The Miami Heat once again found themselves in a dogfight with the Chicago Bulls in Game 5. After jumping out to a big lead, the Heat fell behind and had to claw their way back to secure a 4-1 series win and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
NBA Playoffs 2013: Wednesday night action in GIFs
Wednesday night saw two teams advance to the conference finals. The Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies took care of business. Here’s what happened, in GIF form.
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The Bulls refused to go down easily and they were led by some ridiculous shots from, who else, Nate Robinson.
And the Heat definitely played their part in letting the Bulls hang around. For example, they let Mario Chalmers take shots.
In the end, all the Heat needed to do was stick to the game plan-- dunks on dunks on dunks.
In the later game, the Oklahoma City Thunder returned home with their backs against the wall, down 3-1 to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies were cruising for much of the first three quarters. They built a substantial lead, powered by this huge dunk from Tayshaun Prince.
But the game turned on a bizarre play. Tony Allen accidentally tossed a t-shirt onto the court while Derek Fisher was taking a three-pointer. The play seemed to spark a run for the Thunder and they were able to close the gap heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Thunder run only lasted so long. And OKC realized just how much it misses Russell Westbrook when Nick Collison tried to score on an isolation play.
It was a close call in the end as Kevin Durant missed a wide open shot to tie the game. But the Grizzlies escaped with an 88-84 win and are headed to the Western Conference Finals.
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