The Miami Heat were wildly shorthanded for their game in Sacramento on Monday night. Not only were there a handful of players that were dealing with various injuries, but Jimmy Butler and others were suspended for the game in the wake of the team’s scuffle with the New Orleans Pelicans a few nights back.

Miami Heat Have Won 4 In A Row & 8 Of Their Last 10

The Miami Heat are 8-2 over their last 10 games.

pic.twitter.com/mHnKuCbBvO

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 27, 2024

It was Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Bam Adebayo to the rescue, though, as the duo combined to score 54 points in leading the Heat to an unlikely victory against the team that came into the day as the 5th seed in the Western Conference. The game ended with the score 121-110 after Miami was listed as a 7.5 point favorite.

It was yet another win for the recently surging Heat, who have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the last few weeks. After losing 7 in a row to close out the month of January, Miami has now won 8 of their last 10 contests, and each of the four games thus far on their 6-game road trip. In doing so, they have climbed up into the 6th spot in the East, and out of position to be a part of the Play-In Tournament.

Miami Has The 2nd Softest Remaining Schedule In The League

Miami Heat tonight:

No Jimmy

No Herro

No Rozier

No Richardson

No Jovic

And they beat the 5 seed in the West. pic.twitter.com/kT0W4vF4wZ

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 27, 2024

Their schedule over the past month hasn’t exactly been the toughest road, though. Their wins have come against the Wizards, Spurs, and fading 76ers, and while they defeated the Bucks and Pelicans, their two losses in the 10 game stretch have come against contenders such as the Celtics and Clippers.

But the streak is impressive regardless of who their opponents are, and the Heat are set up nicely for a stretch run over the final month and a half of the regular season. Their next two games will be the last stop of the road trip, and Thursday’s contest marks a matchup between the two teams that met in the NBA Finals last season when Miami travels to Denver to take on MVP leader Nikola Jokić.

According to the strength of schedule rankings by Tankathon, the Heat have the second-softest remaining path heading for the playoffs.