Basketball:The stage was set, the script all but written, personalized for LeBron James. All the Miami Heat needed late Tuesday, with the score tight and Russell Westbrook driving down their throats, was a timely play or two.
But James was stuck to the bench, his right leg aching, his face scrunched in pain and frustration. In these critical final seconds, the Heat needed a substitute closer. So while James watched and fidgeted, Mario Chalmers stepped into the gap and delivered perhaps the biggest shot of his career, a driving layup that helped the Heat put away a 104-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and seize a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals.
James stands one victory from his first championship, although he could hardly stand at the end. Miami can clinch the title on Thursday night. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals and won the title, in 30 tries. Chalmers finished with 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the Heat hold on after another wild game. James had 26 points and 12 assists before his leg seized up late in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade added 25 points. Miami coach Eric Spoelstra said that James was suffering from leg cramps. “He was playing at an incredible pace and intensity level,” Spoelstra said.
Westbrook dazzled all night, scoring a career playoff high 43 points. He was as aggressive as he was efficient, going 20 for 32 from the field. “It really doesn’t mean nothing,” Westbrook said. “We didn’t come out with the win.” Kevin Durant added 28 points, but he missed a late 3-pointer, then swung his arm in disgust. “Russell is a winner,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “That guy competes every time. He’s all about the team. He cares about his teammates. I’m proud of the way he played. Quite frankly, I’m proud of the way our team played.”
As in every game in this taut series, no lead was safe. The Thunder took a 17-point lead in the first quarter, lost most of it in the second and fell behind by seven in the third. The Heat led 90-83 with 7:35 left. That did not last either. Westbrook orchestrated a personal 7-0 run, tying the score at 90-90.
Moments later, James was limping to the bench, favouring his right leg. In his absence, the Thunder took a 94-92 lead. After sitting for just 70 seconds of game time, James trotted back onto the court and promptly hit a straightaway 3-pointer for a 97-94 lead. “LeBron hit an amazing shot coming back from his injury, made a tough three,” Brooks said. “And sometimes you gotta just pat the guy on the back and say, ‘Great shot,’ and move on.”
Wade’s layup made it a five-point game with 2:18 to play. But James’ next three-point try went long for an air ball, and he soon limped back to the bench, with 55.5 seconds to go. For the first time in three games, Durant avoided foul trouble, mostly by avoiding James. Durant opened the game guarding Shane Battier, while Thabo Sefolosha checked James, an implicit admission that the Durant-James matchup was hurting the Thunder. Durant had picked up five fouls in each of the prior two games, and James was a primary cause.
This time, it was James Harden who struggled to contend with James, picking up his third and fourth fouls in quick succession in the third quarter. Harden had a rough night, going 2 of 10 from the field for eight points and four turnovers.
The Game Three defeat left the Thunder a bit irritable. Afterward, Kendrick Perkins called out his teammates for playing “hero ball”. Then Serge Ibaka created a minor tempest when he told the Palm Beach Post that James - contrary to his reputation - is “not a good defender”. James has been named to the NBA’s all-defence team four times.
Confronted with Ibaka’s remarks Tuesday morning, James sniffed, “I don’t really care what he says; he’s stupid.” Other than getting James and Heat fans riled up, the tempest meant little. Fans cheered when Ibaka simultaneously drew a goaltending call and his second foul early on Wade’s driving layup in the opening minutes. The next time Ibaka swatted a Wade attempt, in the second quarter, Wade dropped hard to the court, landing on his lower back and wincing in pain. He stayed down for several minutes but stayed in the game after a timeout.
Westbrook attacked from the opening tip, darting around, through and over the Heat defence, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. The Thunder had a 10-point lead before the game was 4 minutes old, a 17-point lead - their largest of the series - by the end of the quarter. It disappeared quickly. Miami responded with a 16-0 blast, sparked by consecutive Norris Cole 3-pointers, plus driving layups from James and Wade. The Heat tied the score, 35-35, on a Wade 3-pointer, but Miami never got the lead back in the half, and the Thunder took a 49-46 edge into halftime.
As James, Wade and Bosh tried to inch closer to their first title, the man who brought them together two summers ago accepted a rare moment in the spotlight. Pat Riley, the Heat's often-seen, rarely heard-from team president, appeared at a news conference to accept the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, which goes annually to a coaching legend. “It’s good to be back for a minute,” Riley said. It was a subtle acknowledgment of his hermit-like habits. If the Heat find their way to the title, Riley might have to spare another minute to enjoy the ovations.
New York Times Service