The numbers for LeBron James on Thursday night were bad enough, but even they don’t tell the whole story. James finished the game with 24 points on 7-24 shooting. Of those seven shots that went in, none came from further than about two feet from the basket. It wasn’t that his shot selection was terrible for the most part, he just couldn’t buy a bucket.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade Have Forgettable Fourth Quarter In Miami Heat Loss
Observe, if you will, LeBron’s shot chart from the Heat-Knicks game.
If James was playing power forward down the stretch, it didn’t show. In the fourth quarter, when the Heat struggled most, it was James bringing the ball up the court, running the offense and generally playing on the perimeter. With his shots not falling, until the end when he hit a few layups, the Heat offense sputtered as the Knicks rallied back in a hurry.
It wasn’t just LeBron responsible for the collapse. Dwyane Wade went from white-hot to ice-cold in the fourth as he became a non-factor down the stretch. Wade missed all seven of his shots from the floor and hit only one of four free throws in the quarter. After scoring 33 points in the first three quarters, it was like someone hit the brakes and put a lid on the bucket for Wade.
Without a scoring option, Miami was powerless to answer the Knicks rally, and paid the price in the end because of it. Some of it was poor shooting, some was horrendous shot selection, but it all added up to a loss after sprinting out to a commanding lead in the first three quarters.
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