In what shouldn’t be considered too much of a surprise the Miami Heat have advanced to their fourth consecutive Eastern Conference finals after defeating the Brooklyn Nets in Game 5 on Wednesday. But it did not come without controversy…something that has come to define the playoffs this season.
Ray Allen takes over in the final minute to end the Nets' season – http://t.co/aAqkSPRJrW
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) May 15, 2014
Down by one with 33 seconds remaining Heat guard Ray Allen nailed a three pointer to give the defending champs a two-point lead. After a defensive stop and two more Allen free throws, Miami looked ready to seal the deal. It was up by four with just 21.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing Nets’ possession, Joe Johnson nailed a three-point attempt of his own to pull them to within one.
This is when all heck broke out on the court.
LeBron James would make 1-of-2 free throw attempts to put Miami up by two. On the Nets final possession of the game, James seemingly fouled Paul Pierce near the sideline, which would have resulted in two free throws for the future Hall of Famer. The officiating crew failed to call a foul on James, instead deciding to award possession to the Nets after the ball blatantly went off Pierce’s hand. This had “make-up call” written all over it.
As it is, the Nets would fail to even get a shot off as time ran out on the game and their season.
Unlike Tuesday night when horrible officiating may have decided the outcome of a series, the Heat were already in the driver’s seat prior to a string of bad calls by the men in stripes. They are now 8-1 in the postseason and will take on either the Washington Wizards or Indiana Pacers in the Western Conference Finals.
LeBron James finished the game with 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined to tally 44 points on 16-of-29 from the field. For his part James, averaged a whopping 30 points per game.
Photo: Robert Mayer, USA Today