The Miami Heat guaranteed they would play at least one more game in Miami. They fulfilled that promise on Thursday night June 13 as the spurs were defeated 109 – 93 in the AT&T Center to tie-up the series 2-2.
“It was on our shoulders,” Miami Heat forward LeBron James said. “We had to figure out how to win the game for us and play at the highest level. When all three of us are clicking we’re very tough to beat.”
Indeed, the Spurs had no defensive solution for the Heat’s Big 3. James, Heat guard Dwayne Wade, and Heat forward Chris Bosh combined for 75 of the teams 109 points. James scored 33, Wade scored 30, and Bosh scored 20, the best offensive output for both Wade and Bosh in the current Finals.
“When Bosh, Wade and James score the way they did tonight and shoot it the way they did tonight, a team is going to have a difficult time if you help them like we did,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “When those guys are playing like that, you better be playing a perfect game.”
Unfortunately, the Spurs played nowhere near a perfect game. Turnovers have been a habitual problem for the team since Game 2, and Game 4 echoed that very problem. The Spurs committed 19 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Heat. During the first half, the Spurs and Heat traded the lead but would ultimately end the half tied 49 – 49. Bosh tried to give the Heat the lead going into half time by dunking the ball, but the referees waved it off indicating the shot clock had expired.
Spurs Forward Boris Diaw played well through the first half. As the Spurs fell behind by 10 points, giving up a 10-point lead, with seven minutes left to play in the first half, Diaw sparked an 11 – 2 scoring run to end the half.
James would start the third quarter and end the third quarter scoring the basketball. Spurs guards Danny Green and Gary Neal, who were big parts of the Spurs making 16 3-points in Game 3, hit two 3-pointers to bring the Spurs to within 3-points of the Heat’s lead, but James grabbed a rebound and at full speed raced down the court to make the final layup of the quarter to give the Heat an 81 – 76 lead heading into the fourth.
To start the fourth, the Spurs missed consecutive shots, and Heat guard Ray Allen made a 3-pointer to extend the Heat’s lead 84 – 76. Neal made a 3-pointer to bring the Spurs within five points, but after that, the Spurs couldn’t make a shot. At the 4:17 mark, Duncan turned the ball over on a bad pass, and Coach Popovich laid into Duncan on the sideline, benching his star.
At the end of the game, Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobili and Spurs forward Matt Bonner were the only two players for the Spurs who made a shot. Ginobili finished the game with only five points. The San Antonio Spurs will try to shift the series back in their favor on June 16 in the final home game of the season. Tip-off is schedule for 7 p.m. on ABC.
