LeBron James and the Miami Heat: Their 10 Worst Losses of the Year
For all of the hype and excitement that surrounded LeBron James and the rest of the Miami Heat this season, they have also had their fair share of bad, embarrassing moments.
Despite all of the highlight plays and impressive stat-lines from their two superstars and one expensive role player, the Heat have had some inexcusable losses as well.
The Heat reached a new low point on Thursday night, blowing a 24 point lead en route to a 99-96 loss to the rival Orlando Magic. To make matters worse, this particular collapse occurred on their home floor.
Although Miami's record is still a very impressive 43-18, there is plenty of reason to panic. They have had trouble closing out games all season, and are only 5-12 in games that are decided by five points or less. They have also lost all three games they have played against the Boston Celtics, the team they will have to ultimately go through if they want to advance to the NBA finals.
Here are the Heat's 10 worst losses thus far this season.
10. Boston Celtics, Oct. 26
1 of 10
Opening night was supposed to be the Miami Heat's coming out party.
The Boston Celtics had other ideas.
For months, fans and analysts alike debated how great this team could be, whether or not they could break the NBA record for wins and how many championships in a row they could win. People crowned the Heat as champions before they even took the court to play a single game.
Now, don't get me wrong: there is no shame to losing to the Celtics on the road. The Celtics are a few years removed from winning a championship themselves, and were in the finals as recently as last year.
The problem was the way they lost the game.
The Heat came out extremely flat, and trailed 45-30 at halftime. Despite scoring 31 points, LeBron James also committed eight turnovers. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were non-factors, combining for only 21 points. Wade was somewhat rusty because he had missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury, but Bosh had no such excuse.
As a team, the Heat only shot 36 percent.
A big third quarter from the Heat helped the final score of 88-80 look presentable, but the game was never as close as that score would make it seem.
The Heat were embarrassed on national television in the "Big 3's" debut. From that a standpoint, it was a bad loss.
9. Dallas Mavericks, Dec. 20
2 of 10
The Heat were playing their best basketball of the season when they squared off against the Mavericks in December. The team was on a 12-game win streak, and the last time they had lost a game was against the Mavericks back in November.
This was the Heat's opportunity to get revenge on one of the Western Conference's best teams, and they couldn't come through on their home court.
The Mavericks were able to hold James scoreless in the first half, although LeBron heated up in the third quarter and finished with 19 points.
The Heat entered the final quarter with a three point lead, but managed to let Mavericks guard Jason Terry score all 19 of his points in the last 11 minutes of the game.
The Heat wound up losing the game 98-96.
They had an opportunity to close out one of the league's best teams and couldn't do it.
8. New York Knicks, Jan. 27
3 of 10
The Heat didn't have Bosh in this one, but they still should have been able to come away from Madison Square Garden with a win. This game was before the Knicks blockbuster trade for Carmelo Anthony, and they had Amar'e Stoudemire and little else at the time.
Somehow, the Heat only managed to put up 88 points against one of the worst defensive teams in the league. That alone is cause for concern.
They ended up losing the game 93-88.
They also lost even though they held the Knicks to only 36 percent shooting.
The Heat did a good job on Stoudemire, only allowing him to score 24 points. The real problem is they allowed Danillo Gallinari and Landry Fields to combine for 39 points.
LeBron is used to going to MSG and dominating, but not this time.
7. Los Angeles Clippers, Jan. 12
4 of 10
Miami's "Big 3" actually played really well in this one.
The problem was the rest of the team only combined for 21 points, providing little help to James and his two friends as they lost the game 111-105.
Oh, and there is no excuse for a team like the Heat, who prides themselves on defense, to go out and give up 111 points to the Clippers. Yes, they had Blake Griffin, but they also had a less-than-stellar 12-24 record entering the game.
To make matters worse, James sprained his right ankle during the game. The injury cost him the next two games.
At home or on the road, a team like the Heat should never lose a game to a team like the Clippers. Never.
6. Indiana Pacers, Nov. 22
5 of 10
Despite having all three members of their "Big 3" healthy and ready to go, the Heat were blown out by the Pacers 93-77 in their own gym.
Where to start in this one?
Well, for starters, the Heat turned the ball over a whopping 22 times, including six by James.
The bench was completely non-existent, only providing a mere four points.
The Heat were also outrebounded 48-39, and had less field goals (24) than the Pacers had assists (26). While the Pacers have some good, young players, they aren't exactly the Celtics or Lakers out there.
They allowed a below-average team to come into their own building and beat them in every facet of the game.
5. Atlanta Hawks, Jan. 18
6 of 10
Different game, same story for the Heat.
They were without Bosh again, but the Hawks also played without their All-Star Center Al Horford as well.
James and Wade played well, but they received little help from the rest of their teammates as the Heat dropped this one 93-89 in overtime.
Wade scored 27 points, but didn't attempt a shot in the overtime period.
If your the Heat, you can't lose a game to a division rival playing without one of their best players on your own floor.
It just can't happen.
4. Denver Nuggets, Jan. 13
7 of 10
The only reason this 130-102 beat down isn't higher on this list is because the Heat were playing without James, and also were on the back end of a back-to-back, having lost to the Clippers the night before.
Still, there is no excuse for giving up 130 points in a game, including allowing J.R. Smith to hit eight shots from beyond-the-arc. That just shows a lack of preparation as well as a lack of effort. They simply took the night off defensively, which is unacceptable.
They let the Nuggets shoot 53 percent as a team, and also allowed seven different Denver players to score in double figures.
That kind of effort just won't get the job done
3. New York Knicks, Feb. 27
8 of 10
Although the Knicks had a new look and were much improved with Carmelo Anthony on their team, the Heat still had them right where they wanted them to send a message: on Miami's home floor and on national television.
Things started off very well for the Heat.
The Heat were flourishing in transition while the Knicks were struggling to find their rhythm. At one point, the Heat led 51-36 and the game seemed to be all but over.
Then the collapse began.
The Knicks scored the last 16 points of the half to take a one point lead into the locker room.
Miami came out strong yet again in the second half, but the Knicks were able to whether the storm. The Knicks ended the 91-86 victory on a 13-2 run, highlighted by Chauncey Billups' go-ahead three-pointer with 1:01 left in the game.
There was indeed a message sent in South Beach that night. However, the Heat didn't send it but rather they received it: Mr. Big Shot and the rest of the Knicks were now another serious threat to the Heat's chances of making the finals.
2. Utah Jazz, Nov. 9
9 of 10
The Heat received 39 points from Wade and a triple-double from James and still managed to blow a 22-point lead to the Utah Jazz, losing the game in overtime 116-114.
Despite the numbers from Wade and James, the Heat as a team allowed the Jazz to shoot 48 percent from the field. Forward Paul Millsap, known more for his rebounding ability then anything else, exploded for a career-high 46 points.
Just another collapse on their home floor for the Heat.
1. Orlando Magic, Mar. 3
10 of 10
Did someone say collapse?
In what was by far their worst loss of the season, the Heat squandered a 24-point third quarter lead and watched the Magic rally to beat them 99-96.
Down 24 points with 8:57 left in the third quarter, the Magic went on to outscore the Heat 50-23, beating the Heat on their own court and evening the season series at 2-2.
In what seems to be a continuing theme, James and Wade played help, but received little help from anyone else. Chris Bosh came up small once again, scoring 15 points on just 5-15 shooting.
Dwight Howard struggled for most of the night, only scoring 14 points for the game. Somehow, the Magic still found a way to come back and win the game.
Well, it also helped that the Heat found a way to lose the game, which is becoming quite common for them.
Not a good sign for a team trying to compete for a championship.
