Tag: nba finals recap

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker all embraced as they became the winningest trio in NBA playoffs history with a 104-87 win over the Miami Heat to become NBA champions. The Spurs 5th championship comes just 1 year after the Heat denied them that feat.”We wanted to redeem ourselves. I’m just glad we were able to do that,” Parker said.

Lebron James was the highest scorer of the game with 31 points in the loss. “We had a great first quarter, but from that point on they were the better team, and that’s why they’re the champions in 2014,” said James. Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 22 points and 10 rebounds becoming the Finals MVP and joins Tim Duncan (’99, ’03, ’05) and Tony Parker (’07) as the only Spurs to win a finals MVP.”I’ve said many times, a day didn’t go by where I didn’t think about Game 6,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the turning point in last year’s finals. “So I think, just in general, for the group to have the fortitude that they showed to get back to this spot, I think speaks volumes about how they’re constituted and what kind of fiber they have.”

San Antonio reversed a 16-point deficit and turned it into a 17-point win, a +33 swing which is one of the biggest i’ve ever seen!”They played exquisite basketball this series and in particular these last three games and they are the better team. There’s no other way to say it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Finals FG percentage all-time.

Last year the Spurs were on the brink of a championship and it slipped from their grasps. Now here they are again and it would take the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history for the Heat to be champions for the third straight year. “They’re the two-time champs, they’re a great team and there is still one more game,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said. “We have to win one more game.”

Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Tony Parker added 19 points and Tim Duncan chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds2 to lead the Spurs in a 107-86 rout of Miami.”I’m pleased that they performed as well as they did while we’ve been in Miami, and that’s about as far as it goes,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Now we’ve got to go back home and play as well or better.” Game 5 is Sunday in San Antonio and with a win the Spurs will be champions.

“They smashed us,” Lebron James who had 28 points and 8 rebounds. said. “Two straight home games got off to awful starts. They came in and were much better than us in these last two games. It’s just that simple.” No team HAS EVER came back from a 3-1 hole in the finals. “We put ourselves in a position where it is about making history,” James said.

If you didn’t know better you would have thought you were watching a video game. The Spurs shot the lights out of American Airlines arena on Tuesday night securing a 111-92 victory and taking a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. “It’s not something you can plan for,” Spurs’ Manu Ginobili said. “There was no magic plays. We just moved the ball, and every shot went in.” Kawhi Leonard had a career-high 29 points to carry the Spurs and the Heat wouldn’t get as close as 17 after the Spurs took a 71-50 at halftime. The Spurs “came out at a different gear than what we were playing at, and it just seemed we were on our heels the most part of the first half,” Heat coach Spoelstra said.

Kawhi Leonard’s stats

Lebron fully recovered from his cramp injuries that sidelined him in game 1, scoring 35 points with 10 boards to lead the Heat to a 98-96 win in game 2 of the NBA finals. “Obviously, having No. 6 in the game at the end was a plus for us,” Dwyane Wade said. The Heat were a completely different team with LeBron on the floor as the multi-time MVP dominated a Spurs lineup of Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter, Tony Parker, and Danny Green. “What happened on Thursday was Thursday,” James said. “My whole focus was how I was going to try to help this team even this up and just try to make some plays.”

Heat with LeBron James On/Off Court

Chris Bosh, who had 18 points made the go-ahead three with 1:18 left to play in the 4th and the Heat won their 13th straight game following a postseason loss. Lebron also made a 3 and a few key freethrows down the stretch to seal the win and silence the critics. “Down the end there they executed really well,” Duncan said. “LeBron made some great passes and guys made open shots. We had the same result in the first game. They kind of flipped it in this one.”

On a side note Tim Duncan tied Magic for most postseason double-doubles.

Most Postseason Double-Doubles

Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Manu Ginobli had 16 points and 11 assists, Tony Parker had 19 points and 8 assists and Lebron was benched because of cramps in a game where the AC went out and the Spurs took a 1-0 lead in the hunt for their first championship since 2007 with a 110-95 victory over Miami. “Just very proud of my team,” Parker said. “We kept believing, kept pushing. We know it’s not easy.”

How did the Spurs win? The 4th quarter. Lebron was out, and the Spurs were better than ever, I mean just look at the comparison.

The AC went out during  the game making it very hot and sweaty for the players, hopefully they can clear that up before Game 2 which is Sunday.

“It sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point in the season,” James said of not being able to participate  in some of the game.