The first round is over, and the Nets survived. It was very close, as it came down to one play. Nevertheless, the win sets up the match-up that Miami Heat tried to avoid- Heat Vs. Nets!

The game was decided by one point-and almost went the other way. Toronto Raptors point guard and best player Kyle Lowry wanted to join Damian Lillard in the path to greatness, but he was blocked by Paul Pierce. The Truth told ESPN: "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I saw him split the defenders, I saw him go up, I went up with him. I got my hand on the ball -- game over."

Series over as well. Will it also mean Miami Heat dominance over?

That's the plan, when the Brooklyn Nets take the floor against Miami in the Conference Semifinals, two of the Heat's toughest adversaries, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, will be facing their former tormentors.

In four times they have met this year, Miami has lost all four. They have all been close games and it serves as a test for the Heat's mental toughness-something that was never contested at all in their first round sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats.

'Sweep' goes both ways for the Miami Heat, but the players say that the regular season does not matter:

LeBron James via USA Today: "Teams are more prepared. You have more time to prepare for a team and prepare for individuals. What you did in the regular season doesn't matter in the postseason. Every team that's in the playoffs now is better than they were in the regular season."

Kevin Garnett via ESPN: "That goes out the window. This is the postseason. They're playing very well. They went right through Charlotte without a beat and they have a lot of confidence."

Dwyane Wade is also not wary that the Nets swept them in regular season. He points out that three of the Nets victories were by one point and he missed two of those games. He's healthy and ready now.

All those players are veterans and champions. All the interesting sidelights on and off the court, all of the statistical analysis will be brushed aside. Let the coaches handle that, but with a line-up built for the playoffs, and specifically, to take down the Heat-Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat is the matchup to watch in the second round!