Oddly Enough

MIAMI — It was a change, Erik Spoelstra said, based on availability and the opposition. In that regard, the opening alignment Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center could open a further window into the Heat coach’s view going forward with his lineups. With Jimmy Butler sidelined for Saturday night’s 121-114 loss to the Orlando Magic at Kia Center with the stomach illness that took him out for the night in the first quarter of Friday’s home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Spoelstra shook things up in Orlando. That had not only Dru Smith getting his first start of the season, amid Butler’s absence, but Nikola Jovic starting at power forward in place of Haywood Highsmith, who started the previous 17 games. “It was a little bit different, because of their front-line size,” Spoelstra said of the Magic power rotation.

The Miami Dolphins look to stave off elimination against the San Francisco 49ers and avoid the franchise’s first losing season since the 5-11 “tank” season of 2019. Catch up with the latest comments from the Sun Sentinel Dolphins coverage team.

Responding to a reported house fire in the 1900 block of Bayview Drive on Sunday, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue found the fire was burning close to two propane tanks, one of which was damaged. Firefighters sprayed water on the tanks to cool them, and the hazmat team burned off the gas to mitigate any hazards, said Public Information Officer Frank Guzman via text. Smoke was coming from the fire, which was outside and didn’t reach the house, Guzman said.

By SUSAN HAIGH Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. The IRS said it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns.

MIAMI — Just when you think it can’t get any worse, the 2024-25 Miami Heat already, less than a third into their season, have shown a remarkable ability for it to get worse. Entering Saturday night, Erik Spoelstra’s team already had crafted a litany of losses seemingly unrivaled for a team still, somehow, afloat at .500: – There was the overtime loss in Detroit decided by Spoelstra calling the timeout his team did not have; – There was the overtime loss (this is not a repeat) in Detroit when an eight-point lead was blown in the extra period; – There were the losses to the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks when, off closing timeouts, the Heat were unable to even get off potential game-tying shots; – There was the one-point loss to Sacramento Kings when Domantas Sabonis converted a putback jumper with seven-tenths of a second to play to close the scoring. Each painful. Each with its own sobering reality. And then there was Saturday night in Orlando, when the Magic began the game with their top three players (Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs) sidelined, when the Heat’s lead crested at 25, when the advantage was 22 entering the fourth quarter. And then … Magic 121, Heat 104. The unfathomable proved fathomable. “These,” Spoelstra said, “are tough lessons that we all have to learn.” This teaching point, however, stands arguably as none other this season, arguably like few, if any, over the franchise’s 37 seasons. As a matter of perspective, in the wake of Saturday night’s loss that extended the Heat’s losing streak to three heading into Monday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center, the Associated Press noted that NBA teams had stood 796-0 over the past five seasons when entering a fourth quarter up by 22 or more. Saturday night’s score was 106-84 entering the  fourth quarter. Yes, the Heat were without Jimmy Butler, who remained behind with a stomach illness.

The rivalry between California and Florida reached a high mark in November 2023 when Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, faced off against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, on Fox News over which state held a better model for the country. Thirteen months later, DeSantis has left the national stage after an aborted presidential run.