NBA: Heat come from behind, force Game 7
LeBron James fights for the ball against the Spurs’ Tim Duncan and Danny Green.
The San Antonio Spurs held a five-point lead with just under 30 seconds in Game 6 of the NBA Finals Tuesday night, only to let it slip away when Ray Allen drained a three-ball from the right corner to knot the score at 95. Tony Parker had 5.2 seconds to pull off the win, but his shot at the buzzer fell a few feet short, sending the contest into an extra 5. The Spurs had their opportunities in the OT, but the Heat did the job, coming up with a 103:100 win to even the series at 3 games all, sending the Finals into a decisive Game 7, to be played on Thursday night in Miami.
We feel grateful we have an opportunity to play for a title in a Game 7. Our guys aren’t looking for games that are less meaningful. We’re looking for games that are more meaningful and there’s nothing bigger than a Game 7.
–Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
The first half was owned by Tim Duncan, as he tallied 25 points in leading the Spurs to a 44:50 lead at halftime. LeBron James was very quiet in the first half, but ended the contest with a 32P/11A/10R triple-double.
Manu Ginobili came out of the break and knocked down a triple with just 17 seconds clicked off the clock to extend San Antonio’s lead to nine, 44:53. Other than a Duncan lay-up and a pair of free throws from Tony Parker, the next few minutes belonged to the Heat, running off 12 to pull within a point, 56:57. As Spoelstra has been heard saying often in broadcast miked-up sessions, this is a series of runs, and it was the Spurs turn for a big one. Parker hit a jumper and converted it into a three-point play after he was fouled by Dwayne Wade. Boris Diaw hit a pair of singles, then Kawhi Leonard and Duncan both connected on three-point plays. Wade hit a floater for Miami, then Diaw and Parker dropped in three of four free throws, to finish the run with a 58:71 advantage and just under four minutes to play in the frame. James dropped a pair of free throws to close out scoring in the third, with the Heat down 65:75.
As the final frame commenced, the Heat found the cords, and quickly. Mario Chalmers nailed a long-ball and James turned up the aggression level as he drove the lane with little resistance. A minute into the quarter the Heat had cut their deficit in half, 70:75. James picked up a couple of dunks, drove the lane for deuces and then knotted the score at 82 with a lay-up, followed by an Allen lay-up to give the Heat the lead, 84:82. With a minute and a half left, Parker dropped a long triple to even the score at 89, then Parker stole an errant Chalmers pass and drove the lane, put on a nifty spin and sank a fadeaway to put the Spurs up by two with 58 seconds left. James had his pocket picked by Leonard, which resulted in an Allen foul on Ginobili, who connected on the pair of singles. James then turned the ball over and again Allen fouled Ginobili, who split the pair to go up five, 89:94 with 37.2 on the clock. James missed a triple, but with Duncan on the bench the Spurs had trouble hauling in defensive boards, Mike Miller got this one for the Heat and kicked it to James, who hit his 30th point from behind the arc, cutting the margin to a deuce, 92:94. Miller fouled Leonard with 19.4 to play, giving the 21 year-old an opportunity to put his club up by four, but he split the pair, leaving the door open for the Heat. James took the first shot for the tie, but missed. Chris Bosh got the rebound and instead of fouling him with 6.3 seconds on the clock to give him a pair of free throws, instead of an attempt at a three, San Antonio let him get the ball out to Allen in the corner and he sliced the cords to knot the contest at 95. The officials stopped play to review Allen’s feet (double or triple, but he was clearly behind the line) as the Spurs were bringing the ball in to get up the court for a potential game-winner. During he review San Antonio was able to put a play together, without the benefit of a time-out. The play was to Parker, who drove the left side, but James was all over him and his fadeaway came up short, sending the game into and extra 5.
We had them where we wanted, very close game down the stretch. Up two with two free throws and a few seconds to go, no timeouts. We were in a great spot. We just gave them another chance.
–Spurs guard Manu Ginobili
Leonard got the OT started with a lay-up, then Bosh countered and was fouled by Ginobili, but missed the freebie. Leonard hit a jumper in the paint and then Parker split a pair of free throws to give SA a three-point lead, 97:100. Allen hit a jumper to cut the gap to one, then Parker missed a triple, which fell into James’ hands. After moving the ball around James got an open jumper, which is knocked down to put the Heat up a point, 101:100. The Spurs got two shots off, but neither touched the rim and they got whistled for a shot-clock violation. The next minute of play was intense, with the title on the line. James committed a turnover, but on the other end Ginobili turned the ball over and Parker had a shot blocked by Bosh. Allen hit a pair of singles with 1.9 seconds to play to give Miami a three-point lead, 103:100. Green got a shot off, but Bosh blocked it, nearly committing a foul that would have sent Green to the line for three free throws and an opportunity to tie the score again, but the officials made no call and time ran out, giving the Heat the win and a 3-3 series tie. They’ll both look to pick up the Larry O’Brien trophy on Thursday night in Miami.
James was game high with 32P/11A/10R for the Heat, Chalmers added 20, Wade scored 14, and Bosh had a 14P/11A double-double.
The Spurs got 30 points and 17 rebounds from Duncan, 22 points and 11 rebounds from Leonard, and 19 points and 8 assists from Parker.