MIAMI — It took four-tenths of a second to catch the ball at the arc, pivot right and slip past a defender. It took one dribble, two steps and eight-tenths of a second to close the distance from the foul line to the restricted area.

It took two-tenths of a second to flip the ball off the backboard, letting gravity and physics do the rest. The Miami Heat were given 2.2 seconds to avert a stunning defeat in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals, so they handed the responsibility, naturally, to the one man in the N.B.A. who can bend time and scientific principles to his will.

LeBron James even had a few tenths of a second to spare late Wednesday night, after driving for the winning layup in a 103-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The buzzer sounded with the ball still passing through the middle of the net.

“I just made a layup,” James said later, unimpressed with his own work. He smiled. “I been doing that since I was 8 years old.” James would need 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to manufacture the victory. The last 4 points came on two powerful driving layups, each time with little resistance.