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| There was some contact on the last play of Game 2, but Durant's decision was poor. |
The Thunder were masterfully crafting another chaotic, athletic comeback that, if completed, would probably break the backs of the Heat players for the entirety of the series. Durant was nailing threes with a cold-blooded look to his face that said, "I'm winning this one. Don't even try to stop me." With under a minute LeBron pulled up for a long three-pointer that he missed exactly how we were expecting him to.
So that set up an inbound from the left side right around the corner for the Thunder, and presumably Kevin Durant, to operate. You've got 12.3 seconds, it's last shot time. It's time to either win it, tie it, or flat out lose it because of your offensive execution or lack thereof. But Oklahoma City tried to catch the Heat on a fast one, and this is what happened:
Why did Durant feel it was necessary to shoot that early? Yes, I understand he had caught LeBron napping, but it's Lebron, it's not Boris Diaw or Eddy Curry. This guy is the best perimeter defender in the league and is probably the greatest athlete we've ever seen, and Durant tries to pull a fast one on him? Yeah, it might have ended up with a high-percentage layup, but that's leaves the Heat with 7-plus seconds and a timeout to draw up a game winning play even if you make it. So when LeBron eventually reacted it was of course a tad bit late, but with his strength and quickness it's not hard for him to recover. I agree with the fact that he recovered with some contact, but I honestly don't believe that light contact warrants a foul. People were calling for the refs again for a missed call, but unless Lebron seriously impedes Durant's shot on that play, the refs weren't calling it. It's only a foul in that situation if you basically drag the guy to the ground or slap him so hard the nosebleeds can hear it. Neither of those things happened and Durant got off a decent look nonetheless.
But I'm not here to argue or defend the refs, I don't think Durant's decision was the right one. The desire to get an easy basket is always there, but it's the last play of the game. You have 12.3 seconds, you can calmly receive the ball and feel out the defense for a moment. He should have waited til the clock was in its final seconds before he drove on LeBron and because of LeBron's strength and footwork a pull-up jumper would have been the most efficient play. Or the Thunder could have let Durant use his long arms and quick release to get off a dagger of a three-pointer. Neither of those happened and the Thunder lost the game.
Really they lost this game in the 1st quarter when they found themselves down 18-2. But if they had forced overtime, they would have won. OKC's depth is obviously a problem for the Heat coming down the stretch as Miami has been outscored in the second halves of these Finals by a combined 26 points.
Watch out if the Thunder can ever find their rhythm in the first half, these Miami second half woes might just be the difference in the series.
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