MIAMI _ No dead yet.
The Miami Heat's improbable comeback from an 11-30 record at midseason will come down one final regular-season chapter, on Wednesday's final night of the regular season.
Overcoming a 15-point deficit, the Heat rallied to a 124-121 overtime victory Monday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers at AmericanAirlines Arena.
So now it comes down to this;
The Heat must win their regular-season finale Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Washington Wizards.
... AND ...
Either the Indiana Pacers must lose to the visiting Atlanta Hawks
... OR ...
the Chicago Bulls must lose to the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
Those are the only remaining options after the Milwaukee Bucks put themselves beyond the Heat's reach with a Monday victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
After the first 81 games of the regular season, as improbable as it seemed at midseason, the final day will be a day of meaning for the Heat.
Because the Heat found a way when it appeared that a Cavaliers rotation lacking LeBron James and Kyrie Irving would end the Heat's hopes on Monday night.
Instead, the Heat got 23 points and 18 rebounds from center Hassan Whiteside, 24 from guard Tyler Johnson, 19 from guard Josh Richardson and 15 from Goran Dragic to create another meaningful moment.
The Cavaliers were led by the 35 points of guard Deron Williams and the 25 points and 10 rebounds of forward Kevin Love.
And, so, against a Wizards team locked into the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Heat will have to hope that they not only have something in the tank, but the Hawks or Nets, as well.
Either way, from 11-30 at midseason, there now is the chance at 41-41, even if it doesn't come with a playoff berth assured.
It got harrowing at the end.
A four-point play by Williams put the Cavaliers up 121-120 with 34 seconds to play, the Cavaliers' second four-point play of the overtime, after one from Love.
But back came Tyler Johnson with a driving attempt with 29.2 seconds left, drawing Love's sixth and final foul. At a stage the Heat stood 20 of 30 from the line, Johnson made both for a 122-121 Heat lead, with the Heat holding on from there.
Even with the Cavaliers holding out James and Irving, they were more an able to field a representative team, especially with Love in the mix after being listed as questionable earlier in the day with an illness.
Instead of the rag-tag Knicks the Heat lost to two weeks ago, Cleveland still entered with the possibilities of Love, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Williams, a unit likely capable of competing for the very type of lower-end playoff spot the Heat were targeting.
The Heat remain alive in their bid to become just the fourth team in NBA history since the eight-team playoff format began in 1983-84 to make the postseason after being at least 19 games under .500 at any point that season. The Heat also are working to become the first team to make the playoffs after standing 19 games under .500 at midseason.
Both teams played with altered lineups, with the Cavaliers opting to rest James and Irving after Sunday overtime loss in Atlanta, with the Heat again without Dion Waiters and Luke Babbitt.
The Cavaliers opened with Shumpert in place in James and Williams in place of Irving. The Heat stayed with Richardson in place of Waiters and James Johnson in place of Babbitt.
The Heat had Babbitt and Josh McRoberts in uniform on the bench, with both remaining sidelined.
Regulation ended tied at 108 after the Heat forced a turnover on Williams with 4.1 seconds to play and the Heat were unable to get off a shot in transition.
Earlier, the Heat had pushed to a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter but were unable to hold off Williams and Love, with a charging foul on James Johnson taking away a go-ahead basket by Johnson with 11.7 seconds to play in regulation,
Johnson had earlier had sparked a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter for the Heat that helped them eat into their 11-point deficit at the end of the third period.
With a Wayne Ellington 3-pointer ruled too late at the third-quarter buzzer, the Heat went into the fourth down 91-80, with Williams up to 29 points and Whiteside with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
