Bobcats-Heat / Game 2 Summary

Game 2: Bobcats vs Heat

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This was the closest game of the series.  This was a much closer series than the 4-0 sweep indicates.  Unfortunately, the Bobcats will not get another chance under this team banner.  Next season, the Bobcats will once again become The Charlotte Hornets.
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This game’s first half was looking like a different spin on Game 1.  Center Al Jefferson reinjured his left heel, but still tried to play, although hobbling on just one good leg. The Bobcats committed their league-leading average of 12 turnovers in just one half, which led to 18 Heat points. 

It began to look like a Heat blowout with just 1:40 left in the half, when LeBron James stole an errant pass and broke loose for a slam dunk.  Then a couple of possessions later, a layup finished a 9-0 run by the Heat to go up by 16 at 57-41 with one minute remaining.  However, two 3-pointers by Bobcats guards Neal and Walker closed out the scoring and cut the lead to ten, 57-47, at the half.

The second half began strong for the Bobcats as they scored the first six points to cut the Heat lead to four, 57-53, and continued to keep it close throughout the third quarter.  Several Bobcats players came up big with McRoberts and Kidd-Gilchrist as key contributors. But it seemed that every time that Charlotte would pull almost even with the Heat, either James, Chris Bosch, or another role player would step up with a clutch shot to spoil a Bobcats comeback. 

The Heat went up by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter at 91-77, but the Bobcats came back once again with a 10-0 run to cut it back to an 4-point difference, 91-87,  with under 5 minutes left.  Then, as if it were scripted, Chris Bosch came back with two straight baskets to extend the Heat’s lead to eight.  The lead went up and down by a point or two, until the 1:42 mark, when an Al Jefferson layin cut the lead down to just three at 97-94.  

Neither the Heat nor the Bobcats seemed to want to win the game in the last minute, as Charlotte missed two shots, but Miami turned the ball over twice on an offensive foul and a bad pass. Kemba Walker hit a huge 3-pointer at 12 seconds left, and it was 98-97, the closest score in the second half. James hit two free throws to put the Heat back up three.  With 10 seconds left, Charlotte had the ball and a chance to tie the game, but lost the ball on a steal. 

                       FINAL SCORE:  Miami 101, Charlotte 97