Once again, Miami faced perhaps its biggest game in its history. It was a night where it could have gone any different direction. In fact, it seemed that the Heat were just about dead at various points in the game.
At one point, the fans were leaving with just under 30 seconds left. The champagne was being loaded into the Spurs locker room to prepare for the coronation of their 5th NBA Championship. The tarp to cover the lockers may have been a few steps from the locker entrance.
The prognosis for the Heat was bleak and the turnovers by Lebron in crunch time, would have been the topic of conversation for the whole summer. It seemed that the Spurs were gonna win the title. That was....except the Miami Heat.
Miami got the crucial rebound and made the big shots. Yet, they needed some luck. They got it from a missed free throw by Kawhi Leonard and an amazing corner three point shot by Ray Allen as he was falling away.
All of a sudden, the Heat had life and for the next five minutes, made the necessary plays to win the game. Yet, it was not easy as the game was perilously going sideways. One moment, it was the Spurs who had the advantage and in the blink of an eye, the Heat and so on. To put it simply, this game was roller coaster thriller that kept you guessing till the final buzzer sounded.
Lebron James was invisible and a non factor for three quarters. In fact, it seemed that we were seeing flashbacks of that infamous 2011 NBA Finals for most of the game. Suddenly, when his headband came off, his game went up several notches. He was aggressive to the paint and posted up to get the Heat back from a 10 point deficit in the 4th Quarter. No matter what people will say, Lebron came to play tonight. He left it all on the floor with a triple-double (32 pts. 11 rebounds and 10 assists).
Bosh made some big plays and came up with the big rebounds that may perhaps have saved the Heat season for a few more days. He played timely post defense when Duncan was putting up a classic performance with 30 and 17. In addition, a crucial block on Danny Green's potential game tying three point shot. Mario Chalmers played well and put up 20 big points. None bigger than that three point shot that brought the Heat to within 5 after being down 10 early in the 4th Quarter.
As for the Spurs, it's a bitter pill to swallow. They had that game in their possession. It was theirs for the taking along with the accolades for a low key Franchise who has been viewed as bland and businesslike. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold on to it. Now, they'll face a seventh game where the road teams rarely win Game 7 in the 2-3-2 format.
The Heat were very very lucky to win this game. But sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. Miami will take it as they head to a Game 7 where anything no matter how impossible is possible.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment