Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Any questions about how the San Antonio Spurs would react after getting blown out in game 2 against the Miami Heat were erased during the second half of game 3 on Tuesday night. After being up by six at half time, the Spurs outscored Miami 63-33 in the second half. It wasn’t the big three from San Antonio that did the damage, though. It was the supporting cast of Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Gary Neal that stole the spotlight.
Green, Leonard and Neal combined to score 65 points and they made 15 3-pointers. The Spurs as a team set an NBA Finals record with 16 made 3-pointers on the night. Perhaps, however, the game can be best summed up on one particular play. With about 8:30 left in the third quarter and the Spurs up by 11, Mario Chalmers drove into the lane for a layup. Tony Parker was guarding the lane and was able to avoid contact. Meanwhile, Tim Duncan came soaring in and blocked Chalmers layup attempt. Not only did Duncan block the shot, but he also saved the ball from going out of bounds as he tumbled into the first row along the baseline. The ball was then sailing towards the sideline when Leonard dove and saved it to teammate Green for a fast break attempt.
Green was fouled and would get to the free throw line but it was this play that showed the difference in the two teams. While the Spurs seemed to get to every loose ball there were obvious moments where LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were standing around the perimeter hoping for the play to come to them. It was reminiscent of the 2011 Finals when LeBron disappeared during times against the Dallas Mavericks. In game 3, LeBron was 7-21 from the field and only finished with 15 points.
Both teams have a blowout under the belt and I suspect we probably won’t see another blowout like games 2 and 3. With the Spurs up 2-1 in the series, the pressure is now on Eric Spoelstra and his coaching staff. Can they come up with a game plan to match Gregg Popovich? If they can’t, this series may not be returning to Miami.
Greg Higgins is a NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greghiggins457, “Like” him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.
