Erik Spoelstra Says Miami Heat "Laid An Egg" In Game 3 Vs Cavaliers

Apr 13, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra reacts against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat's chances of advancing out of their first round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers went from slim to none after the 124-87 thrashing that the Cavs game them.

Coach Erik Spoelstra laid it all out when speaking to media after the loss.

"We just we laid an egg today. A big part of it was was Cleveland," Spoelstra said. "Once we jumped on them at the start of the game, then they just took control of it from there. And it became an avalanche going going the other direction and sometimes when you care, there's a level of discouragement that kind of fed into that avalanche and that that's what we all feel disappointed about."

Spoelstra took accountability for the loss, specifically for not being able to help his best scorers get going, as Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins combined to shoot just 39 percent from the field.

"From a tactical standpoint. I have to do a better job helping our team offensively, in particular, Tyler and Bam. You know, they've done a very good job just selling out to to try to take those two out," Spoelstra said. "That's a sign of great respect," Spoelstra said. "And now it's up to us, you know, to counter that now and make sure that they're both and [Wiggins] can can continue to play, or find a way to get in their strength zones against a team that's really selling out to take them out of that."

After going up by nine halfway through the first quarter, the Cavs scored 33 points to the Heat's five over the next eight minutes of game time. The Heat were not able to bring the deficit to below double digits for the rest of the game.

"Look, our guys have really want this, and it probably looks like our guys don't. But I know what our last six weeks have been like, just to fight and scratch and claw to get into this. And that's why this is such a disappointing game, because I know how much everybody cares."

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Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at toledoalexander22@gmail.com. Twitter: @tropicalblanket