The Miami Heat notched their 5th straight win on Friday night and did so by taking down the biggest fish in the NBA this season, the Utah Jazz. The 124-116 win was definitely a huge statement by Miami, as they finally look to turn their season around after a slow start. While speaking about their current run, Heat star Bam Adebayo admitted Miami just grew sick of all the early season losing they experienced.

Via Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald:

“We were tired of getting our asses kicked,” Adebayo said of the Heat’s turnaround. “That’s the best I can put it.”

Meanwhile, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra downplayed the victory and attributed their current success to the grind that they went through during the first couple of months of the season.

“It’s not a statement,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the victory. “We’ve been grinding for six weeks trying to get to a more consistent level. Even after some of these very painful disappointing losses, we saw progress. That’s the tough thing about this league. This team has had to manage through a lot. We haven’t made any excuses for it. We just continue to try to work to get better.”

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The Heat suffered through having multiple players deal with injuries and some even contracting the coronavirus, which included franchise leader Jimmy Butler. But as Spoelstra mentioned, they grinded through those issues and stuck with the program. After sitting near the bottom of the East standings through the early goings of the 2020-21 campaign, the Heat now find themselves back in the thick of the playoff bloodbath.

Their current 5-game run marks their longest winning streak of the season. With the victory over the Jazz, which still holds the best record in the NBA, it's looking more like the Heat are finally rounding into the form that powered them to the NBA Finals last season.