MIAMI – One of the key plays in Tuesday’s Game 4 win by Miami came on a jump ball with 17 seconds left, when the Heat’s Shane Battier anticipated a tip would head toward the Heat basket, worked around an Oklahoma City player to get in position, leaped up to tip it a second time, and guided the ball to teammate Mario Chalmers.
Chalmers, of course, was fouled by Russell Westbrook in a decision that effectively ended the game, but he couldn’t get the ball without Battier’s play. And for that, Battier says to credit his former coach in Memphis many moons ago, Hubie Brown.
“I owe that to Hubie Brown,” said Battier. “He’s one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. He actually coached jump ball situations when we were in Memphis. He covered every situation. I just went back to my teachings with Hubie Brown, he taught us how to steal the tap, and how to anticipate where the ball’s going to go. That’s all coach Brown.”
