The San Antonio Spurs were seconds away from being crowned NBA champions, but missed opportunity resulted in a 103-100 overtime loss to the Miami Heat as they force a Game 7 during the NBA Finals.
The Spurs missed the opportunity to finish the defending champions with a hail of missed free throws and missed opportunities down the stretch.
"It's a tough moment," Manu Ginobili said. "We were a few seconds away from winning the championship and we let it go."
Ginobili and teammate Kawhi Leonard each missed free throws at the end of regulation, and the Heat took that opportunity to erase a five-point deficit with 3-pointers from LeBron James and Ray Allen to force the game to overtime.
"By far," James said, "the best game I've ever been a part of."
James had to dig deep in order to ward off another offseason of disappointment, finishing with a triple-double of 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Heat.
James led the turnaround during the fourth quarter with a 22-9 run, but prior to the swing in momentum, Heat security began to place the yellow tape around the court with premature expectations that the Spurs would come out victorious.
"They brought out the yellow tape," Chris Bosh said, "and it was getting me pissed off.
"It brought me back to 2011."
James added:
"We seen the championship board already out there, the yellow tape. And you know, that's why you play the game to the final buzzer," James said. "And that's what we did tonight. We gave it everything that we had and more."
Game 7 will be played in Miami on Thursday, the NBA's first finals Game 7 since the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in 2010.
"They're the best two words in sports: Game 7," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
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