Goran Dragic watches from bench as Dwyane Wade-dependent Heat falter in final minute

11:39 PM ET

MIAMI — On July 1 this past summer when the clock ticked to 12:01 a.m., Pat Riley made a phone call to wake up Goran Dragic. It was 6:01 a.m. in Dragic’s home country of Slovenia where the point guard had been fast asleep during the opening of NBA’s free-agency season. With the phone in hand, the Miami Heat president had one goal in mind, to ink the free-agent point guard to a five-year deal at below market-price.

After a quick discussion, Dragic signed for $85 million, about $20 million fewer than he could have gotten if he signed the maximum. In exchange, Dragic would compete for a championship with an up-tempo offense designed by Erik Spoelstra geared toward Dragic’s speedy game.

Fast forward 10 months later in the Eastern Conference semifinals when Spoelstra called a timeout to orchestrate a do-or-die play down 91-88 with 23 seconds left on the clock. Dragic had sat for the previous five minutes of a close game with five fouls, waiting for Spoelstra to call him back into the game for the offensive set.

That call from Spoelstra never happened.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra chose to go with the red-hot Dwyane Wade, while keeping Goran Dragic on the bench, for Game 3’s most critical play. Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

A surprised Dragic watched from the bench as a play for Dwyane Wade resulted in a Joe Johnson missed 3-pointer at the top of the key. The Toronto Raptors secured both the rebound and the 95-91 victory to go up 2-1 in the series.

When asked if there was a particular reason why he left Dragic — the team’s second-leading scorer in the game — on the bench for the critical offensive possession, Spoelstra offered just two words: “Not really.”

Perhaps Spoelstra didn’t trust Dragic’s 3-point shot, but Dragic had entered the game 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) in the playoffs and had just hit a clutch 3-pointer in Game 2 to tie the game with 10 seconds left. In Game 1, Dragic hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to put the Heat up by five. Despite these heroics and his $15 million salary this season, Dragic could only look on at the end.

“It’s not fun,” Dragic said. “Of course I would like to be (in the game) but that’s a coaching decision, so I respect it. It is what it is.”

The more likely reason for Spoelstra’s decision is that he was going to ride Wade’s hot hand, win or lose. The 34-year-old Wade turned back the clock and delivered one of the best playoff games of a …

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