bam Adebayo tore his jersey apart as he walked off the court after the final buzzer.

One of the costliest moments for the Miami Heat in its season-ending, 100-96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday happened in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each added 24 and the Boston Celtics held off a frantic rally in the final seconds to beat the Miami Heat 100-96 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.

Jimmy Butler had 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Miami Heat forced the Eastern Conference finals to a decisive seventh game by beating the Boston Celtics 111-103 on Friday night.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of a berth in the NBA Finals, running away after halftime to beat the Miami Heat 93-80 and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference title series.

The Boston Celtics took their turn pounding the Miami Heat early.

Celtics point guard and Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart was ruled out for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Miami.

Bam Adebayo scored 31 points with 10 rebounds to lead Miami to a 109-103 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Al Horford and Marcus Smart are coming back.

Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, and the Miami Heat turned things around with a huge third quarter on the way to beating the shorthanded Boston Celtics 118-107 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.

Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have enormous respect for each other and a bond that stems from their shared history in the sport.

Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and waved “bye bye” to the Philly crowd as he sent the Miami Heat into the Eastern Conference finals with a 99-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night in Game 6.

76ers Heat Basketball Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) celebrates after scoring a three-point shot during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, in Miami. The top-seeded Heat now lead the East semifinal series 3-2, and improved to an NBA-best 6-0 at home in these playoffs. And teams that win Game 5 for a 3-2 series lead wind up advancing 82.2% of the time. ... Maxey, who has been great for the majority of this series, shot 2 for 10. Heat: After shooting 14 for 65 from 3-point range in the two losses at Philadelphia (21.5%), the Heat shot 13 for 33 from deep on Tuesday (39.4%).

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Max Strus added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved one win away from a trip to the Eastern Conference finals by topping the Philadelphia 76ers 120-85.

In Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s mind, the injury situation with Joel Embiid doesn’t doom the Philadelphia 76ers.

Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved into the Eastern Conference semifinals by beating the Atlanta Hawks 97-94.

Trae Young hit a floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Miami 111-110 on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s series lead to 2-1.

Tyler Herro scored 15 for Miami, while Max Strus scored 14 and Gabe Vincent added 11 for top-seeded Miami, which took a 2-0 lead over the eighth-seeded Hawks. Trae Young scored 25 for the Hawks, while De'Andre Hunter had 16 and John Collins finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Butler's previous playoff best was 40, done twice, both in the bubble when the Heat made the 2020 NBA Finals. Heat: Duncan Robinson, who made eight 3’s and scored 27 points in Game 1, went without a shot in seven minutes. 2-0 LEADSTeams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven matchup have eventually won the series 92.4% of the time.

Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 45 points, including a personal 7-0 run in the final moments, and the Miami Heat held off the Atlanta Hawks 115-105 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Tuesday night.

Duncan Robinson set a Miami playoff record with eight 3-pointers, and the Miami Heat forced Trae Young into matching the worst-shooting game of his career on the way to a 115-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday.

Heat Raptors Basketball Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry sings the Canadian national anthem before the team's NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) (Nathan Denette)TORONTO — (AP) — Kyle Lowry had 16 points and 10 assists against his former team, Max Strus scored all of his 23 points in the second half, and the Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 114-109 on Sunday night. Lowry hadn’t played in Toronto since Feb. 28, 2020, when the defending champion Raptors lost to Charlotte. VanVleet scored 17 points in the first as Toronto led 34-28 after one. VanVleet scored four points in the second and Barnes added eight to give the Raptors a 55-45 lead at halftime.

Kevin Durant’s return couldn’t stop the Brooklyn Nets’ slide, as Bam Adebayo had 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Miami Heat to a 113-107 victory.

Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro each scored 20 points, and the Miami Heat improved their standing atop the Eastern Conference by topping the Chicago Bulls 112-99.

Duncan Robinson scored 25 points while shooting 7 of 11 from 3-point range to lead four Miami players with 20 or more points in the Heat’s 110-96 victory over the New York Knicks.

Wizards Heat Basketball Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in Miami. It was the 10th game postponed in the NBA this season because of virus-related issues. Miami had 12 players listed as out for the game against the Spurs for a variety of reasons. Gabe Vincent, who played 35 minutes in Tuesday's win, learned after the game that he had a positive test and couldn't travel. Jimmy Butler was ruled out for Wednesday after spraining his right ankle with about a minute left in the Wizards' game, and KZ Okpala was unable to play because of an injury he sustained Tuesday as well.

The NBA has postponed Miami's game at San Antonio after a combination of injuries and positive COVID-19 tests left the Heat unable to meet the league’s requirement of having eight available players.

Jimmy Butler returned from a bruised tailbone to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds, Caleb Martin added 17 more and the Miami Heat defeated the Orlando Magic 93-83 on Sunday.

Max Strus scored 23 of his career-best 32 points in the first half, Gabe Vincent added a career-best 27 and the Miami Heat beat the short-handed Orlando Magic 115-105.

Caleb Martin scored a career-high 28 points and the Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-104.

Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists before the NBA MVP was ejected for violently slamming his shoulder into Markieff Morris, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 113-96 on Monday night.

Grizzlies first-round draft pick Ziaire Williams had 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and point guard John Konchar added 12 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. 3 pick in the draft, had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help Cleveland beat fifth overall draft pick Jalen Suggs and Orlando. NETS 97, BUCKS 91Brooklyn first-round draft pick Cameron Thomas scored 22 points and had four assists, and David Duke Jr. added 10 points and nine rebounds against Milweakee. Day'Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn's other first-round draft selection, looked solid with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. PELICANS 80, THUNDER 65Naji Marshall had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kira Lewis Jr. added 12 points and the New Orleans beat Oklahoma City going away.

Vincent has also been a part-time starter for the Heat, and Miami was one of the teams concerned that those 50-game appearance limits on the active roster was fast approaching. Ad“We all appreciate that they see that each team is in a different place,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The rule in past years has been that two-way players could spend 45 days with the NBA club and the rest of the time with a franchise’s G League team. But with a shortened G League season this year, and not all teams having clubs in that league this season, there were obvious reasons to change things. We are just glad that it was seen that way, objectively, because not everybody is in the same circumstance.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Miami Heat players Udonis Haslem, left, talks to Jimmy Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Miami. The Miami Heat aren’t believing that quite yet — even after a disastrous start to the 2020-21 campaign. “Heat Nation, we are going to figure this out,” All-Star center Bam Adebayo said. AdThe year after losing the finals has not been kind to the most recent teams who have dropped the title series. Tyler Herro missed seven games with neck spasms.

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives against Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III (44) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Boston. Irving scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals helping the Nets rout the Celtics 113-89 Friday night in the final preseason game for both teams. There were no fans in the new Boston Garden on Friday night, and his introduction was greeted with a faint, fake cheer. Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Heat, while Bam Adebayo scored 13 points and Tyler Herro scored 10. McCollum led the Blazers with 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting and Gary Trent Jr. added 18 points in the loss.