The NBA playoffs standings has the Miami Heat into the next round after their win against the Brooklyn Nets and now they have won Game 5 and the series 4-1 with a score of 96-94 and LeBron James led the way and now the series is over and Miami is into the eastern conference finals and they will play against the Indiana Pacers or the Washington Wizards.
Ray Allen gave the Miami Heat a two point lead for the first lead since the second quarter for Miami and he got the pass in the corner after Mario Chalmers dished it to him and that was with 30 seconds left in the matchup. Joe Johnson had a hot game and he put the score back to two after the Miami Heat took a four point lead and he cut it to just one with 10 seconds left and that gave Miami the ball again. LeBron James missed one free throw with the team up one and that allowed the Nets to get another chance with the lead at two after James hit the next shot.
The Heat made 8 of 13 threes in the fourth quarter when Ray Allen put that shot in and while the timing was different, it mirrored what he did in Game 6 of the finals last season. The Nets tried to respond after the three from Allen and they couldn't tie up the game and they were forced to foul Chris Bosh after he grabbed it and that was with 22 seconds left on the clock in the game.
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James had great games for the Miami Heat and they continued to hit big shots down the stretch, including James, who was able to get the lead to just one point. The Nets put up a three with under a minute left and they couldn't hit that shot and Miami was able to storm back in the fourth quarter and outscored the Nets in that frame after they were knocked back 27-19 in the second quarter.
The Miami Heat cut the lead down from seven to three with 1:12 left in the game and LeBron James took the ball hard to the hoop and was fouled and that allowed the Heat to cut it to one after he made both shots and James had 14 points and nine rebounds at that point in the fourth quarter. The Nets had the lead coming down the stretch and they had no margin for error with the team down 3-1 in the series.
Joe Johnson had over 30 points in the game and Kevin Garnett grabbed some big rebounds down the stretch, including a clutch offensive rebound with less than a minute to go in the game. Mario Chalmers had a big shot at the end of the game as well and he has shown that he is an important role player for Miami. The Nets came into the game after losing the last matchup at the end and that game saw James score 49 points and he has been stellar for the defending champions and he is the main reason why they are where they are in the postseason.
The Nets went a stretch of over four minutes without scoring and that was the biggest difference in the game and with under a minute left it seemed like Miami could do no wrong. The Nets had some chances down low, but they were not able to convert in the paint and that allowed Miami to take the lead late, allowing the Heat to go on a 12-0 run over the last stretch and that was what put the game away.
Check here for the standings and scores for the NBA playoffs.