Big 3 Get Hot At Right Time For Miami
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Heat entered Game 4 of the 2013 NBA Finals knowing they couldn't go down 3-1 to a San Antonio Spurs team trying to capture another championship.
So, the Heat did what they have done so many times the last three years, rode the Big Three to victory.
The Heat's Big Three, consisting of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade, said they had to play together and play a complete game if they were to avoid a 3-1 deficit and near-certain defeat in the NBA Finals.
Some said the Heat's Big Three didn't have it in them anymore, but by the time the final horn sounded for Game 4, the rumors of the Big Three's decline had been overstated.
LeBron had 33 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots while Wade had 32 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals, and one blocked shot. Bosh also came up big on both ends of the floor with improved defense and 20 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
Combined, the Big Three set a new playoff record for the group scoring with 85 combined points while also gathering in 30 rebounds, 10 steals, and 9 assists in the victory. Perhaps just as importantly, combined the Heat stars had just two turnovers in the entire game.
On the other side of the court, the Spurs' Big Three of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobli faltered in the second half of Game 4. The trio finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists, but combined to commit seven turnovers in the game.
Miami turned up the defensive pressure and rode the Big Three for everything they could in Game 4 and it paid off with a 109-93 victory to tie up the series. All three know that for the Heat to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy for a second straight year, it's going to take that kind of effort for the next three games.
"I was going to play until the tank is empty," LeBron said of Game 4. "That's the way it's going to have to be in the rest of the series."
