After a loss to the New York Knicks earlier in the week, the Miami Heat suffered its second consecutive loss in a 104-95 defeat to the Brooklyn Nets. The game went into double overtime.
Lebron James fouled out during the first overtime, and after the game he said the team fought hard, but couldn’t overcome the absence of Dwayne Wade and a couple of other starters.
“We’re a no-excuse team,” he said, “But right now we have three starters that didn’t play. Even though we’ve got a lot of depth, it is hard to make up for three starters being out.” James ended up with 36 points and five assists before fouling out.
King James also got into a heated exchange with Mirza Teletovic, when the Nets forward intentionally grabbed him to slow down one of his one-man-fast breaks. Afterwards, James charged at Teletovic, but both teams broke it up before things could escalate. “He went around my neck. It’s not a basketball play,” James would later say about the foul, which was later deemed a flagrant one.
Amazingly, the Brooklyn Nets have won their last five games, and Shaun Livingston, who helped his team with strong defensive play and a couple of blocked shots, said the team is doing the best it can to capitalize off of the momentum. “[Our win], it was huge,” he said. “We’ve obviously been playing better as of late. I think our momentum that we were carrying into this game, we’re trying to ride that wave.”
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said even though James fouled out, he didn’t believe it meant an automatic loss for the team, since other players, namely Norris Cole, really stepped it up. “They made bigger plays going down the stretch in the overtime,” said Spoelstra. “When we pushed it to that point, even with LJ out, we thought we had a chance. Guys really competed down the stretch.”
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