The San Antonio Spurs are proving that the best team is better than the best player.
On Thursday night a second consecutive team effort helped San Antonio rout the Miami Heat, 107-86, to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the 2014 NBA Finals with a chance to clinch a title at home on Sunday night.
Oh and by the way, no NBA Finals team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit since the championship series began in 1950. Let that soak in.
Yet again, the Spurs received major contributions from their “next big three” of Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw and Danny Green.
Leonard followed up a career-high 29-point effort in Game 3 with a double-double. The 22-year-old budding star scored 20 points and brought down 14 rebounds, making 7-of-12 from the floor. One of the plays on his highlight reel was a put-back dunk after Patty Mills missed a 3.
Leonard putting the exclamation point on the play led the Miami crowd to begin booing the Heat.
Then there was Diaw, the point forward who has jumped into the spotlight with his fantastic playing during the postseason.
Diaw has been touted all playoffs long because of his ability to pass so well as a big man. On Thursday, Diaw had a game-high nine assists, including a behind-the-back dish to Tiago Splitter that showed off his skills.
Not to be forgotten: Tony Parker.
Parker, if you recall, has been playing through an ankle injury during the Finals, but he’s still able to make Rashard Lewis look old.
Parker quietly scored 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Though he wasn’t shooting well from beyond the arc, he had no issues driving to the hoop and making the Heat defenders look … old.
