Heat fined $25,000 by NBA for bench behavior in Game 6. Also, a Tyler Herro update

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The Miami Heat’s bench received a compliment from center Bam Adebayo for their impact on Game 6.

“Like I was telling everybody in the locker room, Markieff Morris was the MVP of the game,” Adebayo said following the Heat’s huge Game 6 win in Boston on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals. “Just his energy across the bench. Him, [Udonis Haslem], [Dewayne] Dedmon, everybody was a part of that win.”

It turns out that Miami’s bench was a little bit too involved, as the NBA announced Saturday afternoon that the Heat organization has been fined $25,000 for violating league rules regarding team bench decorum.

The NBA explained the fine in a statement: “On multiple occasions, several players stood for an extended period in Miami’s team bench area, stood away from the team bench, and were on, encroaching upon or entering the playing court during live game action in the Heat’s 111-103 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 27 at TD Garden.”

A few video clips from Game 6 posted to social media showed Heat players standing very close to Celtics players as they attempted shots near Miami’s bench.

It marks the fourth fine the Heat has received from the NBA this postseason.

Jimmy Butler was fined $15,000 between the first and second round of the playoffs for an “obscene gesture” he made near the team’s bench in Game 5 of the Heat’s playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Heat organization was also fined $15,000 “for posting the act on social media.” In addition, Morris was fined $25,000 for “interfering with live game play while on the bench” in that same first-round game against the Hawks.

The Heat and Celtics will face off in Game 7 of the East finals on Sunday at FTX Arena (8:30 p.m. on ESPN). The winner will advance to take on the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, which begin Thursday in San Francisco.

THIS AND THAT

Heat sixth man Tyler Herro has missed three straight games because of a strained left groin and his status for Sunday’s Game 7 is also up in the air. Herro is listed as questionable for the contest.

“He’s doing rest and treatment today,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during a Zoom call with reporters on Saturday afternoon. “He won’t do any court work or anything like that today. We’ll see him in the morning. We’ll see what kind of progress he’s made and then we’ll probably go through the same process before the game.”

The Heat also again listed Kyle Lowry (left hamstring strain), Max Strus (right hamstring strain), P.J. Tucker (left knee irritation) and Gabe Vincent (left hamstring strain) as questionable for Game 7. But all four are expected to play on Sunday.

The Celtics’ injury report again includes starters Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) and center Robert Williams (left knee soreness), with both listed as questionable for Game 7. Boston forward Sam Hauser (right shoulder instability) remains out.

Asked about the motivation drawn from the words of Warriors forward Draymond Green, Spoelstra said: “Each person can find different forms of motivation. We have a big audacious goal. That’s motivating enough. But if other things motivate guys, I don’t have a problem with that.”

Green proclaimed, “We’re going to play Boston. That’s who we’re going to play,” during an appearance on TNT’s Inside the NBA after his team eliminated the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night to reach the NBA Finals.

Of the chance to play in a Game 7, Spoelstra called it an “incredible opportunity.”

“Our guys are really looking forward to Game 7,” Spoelstra added. “Some of our guys haven’t been in Game 7s and a few of our guys have been. These are those moments that you remember for a long time and you wish that all of the games would feel like that. So I want our guys to enjoy it.”