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Shortly before taking off for Indianapolis, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he was still unsure whether Chris “Birdman” Andersen would be traveling with the team for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Soon after, the team confirmed he did, in fact, make the trip. But his playing status remains uncertain.

Spoelstra also said Heat guard Ray Allen was receiving treatment after getting hit in the hip area in Game 4. Allen also traveled to Indianapolis for Game 5.

Andersen missed the Heat’s 102-90 win on Monday with what the Heat termed a “thigh bruise.” He’s also been dealing with soreness in his foot in recent weeks, but Spoelstra said Tuesday the injury that sidelined Andersen was relatively new.

“This is when he and Dwyane [Wade] collided on that one possession and he came up limping in the first half. He was able to play through it in the second half, so this is something different. He’s the human bruise. He has a lot of different things going on all over his body, but he’s been able to play through all of that. He’s a tough guy. We all know that. He plays through pain, but you have to understand the difference between pain and an injury. This is something, you have no mobility in your thigh from a deep contusion, you can’t play even though you think you might be able to.”

With Andersen out in Game 4, the Heat started Rashard Lewis in place of Udonis Haslem, who came off the bench in Andersen’s role. Lewis went scoreless for the second straight game, but he contributed defensively, pressuring Pacers forward David West. Lewis finished with a plus-14 and earned praise from Spoelstra immediately after the game.

“Right now, I’m so focused and locked in on trying to contain David West and speed the game up and try to get easy baskets,” Lewis said late Monday night. “I thought he had a pretty good game tonight, but I was going to make him earn it…Coach told me [Monday] morning at shootaround jus for the fact that Chris Andersen didn’t play. We needed a backup center to come off the bench, which is [Haslem]. We decided to put me in the starting lineup and bring UD off the bench because obviously we needed a backup center.”

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