Heat & Spurs Battle For Legacies In Game 7
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – And then there was one.
One game to decide the value of a year's worth of work trying to become NBA champion. For one team, it's one last shot at glory as the window is nearly closed on a historic run and for the other, immortality winning back-to-back championships.
"The moment is going to be grand," Miami Heat superstar LeBron James said.
While only one game, Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals could go a long way towards defining the legacy of the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. The Spurs have won multiple titles and had this year's championship trophy being wheeled to the bench before a historic collapse in Game 6.
The Heat is the defending champions and showed in Game 6's improbably victory that they aren't quite ready to give up the title. The game will come down to which team can come back from Game 6's heart-stopping finale and give one more championship performance.
"As a competitor you love it, because you know you have an opportunity and it's up to you," Heat guard Ray Allen said. "We have a chance in our building to make something great. All of our legacies are tied to this moment, this game. It's something our kids will be able to talk about that they were a part of. Forever will remember these moments, so we want to not live and have any regrets."
History dictates that the home team in a Game 7 holds a significant advantage, going 14-3. Not only that, but the last time the road team won a Game 7 of the Finals was when Washington beat Seattle in 1978, when this writer was just a few months old.
The Spurs' were tantalizingly close to the championship in Game 6. San Antonio led by five points with under a minute to go. The NBA had roped off the court and was literally wheeling out the Larry O'Brien trophy for the Spurs to celebrate another championship with on the court.
Then with a combination of three-point shots from Ray Allen and LeBron James, and a missed free throw from the Spurs, the game was tied and heading to overtime where the Heat would ultimately pull away just enough.
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