Professional basketball team season (won NBA championship)
NBA professional basketball team season
The
2011–12
Miami Heat season was the franchise's 24th season in the
National Basketball Association (NBA). They came into the season as the defending
Eastern Conference champions, the second season playing with the "
Big Three " of
Dwyane Wade ,
LeBron James , and
Chris Bosh , and the fourth season under head coach
Erik Spoelstra . Prior to the beginning of the season, they looked to bounce back from their disappointing finish to the previous year where they lost to the
Dallas Mavericks in the
NBA Finals .
Following the
2011 NBA lockout , the Heat played only 66 games this season and finished with a 46–20 record, roughly the equivalent of 57–25. They won their division for the 9th time and appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals for the 5th time. For the second consecutive year, Wade, James, and Bosh were all selected to the
2012 NBA All-Star Game , tying the record for the most Heat players sent to an All-Star game in franchise history.
In the playoffs, they met the
New York Knicks in first round, reigniting the
Heat-Knicks rivalry as it was their first postseason meeting since 2000. However, the notion of a heated rivalry fell flat as the Heat defeated the Knicks in 5 games, beating their arch rivals in a playoff series for the first time since 1997. Next, they faced
Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals and defeated them in 6 games despite losing Bosh in Game 1 to injury. Then, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat met the
Boston Celtics for their third consecutive postseason meeting. The Heat took a 2-0 series lead before losing 3 straight. However, the Heat forced a Game 7 thanks to an epic 45 point performance by James in Game 6. On June 9, 2012, the Heat won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the
NBA Finals for the second consecutive year and 3rd time in franchise history.
In the NBA Finals, the Heat faced the Oklahoma City Thunder, who entered the NBA Finals as favorites thanks to home court advantage. Despite losing Game 1 in Oklahoma City, the Heat battled back by winning the next three straight games to take a 3-1 series lead. On June 21, 2012, the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship at home against the
Oklahoma City Thunder with a 121–106 Game 5 victory, winning the NBA Finals 4-1 to become the 2012 NBA Champions. This was the second NBA championship for the franchise, as well as the Heat’s first since
2006 . They also became the third (and final) team under the 2-3-2 format to win the middle three games at home, the others being
their 2006 team and the
2004 Detroit Pistons . For the first time in his career,
LeBron James won his first NBA championship, and was awarded the 2012
NBA Finals MVP . During their postseason run, the 2011-12 Miami Heat became the second team in NBA history to win a championship despite trailing three separate times in a postseason series (2-1 in the conference semifinals, 3-2 in the conference finals, and 0-1 in the NBA Finals), with the first being the
1995 Houston Rockets .
Key dates
June 23 : The
2011 NBA draft took place at
Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey .
December 9 : The
free agency period started.
December 18 : The Heat pre-season started with a game against the
Orlando Magic .
December 25 : The Heat avenged their
2011 NBA Finals loss with a 105–94 win over the
Dallas Mavericks to open the season.
December 27 : The Heat won their home opener against the
Boston Celtics 115–107.
February 7 : With a 19–6 season start, the Heat marked their best start in franchise history.
February 14 : The Heat became the first team to win three road games (
Hawks ,
Bucks , &
Pacers ) on three consecutive nights by double digits since the
1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks .
February 23 : The Heat went into the All Star Break with their best win percentage (.794) in team history.
February 25–26 : The
2012 NBA All-Star Weekend took place.
April 3 : The Heat clinched a playoff spot with a 99–93 win over the
Philadelphia 76ers .
April 15 : The Heat clinched a back to back (9th) Southeast Division title with a 93–85 win over the
New York Knicks .
April 22 : The Heat defeated the
Houston Rockets 97–88 in their final regular season home game.
April 24 : The Heat clinched the 2nd seed for the Eastern Conference after losing to the
Boston Celtics 78–66.
April 26 : The Heat ended the regular season with a 104–70 loss against the
Washington Wizards .
May 9 : The Heat defeated the
New York Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round, advancing to the Conference Semi-finals.
May 24 : The Heat defeated the
Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, advancing to the Conference Finals.
June 9 : The Heat defeated the
Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, advancing to the
2012 NBA Finals .
June 21 : The Heat defeated the
Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning the franchise's second championship.
LeBron James was named NBA Finals MVP.
Season summary
When the Heat made it all the way to the finals in Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh's first year playing together, they were seen as heavy favorites from the Eastern Conference to return in 2012. The team's original starting lineup was:
C –
Joel Anthony
PF –
Chris Bosh
SF –
LeBron James
SG –
Dwyane Wade
PG –
Mario Chalmers
The starting lineup would go through many changes as the season went on. The finals lineup in the
NBA Finals is listed above.
Draft picks
Roster
2011–12 Miami Heat roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
No.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB
From
F/C
50
Anthony, Joel
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
1982-08-09
UNLV
F
31
Battier, Shane
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
1978-09-09
Duke
F
1
Bosh, Chris
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
1984-05-19
Georgia Tech
G
15
Chalmers, Mario
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1986–03–24
Kansas
G
30
Cole, Norris
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1988-10-13
Cleveland State
C
34
Curry, Eddy
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
295 lb (134 kg)
1982-12-05
Thornwood HS (IL)
G
14
Harris, Terrel
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1987-08-10
Oklahoma State
F
40
Haslem, Udonis (C)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
1980-06-09
Florida
F
5
Howard, Juwan
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
1973-02-07
Michigan
F
6
James, LeBron
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
1984-12-30
St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (OH)
F
22
Jones, James
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
1980-10-04
Miami (FL)
G/F
13
Miller, Mike
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
218 lb (99 kg)
1980-02-19
Florida
C
45
Pittman, Dexter
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
308 lb (140 kg)
1988-03-02
Texas
C
21
Turiaf, Ronny
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
1983-01-13
Gonzaga
G
3
Wade, Dwyane (C)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
1982-01-17
Marquette
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain(DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended Injured
Roster Last transaction: March 21, 2012
Pre-season
Regular season
Standings
Game log
2011–12 game log Total: 46–20 (Home: 28–5; Road: 18–15)
December: 4–0 (home: 1–0; road: 3–0)
January: 12–5 (home: 9–2; road: 3–3)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
5
January 1
Charlotte
W 129–90
Chris Bosh (24)
Chris Bosh (10)
Norris Cole (9)
American Airlines Arena 20,016
5–0
6
January 2
Atlanta
L 92–100
LeBron James (28)
Udonis Haslem (10)
Dwyane Wade (10)
American Airlines Arena 20,078
5–1
7
January 4
Indiana
W 118–83
LeBron James (33)
Udonis Haslem (10)
LeBron James (13)
American Airlines Arena 20,201
6–1
8
January 5
@
Atlanta
W 116–109 (OT)
Chris Bosh (33)
Chris Bosh
Terrel Harris (14)
Mario Chalmers (8)
Philips Arena 18,371
7–1
9
January 7
@
New Jersey
W 101–90
LeBron James (32)
Udonis Haslem (12)
LeBron James (9)
Prudential Center 18,711
8–1
10
January 10
@
Golden State
L 106–111 (OT)
Dwyane Wade (34)
LeBron James (11)
LeBron James (7)
Oracle Arena 19,596
8–2
11
January 11
@
L. A. Clippers
L 89–95 (OT)
LeBron James (23)
LeBron James (13)
LeBron James (7)
Staples Center 19,341
8–3
12
January 13
@
Denver
L 103–117
LeBron James (35)
Udonis Haslem (11)
LeBron James (6)
Pepsi Center 19,155
8–4
13
January 17
San Antonio
W 120–98
LeBron James (33)
Chris Bosh (8)
LeBron James (10)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
9–4
14
January 19
L. A. Lakers
W 98–87
LeBron James (31)
Bosh,James & Haslem (8)
LeBron James (8)
American Airlines Arena 20,004
10–4
15
January 21
Philadelphia
W 113–92
Chris Bosh (30)
Udonis Haslem (10)
Mario Chalmers (8)
American Airlines Arena 19,725
11–4
16
January 22
Milwaukee
L 82–91
LeBron James (28)
LeBron James (13)
LeBron James (5)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
11–5
17
January 24
Cleveland
W 92–85
Chris Bosh (35)
Udonis Haslem (10)
LeBron James (5)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
12–5
18
January 25
@
Detroit
W 101–98
LeBron James (32)
LeBron James (6)
LeBron James (7)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 18,058
13–5
19
January 27
New York
W 99–89
LeBron James (31)
Chris Bosh (9)
LeBron James (7)
American Airlines Arena 19,707
14–5
20
January 29
Chicago
W 97–93
LeBron James (35)
Chris Bosh (12)
Dwyane Wade (7)
American Airlines Arena 20,054
15–5
21
January 30
New Orleans
W 109–95
LeBron James
Dwyane Wade (22)
LeBron James (11)
LeBron James (8)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
16–5
February: 11–2 (home: 5–0; road: 6–2)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
22
February 1
@
Milwaukee
L 97–105
LeBron James (40)
Chris Bosh (9)
Dwyane Wade (6)
Bradley Center 10,265
16–6
23
February 3
@
Philadelphia
W 99–79
Dwyane Wade (26)
LeBron James (8)
LeBron James (12)
Wells Fargo Center 20,694
17–6
24
February 5
Toronto
W 95–89
LeBron James (30)
LeBron James (9)
LeBron James (4)
American Airlines Arena 19,802
18–6
25
February 7
Cleveland
W 107–91
Dwyane Wade (26)
LeBron James (6)
Chris Bosh (9)
American Airlines Arena 20,078
19–6
26
February 8
@
Orlando
L 89–102
Dwyane Wade (33)
LeBron James (10)
Chris Bosh (9)
Amway Center 18,972
19–7
27
February 10
@
Washington
W 106–89
Dwyane Wade (26)
LeBron James (9)
Udonis Haslem (12)
Verizon Center 20,282
20–7
28
February 12
@
Atlanta
W 107–87
LeBron James (23)
LeBron James (6)
Chris Bosh (26)
Philips Arena 18,371
21–7
29
February 13
@
Milwaukee
W 114–96
LeBron James (35)
Mike Miller (8)
Chris Bosh (4)
Bradley Center 16,749
22–7
30
February 14
@
Indiana
W 105–90
LeBron James (23)
LeBron James (9)
LeBron James (7)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18,165
23–7
31
February 17
@
Cleveland
W 111–87
LeBron James (28)
Chris Bosh (12)
LeBron James
Mario Chalmers (5)
Quicken Loans Arena 20,562
24–7
32
February 19
Orlando
W 90–78
Dwyane Wade (27)
LeBron James (11)
LeBron James (8)
American Airlines Arena 20,185
25–7
33
February 21
Sacramento
W 120–108
Dwyane Wade (30)
Chris Bosh (10)
Dwyane Wade (10)
American Airlines Arena 20,068
26–7
34
February 23
New York
W 102–88
Chris Bosh (25)
Udonis Haslem
LeBron James (9)
LeBron James (8)
American Airlines Arena 20,197
27–7
All-Star Break
March: 10–6 (home: 6–0; road: 4–6)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
35
March 1
@
Portland
W 107–93
LeBron James (38)
Udonis Haslem (14)
Dwyane Wade (10)
Rose Garden 20,597
28–7
36
March 2
@
Utah
L 98–99
LeBron James (35)
LeBron James (10)
LeBron James (6)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,991
28–8
37
March 4
@
L. A. Lakers
L 83–93
LeBron James (25)
LeBron James (13)
LeBron James (7)
Staples Center 18,997
28–9
38
March 6
New Jersey
W 108–78
LeBron James (21)
LeBron James (9)
Mario Chalmers (7)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
29–9
39
March 7
Atlanta
W 89–86
LeBron James (31)
LeBron James (11)
Dwyane Wade (6)
American Airlines Arena 20,018
30–9
40
March 10
Indiana
W 93–91 (OT)
Dwyane Wade (28)
Udonis Haslem (11)
Dwyane Wade (7)
American Airlines Arena 20,154
31–9
41
March 13
@
Orlando
L 98–104 (OT)
Dwyane Wade (28)
LeBron James (11)
LeBron James (8)
Amway Center 18,879
31–10
42
March 14
@
Chicago
L 102–106
Dwyane Wade (36)
Dwyane Wade (7)
LeBron James (4)
United Center 23,028
31–11
43
March 16
@
Philadelphia
W 84–78
LeBron James (29)
Dwyane Wade (11)
LeBron James (8)
Wells Fargo Center 20,396
32–11
44
March 18
Orlando
W 91–81
Dwyane Wade (31)
LeBron James (12)
LeBron James (7)
American Airlines Arena 20,003
33–11
45
March 20
Phoenix
W 99–95
Chris Bosh (29)
Udonis Haslem (9)
Mario Chalmers (8)
American Airlines Arena 20,212
34–11
46
March 23
@
Detroit
W 88–73
Dwyane Wade (24)
Chris Bosh
Dwyane Wade (9)
LeBron James (10)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
35–11
47
March 25
@
Oklahoma City
L 87–103
Dwyane Wade (22)
Udonis Haslem (9)
LeBron James (7)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203
35–12
48
March 26
@
Indiana
L 90–105
LeBron James
Dwyane Wade (24)
LeBron James (9)
Dwyane Wade (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 17,415
35–13
49
March 29
Dallas
W 106–85
Chris Bosh
LeBron James (19)
Chris Bosh
LeBron James (9)
LeBron James
Dwyane Wade (5)
American Airlines Arena 20,096
36–13
50
March 30
@
Toronto
W 113–101
Chris Bosh
Dwyane Wade (30)
Chris Bosh (8)
LeBron James (9)
Air Canada Centre 19,883
37–13
April: 9–7 (home: 7–3; road: 2–4)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
51
April 1
@
Boston
L 72–91
LeBron James (23)
Chris Bosh (11)
Chris Bosh (4)
TD Garden 18,624
37–14
52
April 3
Philadelphia
W 99–93
LeBron James (41)
Udonis Haslem (11)
Mario Chalmers
LeBron James (4)
American Airlines Arena 20,015
38–14
53
April 4
Oklahoma City
W 98–93
LeBron James (34)
Udonis Haslem (8)
LeBron James (10)
American Airlines Arena 20,104
39–14
54
April 6
Memphis
L 82–97
LeBron James (21)
Dwyane Wade (7)
LeBron James (6)
American Airlines Arena 20,008
39–15
55
April 8
Detroit
W 98–75
LeBron James (26)
Chris Bosh
Ronny Turiaf (9)
Shane Battier
Mario Chalmers (5)
American Airlines Arena 20,017
40–15
56
April 10
Boston
L 107–115
LeBron James (36)
Chris Bosh (9)
LeBron James (7)
American Airlines Arena 19,954
40–16
57
April 12
@
Chicago
L 86–96 (OT)
LeBron James (30)
Chris Bosh
Ronny Turiaf (8)
LeBron James (5)
United Center 23,015
40–17
58
April 13
Charlotte
W 105–82
LeBron James (19)
LeBron James (9)
LeBron James (5)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
41–17
59
April 15
@
New York
W 93–85
LeBron James (29)
Chris Bosh (14)
Dwyane Wade (4)
Madison Square Garden 19,763
42–17
60
April 16
@
New Jersey
W 101–98
LeBron James (37)
Chris Bosh (15)
LeBron James (7)
Prudential Center 18,711
43–17
61
April 18
Toronto
W 96–72
LeBron James (28)
Udonis Haslem (7)
Mario Chalmers (7)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
44–17
62
April 19
Chicago
W 83–72
LeBron James (27)
LeBron James (11)
LeBron James (6)
American Airlines Arena 20,008
45–17
63
April 21
Washington
L 84–86
Mario Chalmers (16)
Udonis Haslem (15)
Mario Chalmers (6)
American Airlines Arena 19,722
45–18
64
April 22
Houston
W 97–88
LeBron James (32)
Udonis Haslem (11)
LeBron James (5)
American Airlines Arena 19,859
46–18
65
April 24
@
Boston
L 66–78
Dexter Pittman (12)
Udonis Haslem (13)
Mario Chalmers (5)
TD Garden 18,624
46–19
66
April 26
@
Washington
L 70–104
Norris Cole (14)
Harris ,
Howard &
Turiaf (5)
Terrel Harris (3)
Verizon Center 19,537
46–20
2011–12 season schedule
Playoffs
Game log
2012 playoff game log Total: 16–7 (Home: 11–2; Road: 5–5)
First round: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
Conference Semi-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
NBA Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
2012 playoff schedule
Player statistics
Season
Player
GP
GS
MPG
FG%
3FG%
FT%
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PPG
Joel Anthony
64
51
21.1
.559
.000
.690
3.9
0.1
0.56
1.31
3.4
Shane Battier
65
10
23.1
.387
.339
.622
2.4
1.3
0.98
0.51
4.8
Chris Bosh
57
57
35.2
.487
.286
.821
7.9
1.8
0.89
0.79
18.0
Mario Chalmers
64
64
28.5
.448
.388
.792
2.7
3.5
1.52
0.17
9.8
Norris Cole
65
2
19.4
.393
.276
.776
1.4
2.0
0.68
0.03
6.8
Eddy Curry
14
1
5.9
.462
.000
.750
0.9
0.1
0.00
0.14
2.1
Mickell Gladness *
8
0
3.5
.333
.000
.000
1.4
0.3
0.13
0.13
0.3
Terrel Harris
22
1
14.5
.349
.205
.667
2.3
1.2
0.41
0.09
3.6
Udonis Haslem
64
10
24.8
.423
.000
.814
7.3
0.7
0.55
0.38
6.0
Juwan Howard
28
0
6.8
.309
.000
.800
1.7
0.4
0.14
0.04
1.5
LeBron James
62
62
37.5
.531
.362
.771
7.9
6.2
1.85
0.81
27.1
James Jones
51
10
13.1
.380
.404
.833
1.0
0.4
0.33
0.18
3.6
Mike Miller
39
2
19.3
.435
.453
.400
3.3
1.1
0.36
0.15
6.1
Dexter Pittman
35
6
8.6
.468
.000
.643
2.0
0.3
0.23
0.23
3.0
Ronny Turiaf *
13
5
17.0
.533
.000
.591
4.5
0.4
0.62
1.08
3.5
Dwyane Wade
49
49
33.2
.497
.268
.791
4.8
4.6
1.67
1.29
22.1
Lead team
Stats as of match played on April 26, 2012 (66 matches played)
[1]
* Stats with the Heat.
Playoffs
Player
GP
GS
MPG
FG%
3FG%
FT%
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PPG
Joel Anthony
17
1
19.4
.586
.000
.800
3.2
0.1
0.29
0.94
3.2
Shane Battier
23
16
33.4
.379
.382
.813
3.2
1.2
0.96
0.61
7.0
Chris Bosh
14
10
31.4
.493
.538
.827
7.8
0.6
0.43
1.00
14.0
Mario Chalmers
23
23
35.6
.442
.359
.717
3.7
3.9
1.22
0.26
11.3
Norris Cole
19
0
8.9
.324
.250
.778
0.5
0.6
0.37
0.00
1.8
Eddy Curry
0
0
0.0
.000
.000
.000
0.0
0.0
0.00
0.00
0.0
Terrel Harris
4
0
2.5
.500
.000
.750
0.8
0.0
0.00
0.00
1.3
Udonis Haslem
22
11
20.5
.455
.000
.743
6.4
0.6
0.23
0.27
4.8
Juwan Howard
9
0
2.7
.286
.000
.750
0.1
0.0
0.00
0.00
0.8
LeBron James
23
23
42.7
.500
.259
.739
9.7
5.6
1.87
0.70
30.3
James Jones
20
0
8.7
.372
.300
1.000
1.0
0.1
0.15
0.05
2.6
Mike Miller
23
0
16.0
.404
.413
.818
2.5
0.7
0.39
0.09
5.2
Dexter Pittman
3
1
2.7
.000
.000
.000
0.0
0.3
0.00
0.33
0.0
Ronny Turiaf
12
7
10.1
.556
.000
.273
2.6
0.1
0.08
0.67
1.9
Dwyane Wade
23
23
39.4
.462
.294
.729
5.2
4.3
1.70
1.30
22.8
Lead team
Stats as of match played on June 21, 2012 (23 matches played)
Awards, records and milestones
Awards
Week/Month
On January 3, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Week (December 25 – January 1).
On January 9, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Week (January 2 – January 8).
On January 30, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Week (January 23 – January 29).
On February 3, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Month (December – January).
On February 20, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Week (February 13 – February 19).
On March 1, 2012
Erik Spoelstra was named Eastern Conference's Coach of the Month (February).
On March 2, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Month (February).
On April 9, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Week (April 2 – April 8).
On April 23, 2012
LeBron James was named Eastern Conference's Player of the Week (April 16 – April 22).
All-Star
Season
Playoffs
Records
On February 3, 2012
LeBron James became the youngest player to have reached 18,000 career points.
On April 19, 2012
LeBron James became the youngest player to have reached 19,000 career points.
Milestones
Transactions
Trades
Free agents
Additions
Subtractions
See also
References
^
"2011–12 Heat Regular Statistics" . NBA. Retrieved April 27, 2012 .
^
"LeBron James wins 2012 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award" . NBA.com . Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 12, 2012. Archived from
the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012 .
^
"Heat's James top vote-getter among All-Defensive Team picks" . NBA. Archived from
the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012 .
^
a
b
"LeBron, Durant highlight 2011-12 All-NBA First Team" . NBA. Archived from
the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012 .
^
"Danny Granger nets 25 as Pacers hand Heat 2nd straight double-digit loss" . ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved April 4, 2012 .
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