Thursday, June 13, 2013

NBA Finals Update


Well I intended to have game-2's review done before game-3 took place, but after everything went down the way that it did, I'm glad I didn't.

Game-2:   HEAT 103 - SPURS 84   (a doimination)
Game-3:   SPURS 113 - HEAT 77   (not a domination)

So Sunday in Miami, we saw game-2 play much like game-1 did through the first half. It was tied at 22 after 1 quarter of basketball. Both the Heat and the Spurs would hold a 5-pt. lead during the 2nd quarter, but Miami would do it twice. The last one as the quarter finished, 50-45. The 3rd quarter was once again tight, as the Spurs came back with a 16-7 run, squashing the Heat's 8-pt. lead. But Danny Green's bucket

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with 3:49 on the clock, putting the Spurs up 62-61, would be their last one.. for a long while.

For the next 10+ minutes the Heat would hit everything they put up, going on an unbelievable 33-5 run, and before anyone knew it, Pop was emptying the bench, and the score was 94-67. During the run Chalmers, Miller, and Allen all contributed, and nothing the Spurs did went right. After 4 turnovers in game-1, the Spurs ended up with 16 in game-2, and a lot of them came during this stretch. With our back-ups in for the last (almost) 7 minutes of the game, however, we outplayed them (their starters for a couple minutes) 17-9 to make the loss a little less painful. Heat win 103-84. Here's the box score.

The media and sports sites all over were touting the Heat as glorious again, and all of a sudden they were unstoppable.. referring to the 10-minute run when calling the game a total domination. OK so we played a super-sloppy 10 minute stretch, but was the game a domination? Not in my opinion.

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Fast forward to game-3 on Tuesday, back in Texas. San Antonio fans had waited more than 2 weeks for another home game. Specifically it had been since May 21st, game-2 vs. the Grizzlies! More importantly the organization had waited SIX YEARS for this new opportunity. Obviously fans, and players alike were stoked. Atmosphere was incredible, and in showed as the Spurs jumped out to an early 8-pt. lead, 15-7. Spurs took a 4-pt. lead into the 2nd quarter, 24-20, as it appeared everyone was happy to be at home. Green was hot again (he hasn't really cooled off), Gary Neal was hitting, Kawhi Leonard was hitting, and we were taking care of the ball. With the game tied at 44, and 37 seconds left in the half, Tony hit an amazing three from the corner, followed by a steal on the ensuing possession, and a Gary Neal three at the buzzer. The moment was exciting, as momentum was 100% ours going into halftime 50-44.

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Including those 6 points, San Antonio would go on a 69 to 33 run for more than 24 minutes of Finals basketball. Neal and Green would combine to hit 13 of 19 threes for the game, and the Spurs as a team hit 16 of 32. Kawhi added 14 pts, and Duncan 12, while Tony was hampered with a strained hamstring. This, my friends, was a total domination. Mike Miller hit 5 of 5 from three, but LeBron was held to 15 points on 7 of 21 shooting. Spurs win game-3 113-77, Miami's worst playoff loss of all-time. Here's the box score.

Box scores via ESPN

I Try, I Try

Via (NSFW)