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Spoelstra gutted following Heat's elimination

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

The Miami Heat were close, but not close enough. After a second half of historic proportions, their playoff hopes came up short Wednesday despite a win over the Washington Wizards in their season finale.

And after coaching juggernaut Heat teams to four straight NBA Finals and two titles between 2010 and 2014, Erik Spoelstra sounded like a man who considers the imperfect 2016-17 edition to be one of the great coaching jobs of his career.

"I don't know if I've ever felt this way about a team before," Spoelstra told reporters after Miami was eliminated with wins by the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. "I don't know if I've ever wanted something more for a team."

On Jan. 13, the Heat were a putrid 11-30 exactly halfway through the season. After that they went 30-11, which is the best second-half record of any team in NBA history to miss the postseason, according to Elias Sports. Only the Golden State Warriors won more games in the same time frame.

In Miami's first season in 15 years without Dwyane Wade, and with Chris Bosh's career likely over, Spoelstra ended up leading a squad that now gives him an outside chance at his first NBA Coach of the Year award. Riding the likes of Goran Dragic - as well as talented-yet-flawed players like Hassan Whiteside and Dion Waiters - the Heat finished the season with the NBA's fifth-best defensive rating.

Spoelstra seemed so taken aback that he began his postgame news conference with 20 seconds of silence Wednesday, according to NBC6's Adam Kuperstein.

"Any one of us who wanted to get into team sports, it was to be around a team like this," he said.

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