The Miami HEAT fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-121 in double-overtime Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. LeBron James led the way for the HEAT with 34 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Ray Allen had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but missed a tough shot.
Impact Performance of the Night: In a double-overtime thriller, Chris Bosh left his best for when it mattered most. Bosh hit two clutch 3-pointers, one near the end of regulation to get Miami within two and another down the stretch of the second overtime to tie the game. He finished the game 8-of-19 shooting for 24 points and also grabbed nine rebounds. None were as big as a rebound he nabbed with just over 30 seconds left in the first overtime that he got two free throws out of. Bosh also played great defense on Kevin Love down the stretch in the two overtime periods.
LeBron James also had a phenomenal game and left it all on the line Friday night. In the third quarter, James really started to make his mark and scored 14 points in the quarter which included a run of 12 straight points. James relentlessly drove to the rim and also played defense on Kevin Love periodically. In all, James finished the game 12-of-24 shooting for his 34 points.
The Deciding Run: After falling behind 93-86 thanks to the shooting of J.J. Barea and Chase Budinger, the HEAT closed regulation on an 11-4 run behind aggressive play from Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers. Chalmers had a chance to put the HEAT up one at the free-throw line, but he missed the first shot before he nailed the second. Kevin Love missed the ensuing 3-pointer on the other end to send the game to overtime.
Play of the Game: With Minnesota down a point, Kevin Love hit a contested 3-pointer from the left elbow off a screen from Ricky Rubio to put the Timberwolves up 119-117 with just under 30 seconds left in the second overtime. Bosh fought through the screen and still made it hard on Love, but it didn’t matter.
Chris Bosh answered back 20 seconds later with a straight-on 3-pointer off the inbounds pass to tie the game at 121. Unfortunately, a tough foul call on Norris Cole on an entry pass put Corey Brewer on the line and he sank one of two to win the game.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 106; Defensive Efficiency: 105.2
Trend to Watch: Mario Chalmers has played great lately and Friday night was one of his best outings of the season. Chalmers was very aggressive and had two great drives down the stretch, one at the end of regulation and another at the end of the first overtime. He was under control all game and was fearless in crunch time which is a good sign heading into the playoffs. Chalmers finished the game 7-of-14 shooting for 24 points and also had six rebounds and six assists.
The Takeaway: This was an absolute thriller. The HEAT raced out to a few leads in the second and third quarter, but the pesky Timberwolves kept fighting back.
Then the fourth quarter came along and things started to get crazy.
Multiple lead changes in both overtimes had everyone on the edge of their seat and provided a playoff-like atmosphere. Miami put it all on the line Friday night behind James, Bosh, Chalmers and the clutch shooting of Ray Allen, who finished with 10 points on 2-of-6 shooting from downtown. The HEAT played pretty solid defense as well, but the Timberwolves’ shooters were just on-point.
Chase Budinger hit timely buckets and finished with 24 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from three. Kevin Love scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but was relatively held in check by James and Bosh. Ricky Rubio did some damage though, as he put on a passing exhibition dishing out 14 assists to go along with his 13 points.
Notes: Dwyane Wade and Greg Oden sat out with various ailments.
Game Highlights: