During Game 5, the Heat targeted career-high 52.9% free throw shooter Mitchell Robinson.
“I wasn’t offended at all,” Robinson told reporters after the game. “It’s part of basketball.”
Instead of taking offense, Robinson answered the challenge.
“I’m shooting them down. I’m tearing them down,” Robinson said of what was on his mind when the Heat kept fouling him.
He coolly sank three of four free throws to a loud ovation from a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd as Tom Thibodeau bailed him out.
“It was amazing,” Robinson said of the cheers from the crowd. “You know, for that moment, for them to believe in me and tear them down for the team and stuff, that’s great!”