Duncan Robinson flexed and then flashed his mean face after a cutting layup.
No disrespect meant. The Miami Heat forward was just having a little fun in the fourth quarter.
Because for the opening three, Robinson hadn’t taken a single shot. Turns out, he was simply saving his best for when his team needed him most.
Over a nearly two-minute spurt in the fourth quarter, Robinson scored all of his 10 points to spark a rally that sent the Heat to a 111-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Robinson’s surge helped turn an 83-75 deficit into a 88-85 lead that Miami wouldn’t relinquish in tying the series at one game apiece.
In Game 2 on Sunday, the Heat outscored the Nuggets by 11 to turn an eight-point deficit into a 111-108 win and knot the series at 1.
And any thought that the Heat couldn’t handle all the supposed disadvantages they faced coming into Denver after a seven-game conference final against the Celtics — out the window, just like Denver’s home-court advantage in this series.
“That’s two fourth quarters, Game 1 and Game 2, where our defense has been nonexistent,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said in an unflinching critique of his team’s performance in the loss.
Game 3 is Wednesday in Miami. By then, maybe Malone’s message will have sunk in.
Robinson had a forgettable Game 1 when he went 1 for 6 from the floor. He just kept his cool and didn’t read too much into one poor shooting performance.
He had a streaky series against Boston in the Eastern Conference finals, too. In Game 3 of that series, he had 22, then two in Game 4 and 18 in Game 5.