The NBA coach of the year burst through the gym doors after practice Friday, desperate to reverse the direction of his team's playoff series against the Chicago Bulls.
Refusing to let the Miami Heat go quietly, Pat Riley complained about the officiating."We have to beat not only a great Bulls team, but the injustice of what comes with playing championship teams," Riley said.
Chicago takes a 2-0 lead into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals today at Miami Arena, and Riley blamed his team's deficit on bad shooting and bad calls.
The Bulls attempted only three more free throws than Miami in the first two games, but Riley complained about a discrepancy in the way fouls have been called, particularly when Michael Jordan has the ball.
Jordan made 15 of 16 free throws Thursday in Chicago's 75-68 Game 2 victory.
"I don't think Jordan deserved more than five free throws," Riley said. "I thought one time he was going to go to the official and say, `Don't make that call. It's not the right call.' It was embarrassing."
"There is definitely an injustice," Heat center Alonzo Mourning added. "Guys get discouraged. They say, `Can I touch him?' "
Riley said he may send a tape of marginal foul calls against the Heat to NBA headquarters.
"I don't know what's legal anymore," he said. "I've got to call the league office and find out, `What can I say to my players?' I want them to let me know what we can do."
Defense, however, hasn't been the Heat's downfall. Miami has averaged 72.5 points in its two losses - not enough to beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, much less the Bulls.
Thursday's game was the lowest-scoring playoff game since the introduction of the shot clock in 1954. The previous low came in 1955, when Fort Wayne beat Syracuse 74-71.
"It looked like a football game in mud in the middle of November," Bulls coach Phil Jackson said.
In the series Miami has shot 37 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range and 63 percent from the free-throw line. By Riley's count, the Heat missed eight layups and 11 open 3-pointers Thursday.
Tim Hardaway, Miami's All-NBA guard, missed three layups in the first quarter and is 9-for-30 in the series. Defender Ron Harper has made the most of a six-inch height advantage, but Riley said there's more to it than that.
"What he has been able to do is what we haven't been able to do with Jordan - put hands on him and lean on him and put elbows on him," Riley said.
Miami is on a pace to break the league record for the fewest points per game in a playoff series. Cleveland averaged 79.7 in a three-game set against New York last year, and 82.5 in a four-game series against the Knicks in 1995.
The Heat's offensive woes seem to be contagious. Jordan missed 10 of his first 12 shots Thursday, and the Bulls hit only 36 percent for the second game in a row.
"Basketball is not meant to be played like we've played thus far, but we're six games away from the championship," said Jordan, who characterized his latest performance as "doo-doo."
"It's not pretty basketball that we're playing, but it's hard to get upset when you're winning."
Jordan (30 points per game) and Scottie Pippen (23.5) are the only Bulls averaging in double figures against Miami.
"We're not playing five-man basketball," Jackson said. "We're looking for Michael; we're looking for Scottie."
Fatigue may be a problem for the Heat, who were extended to the limit in each of the first two rounds of the playoffs. They're 7-7 in postseason, compared with Chicago's 9-1.
"They do look tired," Jordan said.
The Heat rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat New York in the conference semifinals. But barring a wave of suspensions, the Bulls will be tough to overtake. Their playoff record against Miami is 8-0, and everyone agrees the Bulls have yet to play their best in the series.
"It's annoying to people," Riley said. "They miss the artistry and pageantry and ballet and beauty of the Chicago Bulls, and they don't like it. So we're lousy because we bring them to our level."