The Miami Heat remained alive in the 2013 NBA Finals as they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in a Game 6 that went to overtime. The game came down to one thing the Spurs are usually good at, fundamentals. It came down to free throws and Miami took full advantage.
Ray Allen hit two huge free throws to give the Heat a three-point lead. Tony Parker missed a free throw in overtime and the Heat were able to patiently get points in the extended time to eventually get the lead.
Chris Bosh accomplished his goal of covering Danny Green in the final seconds of the game. With 1.9 seconds, Green took a three that would have tied the game and Bosh was there to block him, guaranteeing that Green wasn't going to be wide open all night. Bosh finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
On this night, the Heat weren't supposed to have won. The night was prepped to watch Tim Duncan and Parker celebrate as they had the Spurs in the position to win early and in the closing seconds of the game. Duncan finished with 30 points, 25 of which came in the first half. Parker hit a huge three over LeBron James and then gave his Spurs a lead late in the fourth quarter with a short jumper in the paint. Parker finished with 19 points.
However, LeBron James and Allen brought the Heat back. James took two threes, hitting the second to make it a two-point game. Kawhi Leonard went 1-2 from the line and then Allen hit a three to tie the game 95-95 with 5.2 seconds remaining.
This game should have won the title for San Antonio. They fought hard throughout the game while the the Heat resembled the New York Knicks, crying for foul calls. Their biggest lead was 13 points and they even had a 10-point lead at the half. Miami eventually took the lead with just over 6:03 remaining in the game. Allen drove to the basket and got to the paint, almost untouched as he laid it up. Everything changed once Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller hit three-pointers to get the Spurs' once double-digit lead down to single-digits. Through these first six minutes of action, the Heat outscored the Spurs 19-7.
James also did a great job in the fourth quarter scoring 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter. James almost lost the game for the Heat in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, but he received great support from his teammates and they fought hard to get back into this game after trailing big early on.
Miami's defense swarmed the Spurs and San Antonio had issues adjusting to the physicality of the game. Kawhi Leonard, who finished with 22 points, seemed to be the only Spur scoring late in the game as he was chasing after balls and picking up offensive boards.
The Heat shared the ball early on as their starting five all had at least a bucket in the first quarter. Chalmers led the way scoring 10 points in just over nine minutes played. He went 4-5 from the floor with two threes, helping the Heat space the floor .
The Spurs kept pace with the Heat. They shot 61 percent from the field and it was obvious that they wanted to win the game, as Duncan went a perfect 6-6 from the floor, leading the charge with 12 points in the first quarter. He was aggressive and knew exactly what he wanted to do with the ball; attack the basket. Kawhi Leonard was hot early as well, shooting 3-4 from the floor, scoring eight points in the first 12 minutes.
The Spurs goal was to keep their turnovers under 10 in the game, but 4 early turnovers represented a sign things to come. Chris "Birdman" Andersen was on the floor at the beginning of the second quarter and he picked up two turnovers for the Heat. The Spurs finished with 15 turnovers in the game, but were aided by the cold streak in the Heat's offense. The Spurs closed out the second quarter on a 17-4 run.
The Heat shot 31 percent from the floor against the Spurs' 56 percent at halftime. Chalmers was still the leading scorer with 14 points. Meanwhile, James and Wade combined to score just 15 points on 6-16 shooting from the floor.
The Spurs had trouble containing the Heat's drives in the third quarter. The team was in the penalty with over seven minutes left in the third quarter. The Heat were being so physical that even Mike Miller was able to drive to the hoop and get an easy layup.
However, things got out of control and began falling in favor of the Spurs as the quarter continued. The Spurs clogged the paint and forced the Heat to settle for jumpers. The Heat failed to make up ground when the Spurs missed and surmounted a 13 point deficit. Fouls plagued the Heat during the quarter and allowed the Spurs to complete three-point plays at the line.
The Spurs failed to maintain their pace and now face a do-or-die Game 7 on Thursday.
