Brooklyn Nets center Mason Plumlee blocked Miami Heat star LeBron James's potential game-winning dunk, sealing Brooklyn's 88-87 win on Tuesday over Miami. Tuesday's victory also completed a season sweep of the Heat.
James drove to the hoop with seconds left in regulation and Miami down by one point. Plumlee rotated over at the last possible moment and leaped up to contest James's would-be dunk.
The ball didn't make it to the rim, and the officials ruled it a clean block.
James protested to the officials that he was fouled while Brooklyn rebounded and ran out the final seconds of the clock, completing a season sweep of Miami.
The slow-motion replay does appear to show Plumlee smacking James's right hand, which should have been called a foul.
While James clearly didn't agree with the call, he praised Brooklyn after the game for their play.
"They've definitely had our number. That's obvious," James said, via the New York Daily News. "They've slowed us down offensively. They create a lot of matchup problems because they have athletic wings and big wins with (Shaun) Livingston and (Deron Williams) and Paul (Pierce) and Joe (Johnson), so they create a lot of matchup problems and they'be slowed us down, like I said.
"Offensively they've made us think about what we're doing. They turned us over. Last game we played them here we had 17 turnovers, I think for over 20 points, and that was a (problem)."
The loss dropped Miami to 53-24, giving them a half-game lead over Indiana.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, added their third straight win and moved to 43-34.
*Article updated.
