The 2014 NBA Playoffs continued on Wednesday, May 14 with two teams fighting to continue their seasons. The task at hand was surviving road games against the defending champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.
Two elimination games, two eliminations.
The two games played out differently, but the end result was the same. There was a fourth-quarter comeback and another clutch 3-pointer from an NBA legend, while another squad won with help from its unsung heroes.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Dwyane Wade put up 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Ray Allen hit a clutch 3-pointer to lead the Miami Heat to a 96-94 series-clinching victory over the Brooklyn Nets. LeBron James stepped up with 29 points and Chris Bosh tallied 16 for Miami, while Joe Johnson dominated for Brooklyn with 34 points on 15-of-23 shooting, but it wasn’t enough.
The Heat are the first team to make the Conference Finals in four straight seasons since the Detroit Pistons did it in six straight appearances from 2003 to 2008.
2. Last night marked the 13th time that LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh combined for at least 70 points in a playoff game. The Heat are 13-0 when that happens.
3. The Nets are the first team in NBA history to earn a 4-0 regular season sweep of a team and then lose a series against that very squad in the postseason.
4. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard both scored 22 points to guide the San Antonio Spurs past the Portland Trail Blazers 104-82. It was the night of the unsung heroes for San Antonio, with Green and Leonard shining, and Patty Mills adding 18 points off of the bench.
With the win, the Spurs make their ninth Conference Finals appearance of the Tim Duncan era—1997-98 to 2013-14. The next-in-line is the Los Angeles Lakers with eight.
5. Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have won 109 career playoff games as a trio. That’s second all-time behind Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bonus Fact: Tony Parker left the Spurs’ victory with a hamstring injury after playing just 10 minutes of action. He didn’t return.