The fun, the drama and the series was drained of all juice when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra sat before the Zoom cameras 90 minutes before tip-off and said what we knew he'd say from the time Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo left Game 1 in severe pain.
"Obviously, Goran and Bam will not play tonight," Spoelstra said before the Los Angeles Lakers' 124-114 win.
Just as obviously, the NBA Finals are done, barring some do-you-believe-in-miracles? miracles. Roll the credits. The movie's over. The script went pop like Dragic's plantar fascia and Adebayo's shoulder on Wednesday.
If the Lakers didn't show you in Game 1 how tough their top-end talent is for the Heat even when healthy, they effectively won a seven-game series in another undramatic and anticlimactic game on Friday.
It's not that the Lakers ran away and hid from the Heat in Game 2. They were always just beyond reach, though. The Heat only trailed by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter despite showing the sieve-like defense of the '88 Dolphins.
But the Lakers always felt like they were dangling the Heat by their heels over the volcano, ready to drop them in, no matter how tantalizing the scoreboard made it look. Anthony Davis (33 points) and LeBron James (34 points) were exactly as marketed.
The only parallel game the Heat could draw some karmic hope from was in 1996-97 when Pat Riley had eight players against Michael Jordan's Chicago team that went an NBA-record 72-10 that season. "Why are we even here?" Riley said in the pregame speech.
The difference is the Lakers knew exactly why they were there on Friday. James, chasing his fourth title, and Davis, after his first, weren't going to fall asleep like the Jordan-aires did in the February of a regular season.
If you have the heart to question the Heat, they didn't show enough heart at times this game. They seemed to believe as little as you or I did, especially on defense.
Kelly Olynyk trotted back and got beat by a long, looping pass to Davis for the lay-in plus a foul. Tyler Herro watched Rajon Rondo dribble right by him at the free-throw line for a lay-up. Half-hearted attempts to block out Davis were made.
All that's unacceptable, of course. Udonis Haslem said as much in a timeout huddle in the third quarter, taking over from Spoelstra in the center of the team with a raised voice and unrivaled passion. (Serious question: Why not play Haslem for three minutes _ at least to knock down Davis as he grabbed another offensive rebound?)
The Heat seemed to pick up their energy then. They had a couple of chances to cut into the Lakers' 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Their offense, strong all night, couldn't get those over-the-hump baskets, though.
But all that is picking at nits. It's hard to win a title against a prime-time opponent with a junior-varsity lineup. That's the real crime of the injuries to Dragic, the Heat's leading scorer these playoffs, and Adebayo, who was averaging double-digit points and rebounds.
You can't even talk about this series in the manner you want. Sports is a conversation. Championship games are the height of that. But there's no way to have a fun conversation about this series right now. Even at halftime, the ABC halftime crew had low-watt energy and half-measured thoughts.
Jimmy Butler had 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds at half. Considering James and Davis alternated on him, that's a good night.
"He's leading in points, but he needs to be a little more aggressive," analyst Paul Pierce said. "He needs to have one of those special nights if they're going to win."
Yeah, OK. Like Jordan 63-point special. Like Wilt Chamberlain 100-point special. Come on.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel tried to spin this game. He said these "next-man-up type of teams" present "different challenges."
He said, "Oftentimes these games are more difficult to win. Our guys understand that, and we're going to have to be great tonight to get a W."
W, as whatever. Not as in win. Not this night. Not this series. Not without two of your best players out against these Lakers.
