Udonis Haslem’s fire continues to ignite Heat, remains a leading man in NBA playoffs

Friday night offered the answer why.

Why a player who played just 44 minutes all season remains in a Miami Heat uniform. Why a 40-year-old whose box score presence has come to be defined by “Did Not Play — Coach’s Decision” continues to stand as the coach’s ultimate support system. Why the oldest remaining player in the NBA’s Disney bubble cast himself front and center by what he did behind the scenes in the victory that put the Heat up 3-0 on the Milwaukee Bucks.

All by playing 0:00.

“UD was really the one that was controlling the huddles,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Heat captain Udonis Haslem in regard to the Heat’s 40-13 fourth-quarter brutalization of the Bucks in Friday night’s 115-100 Game 3 victory.