Lebron James finally stepped up to the plate when it mattered the most.
Entering the 4th Quarter somebody needed to step up big for the Miami Heat and take over. Lucky for them, they have a couple of guys who can do that. In Game 2, it was Lebron.
Lebron scored 9 pts in the 4th Quarter, with 2 of the shots being huge for Miami. With 4:28 left in the game, the scored was all knotted up at 73 a piece. Lebron hit a 3 pt shot, and followed it up with another jumper after a missed shot by Luol Deng, to put the Heat up 78-73 with 3:15 to go in the game. That type of dominance in the 4th Quarter is what they need from Lebron. Often times we've seen him get passive when the game is on the line, passing the ball rather than taking a shot. Not in this game, he fired at will, and lead the Heat to victory and even the series up at 1-1.
Don't get me wrong, Dwayne Wade also had some huge plays as well. Coming up huge on the defensive end when it counted the most. Wade took the task of guarding Rose most of the 4th Quarter, and came up with a big block when Rose attempted a 3 pt shot with 1:31 remaining in the game. That turned into a Lebron jumpshot, and a 4 pt swing that put the Heat up by 9 with :47 seconds left. Wade ended up with 24 pts, and 9 rebounds.
The Heat also got a great sign of encouragement when Udonis Haslem stepped on the floor and played extremely well. Haslem who had only played 4 minutes in Game 1, got 23 big minutes in Game 2, and he came up huge for them. Haslem ended up with 13 pts on 5-10 shooting, and added 5 rebounds, 3 of those being offensive rebounds. His hustle and attitude was a great spark for the Miami bench that has been anything but terrible.
Was Game 2 a display of bad offense for the Bulls, or just really good Miami Heat defense? I'm still trying to figure it out. The Bulls ended up shooting 28-82 from the field, an awful 34.1%, and also shot 16-26 from the line. Like I said, I'm not sure if the Heat defense caused all those misses, or if the Bulls were just cold all night, but you can't afford to miss 10 free throws in a tight game. Look at the difference of the score 85-75....10 pts. Free throws are crucial in playoff basketball, and you can't win giving away that many free points, especially when you aren't hitting shots from the field.
The Bulls offense looked stagnant most of the second half, and looked as if Derrick Rose was pressing on offense. Give the Heat credit, they were forcing Rose and company to take more jumpers than easy layups. It doesn't help that Carlos Boozer was a no show on the offensive end scoring only 7 pts, and shooting just 3-10. Luol Deng also had a bad shooting night, going 5-15 from the field, and 1-7 from the 3 pt line. And Kyle Korver shot 1-7. from the field, and 1-5 from behind the 3.The Bulls have got to get some shots to fall from behind the arc to help spread the floor, and relieve some pressure off Rose.
Going back to Miami for Game 3 the Heat have a chance to go up 3-1 if they can win both of their home games, and swing the momentum towards their direction.
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