In about the last positive thing he would do on a day when he had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists, Rose grabbed the rebound and raced to the other end for a three-point play that changed the dynamics of the game. When he made the free throw to cut it to a one-point lead he improved to 29-for-29 on free throws this season in the fourth quarter.

"I missed both of those [expletives]," Rose said. "Me missing those free throws? Both? Come on, man."

James calmly tossed the ball to an official and huddled with his teammates to talk strategy, seemingly unworried that he was now being called on to hit clutch free throws with the Heat up just one. No matter, it seemed, because James was 10-of-13 on the day at the line and 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter. Just four days earlier he'd made six clutch free throws to win a game in Detroit, saving the day for the Heat.

Nope, nope.

Now James had every reason to be thinking about it, thinking he'd let his teammates down, just like that game in Los Angeles against the Clippers a few weeks ago. That was another national TV game, when missed free throws thwarted his team's chances and left all the talk about him in the clutch. Again.

The storyline of the game was going to be how he played great after riding his bike the 4.5 miles from his house to the arena because the Miami Marathon had closed numerous streets in the area. That would've been in the headlines if he'd just made those free throws. But he didn't and it was in the last minute of a high-profile, close game.

"D-Rose had an unbelievable game, but you guys will all talk about his missed free throws," James said. "I tried to do things to help our team win, but you'll talk about my missed free throws. It's the world we live in."

Yes, that is true. As dismissive as James is about the sentiment he also must accept it. But it was far from the end of the choking … from everywhere.

When Gibson appeared to grab the ball Williams blew his whistle and pointed to the Bulls' bench to indicate they had used their last timeout. But Gibson didn't have the ball cleanly, Dwyane Wade had stripped it. Not all the players and other officials heard the whistle and play moved at half speed for a few odd moments. In the end the ball was in Chris Bosh's hands but should've belonged to the Bulls because Wade had stepped out of bounds when grabbing the ball.

After a huddle, Williams realized he'd jumped the gun and potentially changed the outcome of the game by blowing the whistle too soon. It was, in an official's view, a choke. They were mounting.

To resolve it this quagmire, there was a jump ball at center court, which certainly upset the Bulls. Bosh, the tallest player on the floor, was ready to jump. But James denied him, wanting a chance at redemption.

"Chris looked at me and said, 'I've got the tip.' And I said, 'No you don't'", James said. "I had to do something after missing two free throws."

James' opponent at the circle was Gibson. The best coaching decision would've been to have Noah for such a job. But, oh that darn foul out. Oops. James won the tip easily.

But Chalmers, undeterred by all the other choking going on around him, decided to keep it himself. And a few seconds later, it was Chalmers' turn on the line under pressure.

He made the first, a reason to celebrate across the basketball world. But then missed the second -- of course he did -- giving the Bulls a chance to win the game. After the events of the last few minutes, that was a minor miracle. They still had that last timeout left and Boozer, who got the rebound on the latest missed pressure free throw, wanted to use it.

He looked to Williams and called for it. But this time Williams didn't move a muscle, not after what had just happened. So Boozer, it appeared, tried to get it by raising his arms to form the classic "T." In the process, he fumbled the ball without anyone touching him. And it was free again. Finally, Rose tracked it down and got a timeout even as he committed a traveling violation. At this point, though, that wasn't getting called.

Rip Hamilton inbounded the ball to Boozer at the elbow. But Boozer is not a great passer. The better choice here would've been Noah, but he was already in his warmups.

That fact stung again when Boozer did not see, or for some reason rejected, Hamilton as he stepped inbounds and made a clean and clear back cut to the basket. He was wide open for a layup, but Boozer just held the ball. Would Noah have made the proper pass? The world will never know.

Instead the ball went to Rose, which isn't a bad choice and probably the safest option considering everything else that had been happening. Still frustrated from the missed free throws, Rose wanted to tie the game just as James wanted to win that jump ball. So he grabbed Boozer's pass and went toward the basket. His path, however, was blocked.

Rose lowered his head and knocked Udonis Haslem to the ground for what looked like a charge. But at this point, the officials understandably wanted it to be settled without the whistle. Stymied, Rose spun 360 degrees and lost his momentum and timing.

Rose is a willing passer in times like these. A few days earlier he passed the ball to Brian Scalabrine in nearly the same situation for a game-winning attempt. This time it was the more accomplished Hamilton, who had run to the corner after zipping past the basket, who was wide open. Had Rose made the same pass, Hamilton had a wide open 3-pointer to win the game. But this was Rose under a bit of duress, uncomfortable with this mess of a finish, and instead he tried a floater.

It missed. Game over, mercifully and dramatically. A great game that ended with a series of failures. Not a defining game at all, but one that will be remembered more for that ending than anything else.

"I know I can live with it," Rose said. "But it doesn't feel good."

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