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| LeBron James is one loss away from another ring-less season after Miami lost Game 5 to Boston. (Getty Images) |
MIAMI -- The white T-shirts slogged out of AmericanAirlines Arena -- more than a few beginning the trek home with nearly a minute remaining on the clock -- stunned into a lethargic blob even with the high-energy club music that kept beating until well after the final buzzer. So many things wrong with that picture.
So many little things wrong in this one.
The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 94-90 to win Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night, withstanding the return of Chris Bosh to steal the first road win of the series in a game that didn't open up until the fourth quarter.
The Heat dropped Game 4 in Boston on Sunday after going 0 for 2 on potential game-winners. They didn't get that close on Tuesday, held at bay down the stretch by a Celtics offense that kept scoring, but also held back by a series of mistakes and an inability to get LeBron James involved in the game's most critical moments.
"Nobody feels great about it tonight," a visibly drained Heat coach Erik Spoelstra admitted afterwards.
If Game 4 was frustrating for Miami, Game 5 was deflating torture. This wasn't a nuclear meltdown but a slow drip -- costly minor mistakes adding up to create an endgame sequence in which the Heat simply ran out of time.
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Heat guard Mario Chalmers left a point on the board in the third quarter, missing a technical foul free throw after Celtics forward Brandon Bass slammed the ball to the hardwood. Chalmers gave away another point by drawing a technical foul with 2:32 remaining in the fourth, giving Boston an 82-80 lead.
Even the Heat highlights ended with misfortune. Dwyane Wade executed a sensational block of a Bass dunk try, rising high and timing it perfectly to swat the attempted stuff at the rim. But Celtics guard Rajon Rondo dug out possession, finding Mickael Pietrus wide open in the corner for a 3-pointer that cut a six-point Miami lead in half.
"I thought the play Rondo made for us was absolutely sensational to get MP the one three," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Rondo not only saved it but he saved it towards one of our shooters. I thought maybe that was the biggest play of the game."
"Dwyane made an unbelievable block on Brandon Bass, one of the all-time great blocks," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "You make an incredible effort and you can't close off the possession. It becomes a deflating play for us. That summed up our night."
That might have seemed like merely a bad break for Miami. But then it happened again. Minutes later, Pietrus hit another three with no defender in sight, fed this time by Celtics forward Paul Pierce. The triple put Boston ahead 85-83 with 2:11 remaining; the Heat wouldn't lead again.
In between, Rondo secured another offensive rebound and putback, two more points Miami gave up down the stretch without so much as troubling Boston.
"The game came down to some offensive rebounds and some loose balls that led to open shots for them," Wade said. "They beat us to the 50-50 balls and that was the difference."
"It's just the will," Rondo said. "I think I just try to find a way to get us the will to win."
As Boston piled its points with steady guile, Miami degenerated into a one-man show after plenty of the same old bad habits re-surfaced for the Heat: role players missing open jumpers, the stars standing and settling too often, turnovers and low-percentage shots killing possessions. Boston switched in and out of zone to discourage Miami to avoid paint penetration.
With James shooting 1 for 9 during the third quarter, Wade took the mantle of primary playmaker during the fourth, scoring 14 points of his 27 points in the final period.
But that approach left James spotting up on the perimeter or struggling to get free while rolling to the hoop. James' only points in the final eight minutes of a back-and-forth game came courtesy of a free lay-up that Boston, ahead by four with nine seconds left, conceded so as not to foul. The points were a gift to a man in desperate need of them. They were also a tease, as Celtics forward Kevin Garnett hit two ensuing free throws to finish off the win. The NBA's MVP managed to get to the foul line just twice in the fourth quarter. His only field goal attempt besides his final minute gimme lay-up was a contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, which rimmed off.
James finished with a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds but he posted just two assists to three turnovers in 45 minutes. He looked either tired or less than fully engaged on crucial late offensive possessions. He didn't check out. But his switch wasn't flipped all the way on, either. Miami needed him.
Instead, the closing minutes saw Chalmers and James Jones both miss late threes. The Heat finished 3 for 11 outside the paint in the fourth quarter.
"They made us stagnant offensively and got stops," James said. "We couldn't get anything to go offensively."
That stagnancy was the opposite of Miami's early offense, which was more active and benefited from the return of Bosh, who played limited minutes off the bench but was able to spark the crowd with an offensive rebound and putback. Spoelstra elected to sit Bosh, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes, in the fourth quarter.
"I didn't think it would necessarily be fair to him to throw him in with three minutes to go," Spoelstra explained.
"I was ready," Bosh said. "If he felt it wasn't fair, then that's great. I think we still had enough to win the game."
Ready or not, Bosh didn't move like himself. He was effective but far from 100 percent. Boston made a strong third quarter push with him on the court so it wasn't an egregious decision to leave him on the bench. But perhaps the floor-spacing and vision that Spoelstra has so enthusiastically praised over the last two weeks could have been helpful during the late-game slow down. And what does "fair" have to do with anything?
The technical fouls, the offensive toil, the step-too-late energy plays, the standing and watching, the absence of Bosh. They all combined to let Boston hang around, but there was one last miscalculation that sealed it.
With just under a minute remaining, James switched on to Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who worked the shot clock outside the 3-point line. Anticipating a drive, James edged off ever so slightly, giving Pierce just enough daylight to drain a 3-pointer right in his face. The shot put Boston up two possessions.
"You kind of play on instincts," Pierce, who finished with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, said. "I saw him back up. He gave me a step. I knew it was within my range. The shot clock was winding down. Just took a shot. That's just being in those moments so many times an understanding what your team needs."
He continued: "I thought that was the best shot. Once I saw him back up, then I was able to knock it down."
Why back off? James was not in foul trouble. One of the league's elite perimeter defenders didn't need to worry about Pierce, playing at less than 100 percent, taking him hard off the dribble. Anyway, the Heat's team defense was assembled behind him. There was no good reason to grant daylight. And yet it happened.
It was one final, minor error. A play that was off by a fraction. But there were just too many plays that were off, just too many decisions that were lacking. Just too much playing back on the heels or with feet flat.
"I never thought we would be in this situation," Wade said of Boston's series lead. "We have to play a great Game [6], as close to perfection as possible."
There are just so many small things to get right and so little margin for error. Perfection seems so far away.
