Thru two games, the series has been tied which brought both excitement and at the same time awe. It's a series that is billed as a battle between two philosophies. It features a Spurs team that was built thru the draft, excellent player development and scouting. They're the Gold Standard of what every small market team aspires to be in the NBA. A team that has been to 4 NBA Finals and has won all four of them.
In the other corner, stands a team built thru Free Agency in a city just as attractive as L.A and NYC. A place with enough salary cap space to compel the great NBA talents to join forces and become perhaps the most polarizing team in the History of Professional sports. A team that currently is writing its own history with a run of 3 NBA Finals and 1 NBA Championship that's hoping to repeat.
Game 1 was close as San Antonio who won on perhaps one of the greatest shots in NBA Finals History, which has been rehashed into an Oral History . In addition, they were clean in the turnover department. Yet, Miami took control in Game 2, thanks to timely shooting and suffocating D that rendered the Spurs helpless to the 3rd and 4th Quarter onslaught.
The stage was set as the scene heads to the Alamo where two teams will vie to take control of the series. It's a night where statistically speaking the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the NBA championship, 92% of the time. The question was which of these two teams would come out of with a decisive 2-1 lead in a series that has many twists and turns yet to come.
Tonight, it was the San Antonio Spurs who returned the favor to the Miami Heat. Not only did they win the game, but they blitzed them with their three point shooting and were maniacal in their defensive effort/intensity.
Leading the 3pt. parade down the River Walk, was Gary Neal and Danny Green who were playing out of their collective minds. Neal scored 24 points on 6-10 three point shooting where his shooting was awe-inspiring to watch from a basketball fan perspective and terrifying if you're a Heat fan.
Along with Danny Green, they both combined for 51 points and 13-19 shooting from beyond the arc. Their shooting were instrumental in staunching any potential Heat run in the second quarter, culminating in a Neal buzzer beating 3pt that stretched the Spurs lead to six at Halftime.
In addition, the defensive effort of Kawhi Leonard whose length bothered Lebron and also wreaked havoc on the Heat passing lanes which lead to the barrage of 3pt shots and fast break opportunities. Leonard was a rebounding machine who out-rebounded Chris Bosh with 12 rebounds to go along with 4 steals. His rebounding was one of the big reasons why the Spurs had a 52-36 rebounding edge.
Along with their rebounding, the Spurs effort was evident as seen by Danny Green and Tim Duncan hustling for the loose ball that led to a Spurs fast break opportunity as well as a put-back layup in the Third Quarter. San Antonio dove for every loose ball, rebound, and played with a purpose. They were relentless and forced Miami into uncomfortable situations in the 3rd and 4th Quarters.
In essence, the Spurs were just a half step quicker and the Heat just a few steps slower. As a result, the Spurs have a 2-1 lead and the Heat now have to find remedies to yet again turn the momentum to their side.
Otherwise, they'll see their chances to defend their Championship sink into the depths of the San Antonio River Walk never to be seen ever again.
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