Unbelievable. I am going to start this article by saying that I am a massive Miami Heat fan. Objectivity is hard - however, I will do my best.
The Miami Heat, for anyone following this season, have been nothing short of abysmal, with a record that lands them 14th in the Eastern conference and no chance of making it to the playoffs, failing some miracle. The Heat definitely fell off from their championship pedigree and yet Pat Riley has taken very little criticism. However, with the Heats all time greatest player, Dwayne Wade in Chicago, it could be argued that the Heat would be a better team with at least a chance for playoff contention so maybe he is to blame.
The Juggernaut
The Golden State Warriors are in a completely different position. This team just came off a 73 -9 season, which is the greatest regular season record of all time for anyone who somehow missed it. They then added the 2013-14 MVP and the man who could go down as one of the greatest scorers and players ever, Kevin Durant. Any odds makers would book it right now that this team is a lock for the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This same team is 1st in the NBA in almost every important statistic and have the league's best record again, they also came into this game 7-7 defeating the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Cleveland Cavaliers, therefore the match seemed to be a forgone conclusion.
David vs Goliath on steroids
It is a league wide known fact that the only way to beat the Warriors is to go at them early. The Heat did just that, scoring the first four points of the game and continuing to apply the pressure early on which lead them to a 9 point lead. The normally tame Heat fans were definitely into this match, especially as there has been so little to cheer about this season.
The Warriors explosive offense instantly erased this lead, as is now expected of this team, and although the Heat shot over 50 percent, they ended the first Quarter down 2. Those fast break buckets just create so many opportunities for the high-powered offense.
Even MVP's can bleed?
The ultimate underdogs known as the Miami Heat managed to keep the game close in the second quarter, and the Warriors could not seem to break away from arguably the worst team in the league this year.
The Miami squad showed a lot of heart and had some nice highlights around the rim. Both teams shot awfully from behind the arc however with Miami shooting 4-17 and GSW only making an uncharacteristic 20% leading to a low scoring affair at the half. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant did not impose their dominance like you would expect.
Wade County to... Waiters County?
In the third quarter both teams came alive, the Warriors are infamous for blowing teams out in the 3rd quarter. Not this time though thanks to a man by the name of Dion Waiters, the team rallied behind him and they kept pace throughout the quarter which lead to Warrior frustration, by the end of the third the Warriors were actually down 77-73.
Of course, the Warriors would end up going on their run and once again erased the lead The Heat had made. Thanks to a continued effort on defence, and a few key three-pointers the Heat actually ran the score up and lead the stunned Warriors by ten with just 5 minutes remaining.
The star studded team made sure to bring the game back within two with just a minute and a half remaining. The Heat does not have a star player to speak of barring Hassan Whiteside, who certainly is not their clutch player. However, they do have Dion Waiters, who showed how cold-blooded he was with a big shot to give them the lead. The game was then tied in the dying seconds, and who else but Dion again would take the last shot?
He calmly sizes up Klay Thompson and makes a heavily contested 3 point shot to ice the game! After a missed heave by Curry the fairy tale story was complete. It may be a long time before the Heat become a championship team again, but this moment will leave Heat fans buzzing for weeks to come.
