SAN ANTONIO — Hey, that LeBron James guy really does make a difference for the Heat in the fourth quarter.
For an NBA record 13th straight time, the Heat followed a playoff defeat with a victory — and James was responsible more than anyone. James was limited to just over five minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 1 because of cramping in an AT&T Center that was turned into a sweatbox after the air conditioning malfunctioned.
But this time, the climate was fine and the only cramping was to San Antonio's style because James took control offensively and defensively. So the Heat, behind James' 35 points and terrific defense on Spurs point guard Tony Parker, evened the NBA Finals at 1-1 with a 98-96 victory.
In another excruciatingly tight game, Parker had brought the 16th lead change of the night when he sank a 3-pointer with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter after terrific San Antonio ball movement. There would be a 17th change. But not an 18th.
It was Chris Bosh who made the decisive plays. Bosh nailed a right side 3-point shot, James assisting, at 1:18 for a 95-93 lead. James added his 35th point with one free throw, then Bosh (18 points) assisted on a Dwyane Wade (14 points) layup after Manu Ginobili (19 points) missed at the other end.
Parker led the Spurs with 21 points, while Tim Duncan added 18.
"LeBron with the ball did a great job at his end and we had to be really perfect at the other end and we [weren't]," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We didn't take advantage of things. We made bad decisions. The ball stuck. … We didn't do it as a group. We tried to do it individually."
The Spurs apparently gained a massive advantage when Mario Chalmers swung an elbow into Parker's gut while trying to drive the baseline. The call was a Flagrant Foul 1. So the Spurs, up 87-85, had two free throws and possession with 6:43 left.
Parker missed both free throws.
But the Spurs kept the ball and Duncan, who had already tied Magic Johnson for playoff double-doubles with his 157th, was fouled and went to the line.
Duncan missed both free throws.
The Heat came down and James nailed his third 3-pointer of the game to put the Heat up, 88-87.
So much for the Spurs' advantage.
Two James free throws for the Heat and a Boris Diaw 3-pointer the other way brought yet another tie at 90.
After James unleashed his attack-and-inside game with brutal efficiency in the second quarter, he slammed the Spurs with his outside game in the third. He didn't take his first jumper until 9:37 of the third quarter — he hit it of course. But it was a later stretch in the third that was pure LeBron.
From 5:42 to 3:28, James took and made five straight jumpers, two of them 3-pointers, for a 69-64 lead.
"You can go double him if you want, but he's a pretty good player. I'm going to guess he's going to find the open man," Popovich said.
Before the first possession ever occurred, James admitted he was ready — but not nearly himself following his two-plus days of recovery from the horrendous attack of leg cramps that knocked him from the fourth quarter in Game 1 and spawned conspiracy theories and cramping remedies across the continent.
"I'm ready to go," James said. "Normal? I wouldn't say normal but I feel right."
Well, he didn't look all that ready at the outset. But in the second quarter, all seemed normal.
The Spurs pick-and-rolled and penetrated the Heat into an 11-point deficit early in the second quarter, but then James looked like exactly what and who he is, the game's best. After a two-point first quarter, James turned his oh-so-improved post-up game and worked his way to an 11-point quarter with relentless attacks. When halftime rolled around, the teams were tied at 43.
The Spurs lost Ginobili to a third foul 4:09 before halftime on an Oscar-worthy flop from Wade. That loss stung more because starting shooting guard Danny Green had been negated by fouls: He only played 7:38 in the first half.
The climate inside AT&T Center was a major story. Courtside thermometers beforehand read 70. The temperature may have risen some, as expected in a building with 18,000-plus screaming whackos. James said the temperatures seemed fine when he arrived.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
LeBron Heats up — in a good way — as Miami evens series
Dengan url
http://bahayaprostat.blogspot.com/2014/06/lebron-heats-up-in-good-way-as-miami.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
LeBron Heats up — in a good way — as Miami evens series
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
LeBron Heats up — in a good way — as Miami evens series
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar