Apr 16, 2008 10:17 pm US/Eastern
Heat Victorious In Last Game Of Season
Riley To Ponder His Future
MIAMI (AP) ―
If this was Pat Riley's final game, it was a victorious one.
Jason Williams scored 17 points, Mark Blount and Daequan Cook each added 16 and the Heat ended their disappointing season with a 113-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Miami finished 15-67, matching the 1988-89 expansion team for the worst record in franchise history.
The Heat had seven players in double figures, including Ricky Davis (15 points, nine assists, seven rebounds), Earl Barron (13), Stephane Lasme (12) and Chris Quinn (11).
Josh Smith scored 20 points for Atlanta, which got 17 points and five assists from Mike Bibby. Zach Pachulia and Salim Stoudamire each scored 14 for Atlanta.
The Hawks know where they're heading next; they're in the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and off to Boston for what looks like a monumental first-round playoff mismatch. The Heat, though, begin an offseason of uncertainty, starting with whether Riley will be back for a 26th season as an NBA coach.
Riley, a 2008 Hall of Fame enshrinee, will meet with Heat owner Micky Arison in the coming days and presumably make a decision.
"I'm a very proud man," said Riley, who ranks third on the league's all-time coaching wins list. "But I'm not proud of what we accomplished this year."
Indeed, it has been a fall from grace unlike almost any in NBA history.
The Heat spent much of the season without Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Udonis Haslem, Shawn Marion and Dorell Wright because of injuries, and traded Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix in February -- the move that officially ushered in another rebuilding era in Miami. By finishing with the NBA's worst record, the Heat are assured no worse than the No. 4 pick in June's draft.
In the two seasons since winning the 2006 NBA title, the Heat have a .360 winning percentage. Only the Chicago Bulls, who won 22.7 percent of their games in the two seasons following the departures of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson after the 1998 championship run, endured a worse stretch.
But the Hawks are living proof that in the Eastern Conference, there's always hope.
Atlanta was 13-69 in the 2004-05 season, and hasn't finished a regular season with a winning record since 1988-99. Still, the Hawks are the No. 8 seed on this year's East bracket, and played their regulars Wednesday in what essentially was a meaningless game, at least in terms of the standings.
The Hawks' first basket came 5 seconds into the game on an alley-oop from Joe Johnson to Smith, the start of a 16-8 run to open the contest. But the Heat hung around, with Williams getting 11 points in the second quarter to help Miami stay within 61-55 at halftime.
Miami took control in the third period, with Blount scoring 11 points in the quarter to lead a 34-22 spurt that gave the Heat an 89-83 edge heading into the fourth.
Down by seven midway through the final period, Hawks coach Mike Woodson reinserted his starters, to no avail.
Williams hit a 3-pointer with 51/2 minutes remaining, Cook connected again from beyond the arc on the next Heat possession, and Miami held Atlanta without a field goal for a five-minute stretch late to pull away and end the season on a rare high note. Notes: Davis was the only Heat player to appear in all 82 games. Blount played in 69, the second most on the injury-ravaged roster. ... Williams made a half-court shot while being fouled late in the first half, only to have it waved off by referees. So he made a 25-foot 3-pointer on the next possession, tying the game at 55. ... Woodson, who vowed to shave his head to commemorate Atlanta's playoff spot, still had hair Wednesday. ... The Heat honored trainer Ron Culp, who is retiring after being with Miami for each of its first 20 seasons, with a touching halftime ceremony. ... Atlanta won the season series, 3-1.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
