The Miami Heat overtime beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in dramatic fashion. With less than a second left in overtime and the game tied at 138, big man Nikola Jovic finished a lob to forward Andrew Wiggins and the latter slammed the puck through the net just in time to beat the final buzzer.
MIAMI WINS AT THE BUZZER photo.twitter.com/m1Ij6tNHOG
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCom) November 11, 2025
The Heat’s winning streak has reportedly been in their back pocket for a long time, as envisioned by assistant coach Chris Quinn years ago. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra taught Quinn the plays outside of the game.
“Yeah, I mean obviously I’m very lucky to work for someone as humble as Spo, who gives faith to others, even though he’s obviously the centerpiece of everything we do,” Quinn said. “Obviously, him and the rest of the coaching staff, we spend a lot of time bouncing ideas off each other. Certainly, late-game execution is always fun, if you’re in a coaching meeting or coaching office.”
“So those are things we’re always talking about with each other. And definitely grateful to work for someone like Spo.”
Quinn said the play was just a modified version of an act he saw some time ago.
“Essentially, like most plays, they’re a version of a play you saw somewhere else, you make little changes, either to your liking or to suit the staff,” Quinn said.
“So we saw that years ago, and we’ve tweaked it a little bit and used it in the right situations at the end of the game, when something like that is needed.”
He made it clear that the Heat had some late-game calls and that they were trying their best to be ready for all kinds of different situations in the clutch.
“I think it’s more the Heat deals,” Quinn said. “We have something built in. I think every year is a learning experience. Some years we’ve been better in clutch situations than others. We’re always trying to grow and develop especially in the offseason. And we bring things that if we need a two, if we need a three, if we need a lob.
“Obviously whatever time is on the clock is very important as well. Point four, or maybe it’s five seconds, 10 seconds. Those situations that happen all the time in the NBA. So we’re always trying our best to be the best in those situations.”
Spoelstra himself acknowledged that Quinn has been “very important” to the Heat’s offensive operations so far in the 2025-26 regular season.
“Quinny has been very important to our offensive schemes this year and in previous years,” Spoelstra said. “Quinny has been a big part of that for the past few years and he’s been a big part of what we’re doing this year.
Quinn has been an assistant coach under Spoelstra dating back to the 2016-17 season and was on the Heat’s coaching staff for multiple runs in the 2020 and 2023 NBA Finals.
His stellar performance on Monday helped the Heat win their third straight game and snap the Cavaliers’ career winning streak. Cleveland had won four straight going into Monday, but came up short despite a combined 51 points from guard Donovan Mitchell and forward De’Andre Hunter.
After Monday’s game, the Heat have the same record as a Cavs team that won 64 games last season at 7-4. Also, the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons are the only teams in the East with a better record than Miami at this point.
The Heat can extend their current winning streak to four games and defeat the Cavaliers for the second straight time when the two teams battle it out once again on Wednesday night.