The Miami Heat sent the Charlotte Bobcats fishing, eliminating them in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Lebron James led the Heat with 31 points in Game 4, in which the Heat won 109 to 98. Chris Bosh chipped in with 17 points, and Dwyane Wade added 15 points of his own, despite struggling with foul trouble. Erik Spoelstra and company went for the “sweep the leg” game plan, and it worked.
The Bobcats took the floor without Al Jefferson, their top scorer and rebounder, who was never really even close to 100% health in this series. They led at halftime, 54-52, but the third quarter is where the Heat took over. James banged his right thigh against Bismack Biyombo’s knee in the third quarter, but he stayed in the game, igniting the fans and his team. King James kicked it up a notch in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points, and the Bobcats never came within seven points in the final period. Norris Cole was solid off the bench, coming up with 13 points and 4 assists.
Kemba Walker led the way for the Bobcats with 29 points, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, doing a bit of everything, but he could only do so much. This loss will sweep away the Bobcats era, as they will become the Hornets next year. Charlotte never managed to win a postseason game as the Bobcats; hopefully they’ll do better as the Hornets once again.
One of the highlights of this game came before the tipoff. Just as the Los Angeles Clippers did in their game this past Sunday, the Heat sported their warm-up jerseys inside out to hide the team’s logo to protest the Donald Sterling controversy. Sterling’s comments have undoubtedly left the NBA disgusted. Nevertheless, the NBA players keep their focus on winning the gold.
Now the two-time defending champs are waiting to see who will come out on top between the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets. The Raptors and Nets are tied at 2-2 in their series, which continues on Wednesday, April 30.