Miami Heat: 5 Best Games Of The Season
By David Ramil
Dec. 25, 2014 – Cleveland Cavaliers @ Miami – FINAL SCORE: 101-91
This was it, the showdown that Adam Silver, the entire NBA and everyone who’s ever watched basketball on Christmas was looking forward to. During the most dramatic off-season since, well, 2010, LeBron James’ Decision 2.0 wasn’t as controversial this time around.
Outside of South Florida, people gladly accepted the spoon-fed (and false) narrative of James coming home and leaving Wade, Bosh, Pat Riley and everyone else in Miami for a chance to bring a championship to Cleveland.
There’s no denying it hurt and even Miami’s front office, unusually tight-lipped about these matters, has gone on record saying that James’ departure sent them into a panic (one which, to their credit, they bounced back from as well as can be expected).
But what of the human element of leaving your teammates and friends for so-called greener pastures? Wade, as fierce a competitor as ever, certainly wanted to remind James what he left behind.
D-Wade led all scorers with 31 points, and added five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Deng, the man who was slotted to “replace” James, was sensational, providing 25 points along with sturdy defense on James (who finished with 30 points, many of which were scored when the game was well-decided).
It was a redemptive moment for the team and their fans and it lived up to all the hype of the previous few months. When it was all over, the players themselves were friendly toward each other and Miami fans had been very generous in welcoming back James. In fact, the goodwill might have made the game somewhat anticlimactic.
But for Heat fans, they needed to know that, at least once, James was reminded that he might have made the wrong choice last summer.
Next: No. 1 - Victory Over a Familiar Finals Foe