The Miami Heat won a thrilling Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night, 103-100 in overtime, over the San Antonio Spurs. By winning, the Heat staved off elimination, and will host Game 7 on Thursday night to decide the NBA Champion. The Spurs blew a 5 point lead in the last 21 seconds of regulation, then only scored 5 points in overtime, resulting in the loss.
LeBron James and Ray Allen of the Heat, hit 3-pointers, at the end of regulation, with the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard making one free throw in between them. On both 3-point shots made, James had just missed a 3-pointer. The Heat grabbed the rebound then put up another shot in both cases, and made both shots. If Leonard made both free throws, those 3-pointers would not have mattered. Just before James’ 3-pointer, the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili also missed one of his two free throws.
James led the way for Miami, finishing with 32 points, 23 of them after halftime. He also added 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Mario Chalmers had another big game, in his up and down series, scoring 20 points. Dwyane Wade had 14 points, and Chris Bosh had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and blocked the final shot attempt of the game, by the Spurs’ Danny Green, which would have forced a second overtime.
Tim Duncan had a monster game for San Antonio, especially in the first half. He scored 25 points in the first half, and ended the game with 32 points and 17 rebounds. However, he was sitting on the bench when the Heat got those 2 rebounds that led to the 3-pointers to tie the game at the end of regulation. Leonard also had his best game of the Finals, with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
On the other hand Ginobili, who had his best game of the Finals in Game 5, had another miserable game for the Spurs. In 35 minutes, he scored 9 points, had 8 turnovers, and was a -21 in team points, when he was on the court. If you just look at Tony Parker‘s points and assists, it looks like he had a good game, with 19 points and 8 assists. But he needed 23 shots to make just 6 of them, and his ridiculous drive at the end of regulation hit nothing but the court.
If Ginobili plays like he did in Game 5, and Parker plays like he did in previous games, then they can win, but if they play like they did tonight, even another great game by Duncan will go wasted. I would like to make a suggestion to the Spurs regarding Parker. Unless he has a sure lay-up, he shouldn’t shoot the ball. No jump shots. He has tremendous production for a guy who can’t shoot, but if the Heat doesn’t allow him to drive to the rim, he’s a liability shooting any other shot. He is a good passer. So he can look for the open man or drive to the basket, then kick it back to someone who can shoot, like Duncan, Green, Leonard or Gary Neal.
I know Green and Neal had an off night, but that was the first bad game of the Finals for each of them. Even though James is a much better shooter than Parker, the Spurs need to keep him from driving to the hoop also. San Antonio has their work cut out for them in Game 7. No road team has won a Game 7 in the NBA Finals since the Washington Bullets in 1978. Will a 35 year streak be snapped, or will the Miami Heat win back-to-back championships? We will find out on Thursday night in Miami.
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