NBA Finals: Heat Force Game 7 After Squeezing Out Win In Overtime

Miami Heat 103 San Antonio Spurs 100

 How Miami Won: When his team needed him the most, with the season, and perhaps the Heat’s big three era on the line, Lebron James stepped up and showed why he is a four-time MVP.  Miami entered into the fourth quarter down 75-65, and that’s when James took over, leading an improbable comeback in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime.

James finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, while scoring the go-ahead basket with 1:43 left in overtime to put the Heat up for good.  Mario Chalmers scored 20 points, including 4 for 5 shooting from the three point line. Dwyane Wade added 14 points, and Chris Bosh finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra decided to play just eight players, with Chris Andersen, Ray Allen, and Shane Battier the only players to come off the bench.  Miami was outplayed for most of the game, losing the edge in points in the paint, 60-36, and even had fewer fast break points, 11-5.  But it was the three-point line that helped the Heat slowly crawl back in the fourth quarter, as they shot 11 for 19 (58 percent), while the Spurs shot just 5 for 18 (28 percent).

With Miami down 95-92 with seven seconds remaining, James missed a three, but Bosh came down with a huge offensive rebound, kicked the ball out to Ray Allen in the right corner, and he drilled a three to send the game into OT.

 How San Antonio Lost: The Spurs had the game and title in their hands, until the Heat just made more plays than they did down the stretch.

 Tim Duncan led the way with 30 points and 17 rebounds, while Tony Parker added 19 points and 8 assists, but shot 6 of 23 from the field.  Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but both Manu Ginobili, and the star of the finals, Danny Green had poor games.  After a great game 5 performance, Ginobili scored just 9 points and committed 8 turnovers, while Green was held to just 3 points on 1 of 7 shooting.

The Spurs had a 94-89 lead with less than a minute left in regulation, before James hit a three to cut the lead to 2.  Leonard then split a pair of free throws, which set up Allen’s game-tying three.  The Spurs then had another 3 point lead in overtime, before James dished out an assist to Allen, and then scored himself the ensuing possession to put Miami up for good.

 It Was Over When: The Spurs had one last chance down 103-100 with just over a second remaining.  The call was to set a Danny Green three-point attempt from the right wing, but Chris Bosh came off his man to step up on Green, and blocked his shot to seal the win.

 Quote of the Night: “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, and that’s what we did tonight. We gave it everything that we had and more.” –Lebron James

Box Score:

San Antonio Spurs

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

44

13-21

0-0

4-5

5

12

17

0

1

0

2

2

+16

30

46

9-14

1-3

3-4

2

9

11

0

3

0

0

3

+11

22

43

6-23

1-3

6-7

1

2

3

8

2

0

0

1

+8

19

35

2-5

1-3

4-6

1

3

4

3

1

0

8

4

-21

9

41

1-7

1-5

0-0

2

2

4

0

1

2

1

4

-12

3

BENCH

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

23

2-6

0-1

3-4

1

3

4

2

0

0

0

2

+1

7

8

2-2

0-0

1-2

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

3

-13

5

24

2-7

1-3

0-0

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

2

-5

5

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Miami Heat

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

50

11-26

1-5

9-12

4

6

10

11

3

1

6

3

-1

32

39

5-12

0-0

0-1

3

8

11

2

3

2

1

0

-3

10

43

7-11

4-5

2-2

0

4

4

2

0

0

3

2

+13

20

30

3-4

2-2

0-0

1

6

7

2

0

1

0

5

+15

8

37

6-15

0-0

2-2

2

2

4

4

0

2

3

4

-15

14

BENCH

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

14

0-1

0-0

1-2

1

3

4

0

3

0

0

4

+4

1

13

3-4

3-4

0-0

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

3

-2

9

41

3-8

1-3

2-2

0

1

1

2

1

0

2

5

+4

9

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS