The Spurs won game five of the best-of-seven 2014 NBA Finals, 104-87, for a 4-1 victory on Sunday (Monday, PHL time) at the AT&T Center, giving them their fifth NBA title.
The home team came storming back from a 16-point deficit, and led by as much as 22 points, to topple the defending champions, who got a indefatigable effort from LeBron James (31 points, 10 rebounds, five rebounds, two blocks), and not much else from their supporting cast.
The Heat came out strong in the first period, opening with an 8-0 blast, and a Ray Allen triple later on extended that lead to 22-6, five minutes and change left in the first period. However, Manu Ginobili led a 12-0 run to put the Spurs in the thick of things, 22-18.
LeBron James countered with five straight, but Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard scores sandwiched Norris Cole charities to arrive at the 29-22 score after the initial 12 minutes.
The Heat offense stalled in the second. They went nearly five minutes without a basket, conceding 14 unanswered to the Spurs, 42-35. James ended their silence with a seven-foot bucket, but Ginobili countered with a trey.
James and Wade conspired to water down their deficit somewhat, but a Boris Diaw layup closed out the scoring in the first half, 47-40, in favor of the Spurs.
Both teams struggled to score at the beginning of the third, but when the Spurs woke up,it was a like a tidal wave hit the Heat. An 18-4 run, highlighted by three straight triples, two from Patty Mills and one from Ginobili, gave the home team a 65-44 buffer, 5:01 left in the third.
The Heat got back-to-back baskets, but Mills quickly squelched the run with another triple. Another four-point cluster by Miami got it to 17, 70-53, but once again Mills doused the fire with a triple, to return the buffer to 20.
Miami started the fourth with one last run, scoring five unanswered, 77-58. Tony Parker finally got on board though, and made back-to-back seven-footers, 90-72. James was later subbed out at the 6:30 mark, essentially waving the white flag.
Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the Spurs with 22 points, and added 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. He was later named Finals MVP
Manu Ginobili came off the bench for 19 points, four boards and four assists. Patty Mills sparkled for 17 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting, while Tony Parker bucked a slow start to chime in with 16 markers.
Chris Bosh was the Heat’s second-best scorer, putting in 13 markers and seven caroms. Dwyane Wade was a non-factor with 11 on 12 shot attempts.
The Spurs had won game one 110-95, ripping off a late fourth quarter run after James suffered from cramps. The Heat came back in game two, winning 98-96, but San Antonio was simply red-hot in Miami, getting victories of 111-92 and 107-86 to set this one up.
During the 2012-13 series, the Heat won in seven games, after the Spurs fell in OT in game six, up 3-2. - AMD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
