Charles Barkley rips Heat fans before the team's historic playoff loss to Cavaliers

Former NBA player-turned tv prima Charles Barkley is not a instrumentality of the Miami Heat faithful.

Miami's beloved NBA franchise became the archetypal 10th effect to beforehand from the play-in tourney to the NBA Playoffs. 

Being the eighth effect for the postseason meant the Heat would conscionable the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers successful the archetypal round.

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Charles Barkley talks with the media earlier Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals betwixt the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics astatine American Airlines Center June 14, 2024, successful Dallas, Texas.  (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Heat came up abbreviated successful the archetypal 2 games of the first-round Eastern Conference series. Before Game 3 tipped disconnected successful Miami Saturday, Barkley took a infinitesimal to instrumentality a jab astatine Heat fans.

"That’s not a pugnacious situation [to play in]," Barkley said during the pregame broadcast successful notation to Kaseya Center, the Heat's location arena. "That’s not a pugnacious environment."

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The Hall of Famer past mentioned however the Heat overcame the likelihood successful the play-in tourney to marque it to the playoffs.  

"Yeah, but that’s inactive not a hostile environment," helium added. 

Former Phoenix Suns subordinate Charles Barkley successful attendance astatine Footprint Center successful Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 21, 2023. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

This isn't the archetypal clip Barkley has shared his distaste for Heat fans. After LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade joined forces successful Miami for the 2010-11 season, Barkley suggested the Heat's instrumentality basal mostly consisted of fair-weather fans. Barkley has besides antecedently claimed Heat fans were among the worst successful the NBA.

The Heat mislaid Game 3, 124-87, their worst playoff nonaccomplishment ever, and the Cavs took a 3-0 bid lead. The Cavs took power with a 33-5 tally early, outrebounded Miami 46-29 and outscored the Heat 60-30 successful the paint.

Cleveland Cavaliers defender Donovan Mitchell reacts aft scoring against the Miami Heat successful the 3rd 4th during Game 2 of the archetypal circular of the 2025 NBA Playoffs astatine Kaseya Center successful Miami, Fla., April 26, 2025. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)

"Our guys knew that was the key, rebounding and winning the rebounding battle," Cavaliers manager Kenny Atkinson said. "We truly executed defensively."

Evan Mobley scored 19 points and Max Strus added 18 for Cleveland. Ty Jerome had 13 points and 11 assists successful 22 minutes.

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Heat manager Erik Spoelstra acknowledged the on-court adversity his squad has had to combat done implicit the past respective weeks. 

"Look, our guys truly privation this, and it astir apt looks similar our guys don’t," Spoelstra said. "But I cognize what our past six weeks person been like, conscionable to combat and scratch and claw to get into this."

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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