After stealing away home-court advantage in Game 1 of their semifinal series against the New York Knicks Sunday afternoon, the Miami Heat lost their Game 2 bout Tuesday by a final score of 111-105. A close affair from tip-off till the sound of the final buzzer, both clubs fought valiantly, though Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra highlighted one moment, in particular, that he believes to have been pivotal in the game's ultimate outcome.
At around the three-minute mark in the fourth period, with the shot clock winding down guard Caleb Martin hoisted up a shot from beyond the arc in an attempt to beat the buzzer. The attempt ultimately missed, though was rebounded by Gabe Vincent who would swoop up a layup with Miami down 96-99.
Unfortunately for the Heat, the play was called dead due to a shot clock violation, though replays would show that Martin's shot did hit the cylinder which, in turn, should have reset the shot clock to 14 seconds.
Alas, no change was made to the initial call and the Knicks re-gained possession, where they would push their lead to four points on the very next play.
Post-game, Erik Spoelstra shared his thoughts on the matter and noted that while he believes it wasn't a shot clock violation, he holds no ill will toward the officiating team.
“I saw the ball change course of direction from my vantage point but I get it. This game is not an easy game to officiate. It just looked like it took a different course. That would have made it a one-point game. That's an important play. But the officials didn't have anything to with this. We have enough plays to make on our own,” Erik Spoelstra on controversial fourth quarter shot clock violation in Game 2.
Spoelstra would continue on by stating while certain calls going a particular way can make a difference, ultimately, “putting your imprint on the game and taking matters into your own hands” is also a way to “change the course of the result.”
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