The Heat was on Ben Gordon when it counted most.
The Bulls guard had limited touches at the end of the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s frenetic playoff game at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Despite scoring a career playoff-high 35 points, Gordon couldn’t help the Bulls steal Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series, and the Heat prevailed 111-106.
“It was really tough to get an open look or even get a lane to go and get the ball,” Gordon said. “They did a great job of keeping the ball out of my hands.”
Coach Scott Skiles concurred the Heat effectively denied Gordon shots at the end of the game.
“I know a lot of people think it’s easy to just get the ball to a guy when the other team knows who you’re going to. Sometimes it’s not that easy,” Skiles said.
“There’s no question our guys are still learning. They have gotten better, even in the last month or six weeks in recognizing a hot hand and getting the ball to that guy. We are clearly not a finished product when it comes to that, that’s for sure.”
Gordon, who shot 12 of 23 from the floor, including 5 of 10 three-pointers, gave the Bulls a 91-87 lead with two free throws midway through the fourth.
“I thought we did a great job at the end of finally closing down and forcing some misses,” Miami coach Pat Riley said. “The Bulls are a drive-and-kick, pick-and-roll type of team. They can stay with you if they get open shots.”
The Bulls trailed 107-104 when Andres Nocioni missed a potential tying three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.
“It was set up for Andres and they read it well,” Gordon said. “He took a contested shot. But at that point we were just trying to get a shot off so we could get another opportunity at the ball.”
Kirk Hinrich, who scored 19 points but missed a couple of key shots at the end of the game, viewed Game 1 as “a missed opportunity. We just didn’t have enough in the end and made a couple of mistakes.”
After trailing 63-51 at the half, the Bulls put a scare into the sellout crowd of 20,288 and the Heat players. The Bulls outscored Miami 31-24 in the third to pull to within 87-82 going into the fourth. Gordon scored 11 third-quarter points by hitting 4 of 5 shots, including all three of his three-pointers.
“There was no doubt in my mind that we could stay with this team, just because of how hard we play,” Gordon said. “There are no moral victories in the playoffs. We just have to keep working.”
In two NBA seasons, Gordon has earned a reputation for stepping up in big games.
“I just wanted to play my game and play hard,” Gordon said. “I’m just looking to come out and be aggressive.”
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fmitchell@tribune.com
