MIAMI - The clock was moving to zeroes, the Heat were down a point and LeBron James took the inbounds pass and moved down the lane to win the unwinnable game.
Isn't that it? Hadn't the Heat lost this one? Didn't Indiana's Paul George just stand at the other end of the court, having been fouled by Dwyane Wade, and have three foul shots to win the game.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
Wasn't that it? Well, not quite when you have the best player in the universe on your team. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra smartly drew up a play to put LeBron at the top of the key, and only him, against George. All the other players cleared away, taking the defenders with them.
LeBron didn't need to be told what to do once he got the inbounds pass. He took the ball hard to the basket down the left side to beat George and lay in the winning points in the Heat's 103-102 overtime win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
You wanted playoff basketball back after a long week off.
Did you want indigestion, too?
This is how this night went: Punch. Counter-punch. Heat take a small, second-half lead. Indiana battles right back. Indiana goes ahead. The Heat fight their way back.
One lesson learned is if you give Indiana any room, any room at all, you will pay. Ray Allen, the Heat's best foul shooter, stood at the line with just over 17 seconds left in regulation and a chance to seal the game.
In the previous seconds, Wade ran down the lane to break the tie and Indiana's George threw the ball out of bounds. So here was Allen, ready to seal the game. He put up the first free throw and ...
Missed?
He missed.
He made the second. But then it was George, with seven-tenths of a second left, who answered in the way that tells how these Pacers are tough outs. He sank a 3-point shot to send the game into overtime.
So, in many ways, this first game proved exactly as advertised. It was ugly at times. It was fierce always. And yet there were these surprises from the Heat.
"More energy," Spoelstra said his team needed before the fourth quarter to the TNT camera.
More energy? When they had a week off?
Yet, who could argue after watching the Heat play through much of the night?
"We're beating ourselves, they're not beating us," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said to his team in a timeout huddle late in the third quarter as they clung to a three-point lead.
Who could argue with that, too?
All week long, the Heat talked about coming out strong, about setting the proper tone, about having an edge they didn't in losing the first game to Chicago after a similarly long layoff.
So much for that. You know how Spoelstra talks about the Heat playing to their "identity?" Someone should have demanded proof of ID.
The Heat averaged 13.3 turnovers this regular season. They had 13 at half as they trailed by five points. They lost the ball in every way imaginable and from anyone who played. All nine players who stepped on the court in the first half had at least one turnover.
If it wasn't for a nightmare, things would have been worse for the Heat. Don't worry. That's how Chris "Birdman" Andersen describes his own game.
"I'm a nightmare," he says.
Ask Indiana this morning. Anderson made all seven of his shots, had 16 points, three offensive rebounds and three blocked shots. That's the kind of energetic effort off the bench the Heat needed this night.
Remember, Wednesday night was supposed to be the start, the actual start, of the Heat's playoff push, too. Their first-round opponent, Milwaukee, was the weakest team in the field. Last round, Chicago could barely field a team it was so hurt.
Indiana has enough pieces to be dangerous, if allowed. But if the Heat are who most of us think they are - "We're a great team," LeBron said a few days ago - then Indiana can provide some tense nights without a dramatic series.
All you know is the Heat won an unwinnable game this first meeting. LeBron took the ball to the basket and a night that would have sat ugly for the Heat has them up 1-0. On to Game 2 we go.
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