Tiago Splitter goes up and under for the finish (GIF)

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Basketball fans are treated to beautiful basketball whenever they watch the San Antonio Spurs in their element. They run beautiful half-court sets, find the open man, make the extra pass, and take advantage of transition opportunities when they get them.

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Writers can get descriptive in trying to tell the story of the Spurs if they want, using colorful adjectives as they laud the precise and pleasing way in which the Spurs carve up opponents. They can do that, but sometimes it is better to simply state what happened; oftentimes that describes the awe-inspiring success of the Spurs more than any creative writing ever could.

That is what will happen here.

Please observe as Matt Bonner drives into the lane and then finds a cutting Tiago Splitter for an up-and-under reverse lay-up.

splitter-up-and-under
splitter-up-and-under

The Heat have not exactly played lock-down defense in this series, but Splitter’s finish is made all the more impressive by the fact that he beat Chris Andersen and LeBron James, two of Miami’s better defenders, to put this one away.

With the Spurs cruising to a blowout victory in Miami’s building in game four of the NBA Finals, you would be hard-pressed to find anybody on San Antonio’s side who isn’t having an effective game. And while Bonner and Splitter are both having understated games off the bench, they joined forces on this play for a nice bucket.