--Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn't want to totally blame the referees for the Heat's free-throw deficit, but he put some of the blame on them, saying, "I won't say anything about the calls. Some of it we have to earn more respect from the officials. Some of the young guys get some tough calls."
--Spoelstra said the Heat might never get to a set nine-man rotation this season. "We're getting different contributions from different guys and we don't know who it's going to be," he said. "...But everybody understands it's about the team... Sometimes, because of the nature of this team, if something happens in the fourth quarter where it's working and there's a chance to close the game, that's probably who we'll go with."
--The Heat fell behind by 13 at Minnesota on Tuesday. It's part of a trend of starting slowly and then trying to finish fast.
"Our sense of urgency and energy to close games defensively has been fantastic the last three games, even in Denver and the loss against the Lakers," coach Erik Spoelstra said.
"Obviously, it was (fantastic) against Sacramento. We held them to under 30 percent (shooting) in the fourth quarter and the overtime. What we need is the concentration to start games with that type of urgency and to not come in and spar and see how the game is going, but to start games with a sense or urgency. I think that would get us off to better starts."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "You're down 13 and they're hitting every shot. That's when your pride comes into play. It's kind of like they're testing your manhood." -- Michael Beasley, on the Heat's 99-96 victory Tuesday at Minnesota.
