Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals; Again launch a late surge to beat Chicago Bulls 83–80 – part 2
Link for Part – 1: http://www.senore.com/Miami-Heat-reach-the-NBA-Finals-Again-launch-a-late-surge-to-beat-Chicago-Bulls-8380-part-1-a71715
The teams came out after the interval all charged up. As has been a trend this series, both Miami and Chicago focussed on defence and the third quarter turned out to be low scoring one. However, the Bulls had a 10 – 2 charge that
gave them another twelve point lead with around 4 minutes remaining, but, once again Miami Heat fought back. Miami responded with an 11 – 3 run and ended the quarter at 57 – 62, behind by only 5 points.
The Bulls kept adding to their lead in the final minutes of the game as Miami seemed to slow down in the face of a gritty defence. With just around three minutes left in the game, a Ronnie Brewer free throw restored Chicago’s 12
point advantage. However it all went downhill from there as the Heat went on an 18 – 3 run to end the game, and the series.
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James took over for the Heat and Derrick Rose fell apart, resulting in a huge come from behind win for Miami. Wade got the ball rolling with two quick shots before LeBron James hit one from downtown to cut
the gap to five. In between, Derrick Rose turned the ball over once and committed a shooting foul. He hit a turnaround jump shot afterwards but that turned out to just be a consolation.
Rose’s misery continued when he fouled Wade on a 3-pointer, resulting in a 4 point play. He then missed another jumper and saw James grab the rebound to score a three on the other end that levelled the scores. Another turnover
from Rose led to Miami going ahead and he proceeded to miss the free throw that would have tied the scores with 26.7 seconds remaining. To add insult to injury, LeBron James blocked Derrick’s 3-point attempt at the death to seal the win for the Miami Heat.
Derrick Rose was visibly distraught after the game and accepted all the blame, saying, "At the end, it's all me, Turnovers, missed shots, fouls. The series is over."
It wasn’t just Rose though, Chicago shot poorly as a team. They were just 35.8 percent from the field, meaning that holding Miami to 39.4 percent gave them no advantage. Chicago were better on the boards, winning that battle 45-42
and they forced 17 turnovers from the Heat compared to 10 of their own.
However, it was once again their struggles on offence, especially late in the game that cost Chicago dearly. Their coach said afterwards that his team maybe suffered due to inexperience and hinted that he was already looking forward
to next season,
"I do think experience helps," Coach Tom Thibodeau said. "That being said, all these games came down to the end. ... Tonight, we had the lead and we couldn't hold onto it. Hopefully, we learn from that, move on. I think you use
this experience to drive you so you can improve for next year."
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