Saturday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls underscored an issue that has effectively crushed the Miami Heat’s chances of escaping the play-in tournament and could have an even darker impact if gone unchecked.

The Heat have lost 10 of their last 14 games, all after the trade deadline. As such, Miami has slipped to ninth place in the East, six games behind the No. 6 seed Detroit Pistons.

Even more frustrating is the fact that the Heat have blown a fourth-quarter lead in seven of their last eight losses and in a total of 14 losses this season.

The Heat have blown a double-digit lead in 16 losses this season, second behind only the Utah Jazz (17).

Hold onto even half of those fourth-quarter leads, and the Heat would still be in striking distance of the No. 6 seed and avoiding the play-in tournament altogether.

So what’s going on in these fourth quarters, and is there a way for Miami to fix it?

“If we knew, we would do it,” Tyler Herro said after Saturday’s loss. “I’m not really sure how to get over that hurdle right now. But just continuing to stick with it.”

Here are a few stats that help explain Miami’s issues and could provide a point to troubleshoot.

1. Over the last 15 games, the Heat have been outscored by a total of 82 points in the fourth quarter – the worst mark in the league.

2. They have made just 25% of their 3-point attempts, 30th in the league during that span.

3. Meanwhile, opponents have shot closer to the league average at 36.1% from 3-point range.

4. The Heat have also committed 55 total turnovers in their last 15 fourth quarters (including four in Saturday night’s loss), which ranks 23rd in that span.

5. The Heat have a fourth-quarter defensive rating of 118.8 in their last 15 games despite ranking 10th in total defensive rating, at 112.2, in that span.

Let’s go back to the 3-point shooting numbers. Is this as simple as bad 3-point shooting luck in the game’s most important moments? Take Saturday for example. The Heat missed 10 of their 11 3s in the fourth, including Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson going an uncharacteristic 0 for 6 from distance. The Bulls went a ho-hum 3 for 11, but that was enough to give them the edge in a game decided by five points.

In Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Heat went 3 for 8 on 3s while Minnesota went 4 for 9. Again, not a dramatic difference, but enough to swing a 106-104 Timberwolves win.

In Wednesday’s loss in Cleveland, the Cavaliers shot 57.1% from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, while the Heat shot 37.5%. Not a bad shooting performance for Miami, but Cleveland caught fire.

But nothing everything can be contributed to make or miss. The Heat need to do a better job of controlling the controllables. The turnovers, for instance, need to be cleaned up.

6. Plus, opponents are making 57% of their 2-pointers against the Heat over the last 15 fourth quarters – the league’s 10th-worst mark in that stretch. That includes opponents making nearly 69% of their shots within 6 feet of the basket. Miami’s rim protection and point-of-attack defense needs to be better.

Kel’el Ware’s three-game absence hasn’t helped. The Heat have been forced to go small with Kyle Anderson as their backup center while he’s been sidelined. Ware was on a loose minutes restriction on Saturday and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The Heat should consider closing with him when his minutes restriction is lifted.

But the Heat will need more than a healthy 7-footer. Rotations haven’t been as crisp. Transition defense not as urgent. When defenders get beat on the perimeter, Miami’s backline needs to help more aggressively.

Fatigue could be a factor. It’s been a physically and emotionally exhausting season for the Heat. Bam Adebayo and Herro are averaging more than 36 minutes per game over the last 15 games.

But the bottom line is: The Heat need to play better.