MIAMI, November 9 The Miami HEAT had this one in the bag. Up 19 at the half and eight with 37.3 seconds to play, this had all the makings of the standard NBA formula.
Utah, shooting below 30 percent for much of the first half, would make their eventual run as the percentages returned to the mean. They would close the lead to five or six, expend most of their energy, and then the home team would counter and run away with it, perhaps with a triple-double performance like LeBron James (20 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds) leading the way. It happens on a weekly basis in the league, and this game didnt appear to be any different.
Only, Miamis 116-114 loss in overtime was. So, so was.
After Dwyane Wade (39 points) hit two free throws with 37.3 to play, the HEAT were up eight after withstanding a furious Utah inside attack (56 points in the paint) and the first third quarter of the season which they failed to win.
Then things got weird. First, Paul Millsap (career high 46 points) hit the third three-pointer of his career on the ensuing play, followed by a 1-of-2 from Carlos Arroyo at the line and a quick three from Deron Williams.
Two free throws later, the HEAT are still up five, now with 19.3 seconds to play. Then Millsap hit another triple, answered with another pair of free throws from Arroyo. That makes it a two-possession lead for Miami with 10.1 seconds remaining.
Most NBA games are over after the preceding three paragraphs, but Millsap went right back to the same spot on the right wing for his third three of the night to make it a one-point game. Miami missed two of its next three free throws and, just for good measure, Millsap putback a missed C.J. Miles three at the buzzer to force overtime, where Utah eventually prevailed despite 10 points from Wade in the extra period.
A few nuggets about that fourth quarter: Millsap was 2-for-20 from the three-point line for his career before Tuesday, and all three of his triples were assisted by Deron Williams, who fouled out just before overtime but whose creation undoubtedly saved the game for the Jazz. And lastly, Utah coach Jerry Sloan saved three timeouts, a full and two of the 20 second variety, for the final 40 seconds of regulation something seen less than it may seem.
This is all without mentioning that the game was decided when Utah responded to Wades game-tying three with 17.5 to play with a pair of Francisco Elson free throws, his first two points of the game.
Nothing about this strange sequence of events, however, serves as an excuse for a team that wasnt looking for any.
They started out the third quarter and it was a layup drill. I didnt even recognize our defense, Spoelstra said.
Its not about Millsaps threes, its not about execution at the end. We had every opportunity to take control of that game and we just weren't able to do it.
Were not going to look at the end of the game and say that was the reason why they lost, Wade added.
And certainly credit was due to Utah.
We played a good first half, Utah did a good job of going in the locker room and making adjustments, Wade said. I think we panicked a little bit as a team, as a group.
They just kept fighting, the ball bounced their way and they came up with a victory.
A loss that, contrary to what the reaction may be, matters less in the short term, negatively, than it could mean, positively, in the long term. Because no matter how veteran or talented a team may be, a group new to one another will always need repetitions in moments, however strange, such as the ones on Tuesday.
The positive thing is these games build toughness, and we will learn a lesson from this. At some point in the year, it will stay with us to the point where we do put a team down or close them out when were able to get ahead, Spoelstra said.
Well respond to it, its just painful to go through it.