Heat Advances to N.B.A. Finals as James and Wade Have Final Say
CHICAGO — There are perhaps a thousand ways to seize a conference title, but none more emphatic, more authoritative or more vehement than the method LeBron James chose Thursday night to send the Miami Heat to the N.B.A. finals.
Derrick Rose elevated for a series-saving shot at the arc. James leaped with him, then swatted the ball and the Chicago Bulls into oblivion. The buzzer sounded on an 83-80 Miami victory, and James and his teammates began a subdued celebration, having claimed the Eastern Conference crown in five games.
“There’s no sense of relief right now,” James said. “We still got work to do.”
The Heat will battle the Dallas Mavericks in the finals, in a rematch of the 2006 series, which Miami won. The series begins Tuesday in Miami.
I expected the Heat to advance, but I am surprised at how the Western Conference playoffs went. When the Heat finally clicked and began playing well together towards the end of the regular season, you could see that they were a force to be reckoned with.
I’m thinking the Heat will win in 6.