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| Danny Green and Gary Neal played the best games of their careers in Game 3. The back court duo combined for 51 points and made 13 threes together. (Image from: Eric Gay/AP) |
The game was close in the 1st half but the Spurs were in control. Miami tied it at 44 all and that was the closest they ever got. The Heat never led in this game and they were lucky to be down just 6 at the break. Gary Neal was the best player in the first half as he led all scorers with 15 points. Then the Spurs had a run in the 3rd quarter that was similar to the Heat's run in Game 2. This run was a lot BETTER though as it carried over to the 4th quarter and finished as a 36-point beat down. The Spurs utterly embarrassed the Heat and dominated all facets of the game. The Spurs rained threes all over the court as they made 16 of them which is a finals record. They were +16 on the boards, +8 in assists and -4 in turnovers. Needless to say, they owned all the winning categories. San Antonio played with more intensity and focus which was headed by their support players while Miami's star players lacked energy and urgency. Miami settled for a bunch of jumpers which they missed and they hardly attacked the paint. The Heat managed just 10 FTs with LBJ getting none. Credit to the Spurs for limiting the Heat but as Danny Green said, Miami (or LBJ) was also stopping themselves more by settling and being passive.
#Spurs3 #Kawhi #Danny #Gary
The biggest stars of Game 3 all came from the Spurs' Big 3. The names though are a lot different: Gary Neal, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard. Neal and Green played their best games in their careers while Leonard finished with another double-double. This trio had more points and rebounds than the Heat 3 plus they made 15 threes. They have been playing very well in this series which bodes well for the Spurs. The "new" Big 3 actually has more points than Parker, Manu and Duncan in this series while they have matched the total output of Wade, Bosh and James. Wow. It does not even matter that Manu and Parker only combined for 13 points when the role players exploded for 51 points. Green and Leonard have also been impressive defensively against Wade and James. Green made Wade pay often for missed rotations and bad decisions as he connected on 7-9 from deep. Meanwhile, Kawhi was active on the glass again beating James for a few loose balls. If this continues for the Spurs, the Heat wont win another game in this series. It wont even matter if Tony Parker is injured/limited for the rest of the series due to a hamstring problem. The Spurs play as a team and they can compensate for anything. The same cannot be applied to Miami.
#StepUp #NoExcuses #LetsGoHeat
Mike Miller was the best player for Miami as he finished with 15 points on 5/5 shooting from distance. Super Mario was nowhere in sight as he battled foul trouble. Instead, "Wario" Chalmers showed up with ZERO points and 4 turnovers. Dwyane Wade was great in the first half AGAIN (12 points) but predictably came up missing in the 2nd half. As for Bosh, he settled for jumpers which he mostly missed. LeBron James had less than 20 points AGAIN as he settled for jumpers and remained tentative offensively. The 4-time MVP appears to show signs of fatigue and mental breakdowns similar to what happened in the 2011 Finals. At least during that time, Wade was scoring over 25 points and that aint happening this year. The Spurs are doing a good job defensively but James can certainly overcome their defense. He needs to be aggressive and look for his shot early on instead of always passing. He cannot settle for jumpers as his ZERO FTs indicated. The worst part of his game (and Wade too), Leonard and Green are doing more than them. That is unacceptable for the so-called superstars. They still have a chance to rectify the situation and it needs to happen in Game 4 because if they lose, it is most probably over.
Miami was fortunate that this loss only counted as one because this blowout felt more than that. This loss was the worst in the era of the Heat 3. It was their worst loss of the year and it came at a terrible time. Everything that worked in Game 2 was going against them in Game 3. They now enter a "must win" situation on Thursday because a loss would almost guarantee a parade in San Antonio next week. The Heat has not lost 2 straight in 6 months but what they need is a string of consecutive wins because alternating wins and losses would give the Spurs the trophy. Miami knows what it needs to do: rotate on threes, force more turnovers and battle on the boards. Now, can they actually do all of that in Game 4? The biggest wildcard is LeBron James who continues to struggle shooting. Even his defense has been sub par. It's not all his fault but as the MVP and best player in the NBA, LBJ needs to score more and do more. Last year vs the Thunder, he averaged over 30 a game and Miami won. This year, he has not scored more than 18 points in 3 games and they are down in the series. I know James is passing and getting his teammates involved but if he scores more, wont the Spurs focus and help on him more which leaves his mates open more for better shots? LBJ needs to become unpredictable when it comes to forcing the issue instead of simply passing.
#Players of the Night
Danny Green (Spurs) - 27 points, 4 rebounds and 7 of 9 from downtown
Gary Neal (Spurs) - 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 of 10 from downtown
#Highlight of the Night
Raining Threes
#Tweets of the Nights
Heat's Big Three in this series: 130 points. Spurs Big Three of Danny Green, Gary Neal & Kawhi Leonard? Yup, 130 points.
Dear Mark Jackson: Are you sure Steph Curry and Clay Thompson are the best shooting backcourt ever? -- Signed Danny Green & Gary Neal
