JOSEPH GOODMAN
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SALT LAKE CITY — When LeBron James hit one of the most ridiculously difficult shots anyone in EnergySolutions Arena had ever seen, he spent nearly the entire ensuing timeout jutting his jaw, glaring and generally flexing his brilliance for all to see.
The shot came with 26.1 seconds left and gave the Heat a three-point lead after trailing by as many as 18 points in the third quarter. In other words, James had reason to stomp and celebrate around the court even before the game was over. For that moment, he was confidence and genius and ability personified.
Of course, that shot and that moment are not what the basketball world will be talking about on Saturday and Sunday before the Heat plays the Lakers at Staples Center. The other shot (or lack thereof) will overshadow everything James did on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
The Heat lost to the Jazz 99-98, snapping its nine-game winning streak, after Udonis Haslem’s 18-foot jumper caromed off rim with the 0.9 seconds left in the game. Haslem was wide open thanks to an incredibly creative no-look bounce pass from James. Few will remember it that way, though. The focus will be James’ decision to pass up a chance to win the game.
Less than a week after James deferred in a similar situation and under similar circumstances at the end of the All-Star Game, he did it again against the Jazz. James made 11 of his final 12 shots of the game on Friday, including 8 of 9 in the fourth quarter, to fuel the comeback.
“Man I have a sick feeling in my stomach,” James tweeted less than two hours after the game. “Really wanted tonight’s game. I just had to make one more dang play out there.”
From a simply academic, X’s-and-O’s standpoint, James made the correct play at the end. Paul Millsap shifted over to double-team James after an inbounds pass from Shane Battier and James found the open man, Haslem, who was in one of his favorite spots on the floor, just beyond the free-throw line.
“Josh Howard stayed on my right hand and forced me down and Millsap was at the elbow,” James said. “Knowing the percentages of what [Haslem] shoots from the free-throw line, he got a look at it.
“With him not getting as many looks, that might have played into the fact that he might not have felt comfortable taking it. We got a good look, it just didn’t go.”
So, that was James’ thinking in passing up the potential game-winning shot. Howard, the Jazz’s starting small forward, offered a different perspective after the game.
“I guess he felt there was too much pressure on him,” Howard said.
It will be debated ad nauseum.
Jazz guard Devin Harris set the stage for the dramatic finish when he gave Utah a one-point lead with 4.5 seconds left. He tied the game with a 12-floater while being fouled by Dwyane Wade. Harris swished the and-one free throw to give the Jazz the lead.
The Heat (28-8) called a timeout and drew up a final play for James. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did his part after the game to mute the criticism.
“We don’t want it to become a storyline and we won’t let it,” Spoelstra said. “There will be opinions out there. None of those opinions will matter in our locker room. I’m sure there will be a lot of speculation.”
Dejected, Haslem sat at his locker room for some time after the game.
“Yeah, I was open,” Haslem said. “I had a good look. For whatever reason, I didn’t knock it down.
“I’ve had my opportunities where I’ve made them. Tonight I just didn’t make it.”
Haslem said James made the right play in the final seconds of the game.
“We play as a team; we trust each other,” Haslem said. “We talk about trust. He trusted me tonight to make the shot, and I just didn’t make it.”
For nearly three full quarters, the Heat had absolutely nothing. Its point guards had perhaps their worst games of the season. Teammates argued during the game. Simply put, the Heat struggled without Chris Bosh, who missed his second straight game due to the death of his grandmother.
But then James found his shot and could hardly miss.
He finished with 35 points, including 17 in an awe-inspiring fourth quarter, to go along with 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Before the game, James was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month for February. He also won the award in January.
On Thursday, James had 38 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals in a win against the Trail Blazers and Friday was the first time in James’ career that he went without a turnover in two straight games.
James led the comeback in the fourth quarter with one display of brilliance after another. It climaxed with a hopelessly off-balance 21-footer that somehow found the bottom of the net with 26.1 seconds left. Even James was shocked that the attempt went down and an entire arena stood in bewildered amazement at the shot.
But the Jazz wasn’t done. Al Jefferson tipped in a miss by C.J. Miles to cut the Heat’s lead to 97-96 and Wade left the door open when he missed the back end of a one-and-one with 14 seconds to play.
The Jazz out-rebounded the Heat 50-32, including 23-8 on the offensive glass, and outscored the Heat 29-17 on second-chance points. Utah took a 71-54 lead with 6:09 to play in the third quarter when Gordon Hayward converted a three-point play. Hayward had eight straight points during the stretch and finished with 12 points.
Jefferson led the Jazz with 20 points and Miles had 14 points off the bench. The Jazz built a 17-point lead in the first half, out-rebounding the Heat 29-13. Utah had more offensive rebounds (15) than the Heat had total boards.
Heat guards Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole combined to score five points on 2 of 14 shooting from the field. Chalmers didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. Instead, James played point guard and ran the offense. James was visibly frustrated with Chalmers in the first half and also scolded Dexter Pittman for a silly foul.
The Jazz outscored the Heat 52-38 in points in the paint, including 36-14 in the first half. The only thing that kept the Heat in the game early was the three-point shooting of Shane Battier. He made his first six three-pointers, including five in the first half. Battier finished with 18 points, the most he’s scored with the Heat.
