April 28, 2005, 2OT:
New Jersey Nets 105 Miami Heat 108
“Jason Kidd Era Nets OT playoff basketball” (not copyrighted, so go for it) ended with a 108-105 Nets loss at home in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat. Coincidentally, the TNT broadcast crew of Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, who called Saturday’s 3OT loss to the Bulls, also called the 2OT game against the Heat.
With the game tied at 90, J-Kidd had a chance to win it in regulation with an open three-pointer at the buzzer that wouldn’t go down. As a team, the Nets shot a Gerald Wallace in March-like 3-23 from beyond the arc. Kidd finished with his eighth career playoff triple-double, scoring 16 points, grabbing 16 boards and dishing out 13 assists. To this date, Kidd has 11 playoff triple-doubles, second only to Magic Johnson’s 30.
Thanks to nine points in the first OT from Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade, the Nets found themselves down 99-97 with ten seconds remaining and the ball. Vince Carter missed a three pointer, but Nenad Krstic grabbed the offensive board and the Nets called a timeout with 2.9 seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbound, Kidd passed it across the baseline to Carter for a catch and shoot from the right corner, just inside the arc. The shot bounced around the rim for what seemed like an eternity, before falling in to force double OT. A frustrated D-Wade caught the ball after it went through the Net and spiked the orange sphere off the padding behind the hoop.
Vinsanity had a game high 36 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Heat took care of business in the second OT to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Three days later the eventual NBA champion Heat finished off the sweep.
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