CHICAGO — The Heat's bid for NBA history ended Wednesday night when their 27-game winning streak was snapped by the Chicago Bulls 101-97.
Miami finished six shy of the 33-game record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James' was clearly frustrated that showed in the court and in the locker room afterward in an interview.
He gave two instances, a play where Kirk Hinrich took him down with two hands in the first quarter, and Taj Gibson appearing to make contact around his neck with about 4 minutes remaining - where he thought the contact was excessive. Referees reviewed the Gibson hit, but did not award a flagrant foul. So, late in the fourth quarter, with the Miami Heat trailing the Chicago Bulls James delivered an overly physical foul leading with his forearm on Bulls forward Carlos Boozer.
A referee called a flagrant foul 1.
James wasn't angry that the Heat were about to lose for the first time since Feb. 1. He was unhappy with the way the referees officiated the game, despite having the most free throws awarded by the refs at 11.
"It's been happening all year, and I've been able to keep my cool and try to tell Spo (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra), 'Let's not worry about it,' " James said.
"But it is getting to me a little bit. Every time I try to defend myself, I've got to face the consequences of a flagrant or a technical foul or whatever the case may be.
"It's tough. It's very tough."
"I knew it was going to be a physical game," said James, who finished with a game-high 32 points, seven rebounds and three assists and took 11 free throws. "Every game against the Bulls is a physical game."
"First of all, Kirk Hinrich in the first quarter just grabbed me with two hands and brought me to the ground," James said.
"The last one, Taj Gibson was able to collar me around my shoulder and bring me to the ground," James said.
Of both fouls, James said, "Those are not basketball plays."
"I'm not crying about anything, because I play the game at a high level," he said. "I play the game with a lot of aggression, and I understand some of the plays are on the borderline of a basketball play or not."
More trips to the Free Throw line for King James 11 aint gonna cut it!
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