The San Antonio Spurs had a big 4th quarter to defeat the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night in San Antonio 110-95. The air conditioning went out, and so did LeBron James, with cramps toward the end of the 4th quarter.
Trailing by 4 at the start of the 4th quarter, the Spurs got really hot, with their shooting. They made 14 of 16 shots in the quarter, as well as all 6 of the 3-pointers they attempted. They ended the game on a 31-9 run, to crush the Heat, in a game that was close until the end. The Spurs finished the game shooting an incredible 59% from the field.
When James went out of the game with the aforementioned camps, the Heat had a 2-point lead, but that was before the Spurs’ Danny Green heated up. He put San Antonio ahead to stay with his 2nd of his 3 4th quarter 3-pointers.
It was good thing for the Spurs that they shot such a high percentage, because they also had 23 turnovers. Normally 23 turnovers means certain defeat, not a 15-point win over the defending champions. Tim Duncan led the way for San Antonio with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Manu Ginobili was big off the bench with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The quietest important contribution to the Spurs’ winning effort came from Boris Diaw, who only shot 1 of 5 from the field. But he had 10 rebounds, to go along with 6 assists, and he was a game best +30 points when he was on the court.
While it looked bad with James sitting on the bench as his team let the game slip away, I will say a few things in his defense. I don’t know what it’s like to play basketball with cramps. Also, he did try to play through it, but only lasted for one layup, then he left the game for good. Finally, this was not an elimination game, so the Heat has plenty of time to come back in this best of 7 NBA Finals.
However, blaming this loss on James being out of the game at the end, is misguided. Everyone had to play under the same hot conditions, and the Spurs were already storming back from a 7-point deficit when James left the game. The final margin of victory wasn’t 2 or 3 points either, it was 15 points.
The Heat have won 12 consecutive games following a loss in the playoffs. If they make it 13, then they will have earned a split of the first 2 games in San Antonio, and they can’t have expected much better than that. But the Spurs have won their last 8 home playoff games by at least 15 points, an NBA record. Something’s got to give. Game 2 is on Sunday, when the playing conditions are expected to be much cooler.
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