Paul Pierce, right, and Joe Johnson may not play together again with Pierce being a free agent.
Credit: Getty Images
The Nets couldn’t figure out a way to finish a game and now their season is finished.
Miami beat Brooklyn, 96-94, in Game 5 to win the Eastern Conference semifinal series, 4-1.
Brooklyn, the highest-paid team in NBA history, will have a long offseason ahead of them.
The Nets led by nine with 4:48 remaining, but Mirza Teletovic missed two ill-advised 3-pointers and the Heat went on a 12-0 run to pull ahead, 95-91.
Joe Johnson made a 3-pointer to pull within one, but Johnson couldn’t even get a shot off to tie or take the lead after LeBron James split a pair of free throws.
The Heat opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by Rashard Lewis and James, but the Nets answered with a 7-1 run to push the lead back to nine points.
The momentum appeared ready to swing back to Miami when Paul Pierce picked up an offensive foul on an illegal screen with 5:56 remaining. But Johnson hit a floater in the lane while being fouled and completed the old-fashioned three-point play.
Johnson led the Nets with 34 points, while James had 29 points and nine rebounds for the Heat.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
