Heat in foul mood after Game 4 loss as knotted series shifts to Miami

12:49 AM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After answering questions for several minutes, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside wanted to ask one of his own to the handful of reporters who remained near his locker Monday night.

“I thought this was the playoffs,” Whiteside said. “Isn’t this supposed to be physical basketball? I thought the playoffs were more physical. This is the flop-offs, man. I don’t even want to get on the calls. I got nothing to say. That’s crazy.”

As with most of his teammates and head coach, Whiteside was careful enough to at least attempt to temper his remarks in an effort to avoid potential fines from the NBA for complaints about the officiating. But it was clear throughout Monday’s 89-85 loss to Charlotte in Game 4 that the Heat were frustrated and thrown off their rhythm by foul trouble.

To explain why this best-of-seven playoff series is now tied up 2-2 heading back to Miami for Game 5 on Wednesday, look no further than Monday’s backcourt comparative breakdown.

Charlotte guards Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin combined for 55 points and 16 free throw attempts. Miami guards Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic together committed nine fouls and nine turnovers. In essence, through four games in this series, the Heat have proved to be two different teams. The version that throttled the Hornets in the first two games in Miami, racking up 238 points and setting or matching a few franchise records, was never given boarding passes for the trip to Charlotte.

The Heat team that played the past two games during a four-day stay in North Carolina struggled to score, routinely failed to protect the paint and made enough costly mistakes to get blown out in Game 3 on Saturday and squander chances to potentially steal Game 4 on Monday.

In the emotional and immediate aftermath of Monday’s loss, it was tough for Heat players to look beyond the 26 fouls Miami was assessed and …

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