Miami Completes The Heat-Peat, 95-88
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - How do you follow up one of the greatest NBA Finals games in history? The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs did just that Thursday night with the greatest spectacle in sports, a Game 7, winner-take-all game at the AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat took it to the Spurs in a Game 7 for the ages, but there was just too much LeBron James for the Spurs to handle and Miami won it's second-consecutive NBA championship, 95-88
Coming into Game 7, the Heat and Spurs were both physically and mentally exhausted after an epic Game 6. The Heat had the momentum after an improbable win and the Spurs were trying to figure out how to come back from a historic collapse in the final minute of Game 6.
The Spurs' Tony Parker got the scoring started with a layup off a baseline cut. The Heat responded with a snap pass to LeBron James under the basket which he converted.
The Heat were tight coming into the game as they turned the ball over three times, including one giving the Spurs' Tim Duncan a free path to the basket on a fast break.
Mario Chalmers came out shooting again in Game 7 hitting his first shot from just inside the three-point line to bring the Heat back to within two points.
Both teams started poorly on offense in the first four minutes of the game as fatigue and nerves looked to get the best of both veteran squads.
Miami remained cold from the field and the Spurs capitalized with a Manu Ginobli three-point shot followed by a two-point basket from Kawhi Leonard to open up an 11-4 lead.
The Heat started out 2-8 from the field near the halfway point of the first quarter, but were down 11-6 when the first timeout hit with 6:18 to go.
Dwyane Wade showed up coming out of the timeout to give the Heat a quick four points to help narrow the lead to just three points before Boris Diaw hit a wide-open layup to give the Spurs a 15-10 lead.
Both teams struggled mightily in the first quarter with San Antonio shooting poorly and the Heat turning the ball over and over.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, the Spurs were shooting just 35 percent from the field, but the Heat couldn't capitalize as Miami was shooting 31 percent from the field.
The Heat were able to tie the game with just over a minute left in the quarter when the Birdman Chris Andersen got an offensive rebound and tip-in to tie the game at 15.
The Heat took its first lead of the game when Shane Battier hit his second three-pointer of the quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, the Heat held an 18-16 lead over San Antonio.
The Spurs were shooting just 32 percent from the field in the quarter and 25 percent from behind the three-point line. Miami was just barely better at 37 percent from the field, but 50 percent from deep.
Battier continued his hot shooting in the second quarter and extended the Heat's lead to five points until Tony Parker finally cooled off the Heat's run.
Parker followed up a Miami turnover by hitting a wide-open Tiago Spliter to help close the Heat lead to just one point before Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra took a timeout with just less than ten minutes to go in the half.
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