LeBron responds to critics after 3 days of scrutiny with big 98-96 road win in game two against San Antonio Spurs.
After two days of rest, the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat were back Sunday evening for Game 2 of their NBA Finals series match-up. Game 1 saw LeBron James leave late in the 4th quarter with cramps, as he had to watch his team fold down the stretch from the sidelines. With the air conditioning units finally working and LeBron hydrated, the Heat were looking to even the series against a very efficient Spurs system. Prior to tonight, Miami had won 12 straight games following a loss, with their most important outing to date being on Sunday.
The San Antonio Spurs came out surging, led by Tim Duncan putting his imprint on the game early, but the team suffered an early set back with Danny Green picking up two quick fouls. While Duncan had 11 points in the first quarter, the Miami Heat saw both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade starting off extremely cold with only 2 points between them, that was until midway past the next quarter. Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen held things down before LeBron finally took over the game.
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Taking no jump shots, the Heat soon evaporated San Antonio’s lead before Manu Ginobili got a 4-point play on a defensive 3-second penalty, then a three-pointer to follow. Wade would soon sell a big flop to refs, which sent Manu to the bench with his 3rd foul. As San Antonio looked to offense for relief, Miami focused on Tony Parker and Tim Duncan and blew an early opportunity to take a double digit lead. Turnovers hindered the Spurs late during the 2nd quarter, which allowed the Heat to tie the game at 43 for halftime. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green would put their imprint during the early stages of the third quarter scoring, before Patty Mills came in for Tony Parker to net key back-to-back three pointers.
Mario Chalmers with the most electrifying move in the NBA on Tony Parker, The People’s Elbow.
LeBron James went to have a monster 3rd quarter scoring 15 points alone with four consecutive jump shots, shying away from his first half basket attack offense. By the start of the 4th quarter, the room temperature had dropped from its initial 90 degree climate to the mid-70s. During the early stages of the third quarter, the Spurs had their first turnover of the half from an illegal screen from Tim Duncan, but Manu Ginobili would give them relief on a fast break score because Miami did not capitalize. With 6:52 remaining, the Heat would find themselves in the penalty, something they did not want to see against the most efficient team in all of basketball.
Chris Bosh jumps from the pained line for a rare posterization.
LeBron would soon regain the lead for Miami with a deep three-pointer before the 6-minute mark. ‘Bron would down a pair of freebies at the line, but Boris Diaw would come up big for San Antonio with a game-tying three, as well as key rebounds. During the stretch however, San Antonio went to isolation mode, shying away from their constant passive offense that led to success early in the game, as Miami would use their opponents’ game plan for scoring.
The Heat now head back to South Beach with the series tied, as they still remain undefeated at American Airlines Arena this post-season. Kawhi Leonard will be looking to avoid foul trouble on the road against LeBron James and finally contribute to a struggling Spurs team that need him in their biggest hour. Coming back to the AT&T Center down 3-1 is something Gregg Popovich doesn’t want to happen in potentially Tim Duncan’s farewell tour.