When Paul Pierce swatted away a Dwyane Wade pass and turned it into a circus and-one layup on the other end to give Brooklyn a 90-89 lead with 4:25 remaining in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night, the Barclays Center erupted.

It appeared as though the Nets were all set to tie the series at two.

Miami Heat v Brooklyn Nets - Game Four

But that marvelous play from The Truth ended up as Brooklyn’s final stroke of luck in Game 4, and the Nets didn’t make another field goal until the final seconds of a gut-wrenching 102-96 defeat to the defending NBA champion Heat. Now the series shifts back to Miami with Brooklyn’s backs against the wall, down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. Following the heartbreaking loss, Paul—who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals—broke down the Nets’ mantra going forward.

“Just one,” the Truth said. “We have to get one game. That’s the mindset.”

Brooklyn saw strong contributions from all of its starters and several reserves in Game 4, but its strong output ran into the buzz saw that is LeBron James. The four-time MVP went off for 49 points on 16-of-24 shooting. As No. 34 said afterward, the Nets simply didn’t do enough to stop the Miami star.

“You can’t allow a player like that to constantly be in the paint all night,” Pierce said. “He did a good job of shrinking the court. We have to do a better job of, when he’s driving the ball, bringing in another man and making him get rid of the ball. Tonight he just forced his way to the hole and we didn’t get in his way, and he got a lot of layups.”

Miami Heat v Brooklyn Nets - Game Four

A bulk of James’ production came down low, leading to 42 points in the paint from the Heat. The Nets were solid in countering with a 44-point effort down low. However, the late-game execution of a Brooklyn team in its first year together didn’t match that of the Miami club that has had its core established for several years.

After enduing foul trouble early, Paul did his best late to bring that clutch play that his defined his game throughout his career. Brooklyn stayed within five points of Miami for almost the entirety of the third quarter but simply couldn’t traverse the hump and take the lead.

However, as the fourth quarter got underway, the Truth came through with an enormous go-ahead play. No. 34 slipped under a screen, grabbed a brilliant bounce pass from point guard Deron Williams, and finished with a two-handed slam over Chris Anderson to pull the Nets ahead, 80-79.

That dunk gave Brooklyn its first lead since midway through the second quarter. Williams then extended the advantage to three when he put back his own miss down low on the Nets’ next possession.

The Heat answered shortly after with back-to-back buckets from James and Mario Chalmers, but Paul was there once again to knot the game back up at 84 with a drive to the hoop for a layup.

Miami Heat v Brooklyn Nets - Game Four

On the ensuing Miami possession, after playing lock-down defense on Wade, No. 34 corralled a rebound and pushed the floor in transition. On the other end, he dished to Shaun Livingston underneath for the go-ahead two.

The Nets held that advantage until just inside the six-minute mark when Miami’s Chris Bosh nailed the first of two key threes on the night. But just over a minute later, Paul answered with clutch a three-point play of his own.

No. 34 deflected an entry pass from Wade and passed to Livingston. The Brooklyn guard shoveled the ball back to Paul, who drove around former teammate Ray Allen and hoisted an off-balance shot over Wade that somehow found nothing but the bottom of the net.

Contact from Wade sent The Truth to the line, where he added the go-ahead free-throw.

As a part of his masterful performance, James had an answer for Paul’s incredible and-one, as he hit a three to give the lead right back to the Heat on their next possession. Joe Johnson then drew a foul from James and tied the game back at 92 with a pair of free throws. Once again, James answered putting Miami back up 94-92, only to see Kevin Garnett knot the game back up at 94 with two hits from the charity stripe.

But after finding themselves tied at 94-94 with the defending champs with 2:30 left, the Nets were unable to create any offense in the waning moments of the game. Johnson and Garnett both took and missed potential go-ahead shots, and Bosh came through with his second clutch three to put Miami ahead for good, 97-94.

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Paul nearly earned the Nets one last chance when he played suffocating defense on James on the next Heat possession, forcing LeBron take an ill-advised shot that fell off the mark with 17.8 showing on the clock. Unfortunately, it was Wade who corralled the offensive board, forcing the Nets into foul mode. From there, the Heat closed out the win at the free-throw line.

No. 34 was tasked with defending James for much of the night, though early foul trouble made that difficult. As a result, the Miami forward attacked the paint, where he converted 12-of-13 shots. From that, the Nets just couldn’t recover.

“He’s tough, especially with his strength and speed,” Paul said of James. “It really took away a lot of my aggressiveness in the first quarter when I picked up two fouls. I was trying not to pick up my third foul during the second quarter, and he realized that and just kept going to the hole. At the end of the day, he’s tough to guard one-on-one. You have to try to slow him down and try to send multiple guys at him and make him kick the ball, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

NEXT UP

The Nets will try to keep their season alive on Wednesday night in Miami when they take on the Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Brooklyn is 2-0 in potential elimination games so far this year and will have to win three more to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

“The series is far from over,” Paul said. “We have to go down there and try to get one game and force the series back home.”

Tip-off of Game 5 is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET, with coverage available on TNT.

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