Spurs at Heat, NBA Finals 2014 final score: San Antonio takes 2-1 series lead with decisive, 111-92 win

After a Game 2 loss that included some untimely free throw miscues and full-on dominance from LeBron James, the San Antonio Spurs were in desperate need of a win as the 2014 NBA Finals shifted to Miami’s American Airlines Arena. Fortunately for the visiting team, they were able to put together one of the best offensive halves in NBA history, and as a result of the cushion derived from that explosion, the Spurs snatched a 2-1 series advantage with a 111-92 victory over the Miami Heat.

The game began with a flurry of offense on both side, but more specifically, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard came out firing on all cylinders. Leonard, who is best known as a defensive stopper, averaged only 9 points per game in the first two contests of the series, but the versatile forward scored 13 points (on 4-for-4 shooting) in the first seven minutes of the game to pace the Spurs to a 25-12 advantage that included a 14-2 spurt.

Leonard was matched basket for basket in the early going, though, as LeBron James was up to the challenge. The four-time MVP scored 12 consecutive points for Miami to cut into the San Antonio lead, and it looked as if James would singlehandedly be able to keep the Heat within striking distance. However, Leonard and the Spurs weren’t done, as they closed the first quarter with a 14-5 lead that featured some exquisite offense (San Antonio shot 13 for 15 from the floor) on the way to a 41-25 lead.

Somehow, the onslaught was just beginning from the Spurs, as they began the second quarter by knocking down six consecutive shots to provide a 25-point cushion at 55-30. At that point, San Antonio had converted a virtually impossible 19 of their 21 field goal attempts, and there were rumblings in the Twitter world of the “greatest offensive stretch in NBA Finals history”.

On cue, the Miami Heat began to wake up a bit, just as the Spurs cooled off from their furious stretch of productivity. The home team sprinted to an 18-7 run that cut the lead to “just” 14 points, and when the half was over, the Heat had converted more than half of their field goal attempts despite the lopsided score.

Unfortunately for the defending champions, however, San Antonio’s offense was just that much better, and they pushed back with late spurt to take a 21-point lead into the halftime break. The Spurs finished the opening half having converted 25 of their 33 field goal attempts (75.8%) and that was good for the most efficient offensive half in the history of the NBA Finals.

The second half began in very promising fashion for the Miami Heat, as they showed signs of resolve by flying out of the gate with a 6-0 run. Dwyane Wade converted a three-point play and Chris Bosh followed with a three-pointer to cut the lead to a more manageable 15 points, and when LeBron finished a fast break lay-up at the 6:35 mark, the deficit was down to 13.

By the time the third quarter evaporated, the Heat had outscored the Spurs by a 25-15 margin, and although San Antonio maintained an 11-point advantage, Miami was able to slice the lead to as little as seven in the period. The defensive end was, quite clearly, the difference for the Heat in the quarter, and as Erik Spoelstra noted in his halftime address to the team, they were able to achieve their goal of cutting the lead in half.

Despite the valiant effort from the Heat to achieve the incredible comeback, it simply wasn’t Miami’s night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. San Antonio never led by less than double-digits throughout the final quarter, and despite the best efforts of the Heat, it seemed as if the massive disadvantage sapped their energy considerably.

Kawhi Leonard was quite easily the player of the game for the Spurs, and the young forward amassed his career high (both regular season and playoffs) with 29 points on 10 for 13 shooting while playing high-level defense on LeBron James. Aside from Leonard, it was a balanced, team effort on the part of San Antonio, but they finished with 59% shooting from the field and 48% (10 for 21) shooting from long distance, which proved to be more than enough to outlast even the explosive Heat.

On the Miami side, James finished with 22 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals for yet another stat-stuffing effort, but LeBron also committed an unsightly 7 turnovers in the game, and not even his heroics could carry the champs. Dwyane Wade also struggled a bit in ball security (5 turnovers), but in the end, it was the Miami defense and their inability to contain the Spurs that cost the Heat an opportunity to take the series advantage.

Game 4 of the 2014 NBA Finals is set for Thursday evening in Miami, with the Heat and Spurs set to tip things off at 9:00 pm ET on ABC. Stay tuned.