Judging by the play of San Antonio’s stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, it would be fair to expect a Spurs loss in Game 3. Collectively, the trio didn’t have an awful night by the true definition of the word, but the group didn’t exactly produce a banner night, either.
Fortunately for the Spurs not everyone took the night off.
Role players Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green stepped up in a big way and willed the team to a 111-92 win over the Miami Heat in the pivotal Game 3 to give the Spurs a 2-1 series lead. For the Heat, it was the team’s first loss at home in this year’s postseason.
Leonard led San Antonio with 29 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and Green also had a big night with 15. The pair also played strong defense, adding seven steals in the game. In all, their 44 points were just more than twice as much as their season averages.
Meanwhile, it was a lackluster night for Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. Duncan’s 14 points and six rebounds were somewhat offset by his four turnovers. Parker had 15 points but on only 4-of-10 shooting. Ginobili’s 11 points were far below his series average of 17.5 ppg heading into the game.
For the Spurs, the real factor was their hot start. The team scored 41 first-quarter points and at the half held a 21-point lead. Enough has been seen from the Miami Heat to know that the game wasn’t over at halftime. Sure enough, Miami rallied and fueled by a 10-0 run in the third quarter, the Heat cut the deficit to only seven. Playing behind for so long eventually caught up with the home team, though, and the lead proved to be too much to make up.
For the third consecutive game now, the balance has shifted. After a Game 1 win, the Spurs held the advantage. A Heat win in Game 2 gave Miami home court advantage. After Tuesday’s contest, the Spurs are again in the driver’s seat.
The impressive thing isn’t really that San Antonio won — rather it was how the Spurs did it. A win in Miami wasn’t out of the question, but the 19-point victory was unexpected. The fact that Miami was undefeated at home heading into the series is indicative of just how difficult it is to win there. San Antonio wasn’t only victorious, but the game was never all that close.
If the series has proven anything, however, it’s probably that we’ll see more twists and turns along the way.
Game 4 will be Thursday night in Miami.
