After enduring a “F*#K YOU CHUCK” chant for about a minute, Charles Barkley finally told the Heat fans how he felt about them.
Apparently, Heat fans are taking it personally that Barkley picked the Bulls in the series. Get over it, people. You already have LeBron and Wade — what else do you want?
Side note: Remember, when taking a video on your iPhone, always hold it horizontally.
Nowitzki went nuts in the fourth quarter to bring the Mavs back — here’s a look.
The Miami Heat are one game away from the NBA Finals after their 101-93 overtime win against Chicago.
The Bulls had their chances in this one, but like the Thunder last night, they just couldn’t get quality looks in crunch time. And for all the (justifiable) criticism that Russell Westbrook has taken over the last couple of weeks, Derrick Rose has really struggled of late, shooting just 33% over the last three games (all losses), including a pretty dreadful 1-for-7, two-turnover effort in the 4th quarter and overtime tonight. He had seven turnovers on the evening.
One could argue that Rose has to play super-aggressive basketball since he doesn’t have someone like Kevin Durant to carry the load, and they’d be right. But the bottom line is that the Bulls aren’t going to win when Rose is only making 33% of his attempts and has more turnovers than assists.
But back to the Heat, who deserve credit for their smothering defense tonight. They forced Rose into all sorts of mistakes and held the Bulls to just 40% shooting from the field.
But the most glaring difference in this game was Mike Miller. He scored 12 points (on 5-of-8 shooting) and gathered nine boards off the bench. He was especially big in the fourth quarter when Miami made its run; he went 4-for-4 (for nine points) to go with three rebounds. That’s the kind of play that Pat Riley envisioned when he signed Miller to a full mid-level deal last summer.
After a Kevin Durant three-pointer with 5:05 to play in regulation, the Thunder led 99-84 and looked destined to tie the series up. But somehow they ended up in overtime — how did that happen?
It was a combination of two factors: 1) Dirk Nowitzki took over offensively for the Mavs, and 2) the Thunder had several poor possessions down the stretch.
Take a look at the Mavs’ final 10 possessions:
4:48 Shawn Marion makes two free throws
4:33 Dirk Nowitzki makes 1 of 2 free throws
4:09 Dirk Nowitzki turnover
3:48 Jason Kidd makes two free throws
3:15 Dirk Nowitzki makes 13-foot jumper
2:11 Dirk Nowitzki makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jason Kidd assists)
2:00 Dirk Nowitzki makes 14-foot jumper
1:25 Dirk Nowitzki makes 5-foot two point shot
0:39 Shawn Marion makes 1 of 2 free throws
0:06 Dirk Nowitzki makes two free throws
That’s 17 points on 10 possessions, or 1.7 points per possession, which is outstanding.
Now, the Thunder’s final possessions:
5:07 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
4:33 Serge Ibaka misses 6-foot jumper
4:20 Russell Westbrook misses 17-foot jumper
3:48 Russell Westbrook lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
3:32 Kevin Durant misses 22-foot jumper
2:49 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:32 Russell Westbrook makes two point shot
2:11 Russell Westbrook misses two free throws
1:38 Russell Westbrook misses 15-foot jumper
1:07 Kevin Durant lost ball (Shawn Marion steals)
0:40 Russell Westbrook misses 16-foot jumper
0:20 Thabo Sefolosha misses 23-foot three point jumper
0:01 Shawn Marion blocks Kevin Durant’s 30-foot three point jumper
That’s two points on the Thunder’s final 13 possessions, or 0.2 points per possession. They went 1-for-11 from the field with two turnovers. Westbrook went 1-for-6 with a turnover and zero assists in the final 5:07. OKC was just unable to get good shots when the Mavs tightened up the defense in crunch time. Durant was getting pushed around while Westbrook was doing his usual dribble-around-and-fire-up-a-shot act.
Overtime was more of the same for OKC. Take a look:
4:26 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
3:54 Thabo Sefolosha makes jumper (Kevin Durant assists)
2:51 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:31 Russell Westbrook step out of bounds turnover
1:54 Serge Ibaka makes 17-foot jumper (Russell Westbrook assists)
1:01 Kevin Durant lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
0:26 Russell Westbrook misses 5-foot running jumper
0:09 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper
Over the final 10 minutes, Russell Westbrook went 1-for-8 with two turnovers and an assist. The turnover in overtime was inexplicable. The ball was tapped back on the Mavs’ end of the court and it hit Jason Terry’s hand as it headed over towards the Dallas bench. Westbrook should have let the ball go, but instead tried to save it. It’s what I like to call “dumb hustle.”
It’s no surprise that Westbrook struggled down the stretch; it has been a common theme in these Playoffs. But Durant was pretty awful too. Here’s his line for the final 10 minutes: 0-for-6 from the field (0-5 3PT), one assist and two turnovers. Combined, the Thunder’s two stars went 1-for-14 from the field with four turnovers and two assists.
And that’s how you blow a 15-point lead with five minutes to play, only to lose in overtime. In total, they were outscored 28-6 over the final 10 minutes.
You may remember Kyle Singler’s first trick shot video. Well, he’s back for more and this time he’s going to get buckets from the top of the Duke chapel.
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