NBA Finals: Miami Big 3 Dominate To Square Series

2013-NBA-Finals-Logo For the first time this finals series the "Big 3" from South Florida had complete control of the game. All-Star regulars LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all had their best performances of this years finals as Miami ensured the series would go into a sixth - and possibly seventh - game. After squaring the ledger at 2-2 in San Antonio last night, the Heat go into game five with a renewed confidence and the team cohesion that saw them finish the regular season with a 66-16 record. Fast ball movement and cagey defence are the trademarks of Miami basketball and it was evident from the onset that Wade, James and co. were looking to make amends for the awful performance in Game 3. San Antonio did get the jump on Miami initially as Tony Parker came out shooting a high percentage. The three-time champion point guard with the Spurs was on limited minutes for the night as he was nursing a hamstring injury, but the Spurs offensive efficiency was in full swing as they got out to an early 10-point lead. Enter Dwayne Wade. The Miami guard was explosive from the beginning and his efforts at both ends of the court saw his team quickly work back into the quarter and ultimately took the lead into quarter time. Wade and James hit a combined 10-11 from the field with a total of 23 points and Parker ended with 11 points and two assists. Wade continued his nostalgic finals performance in the second period as the Heat surged to their biggest lead of the match. Another 3 assists accompanied by two steals and a blocked shot and we were watching vintage D. Wade. Veteran Ray Allen was crucial off the bench in ensuring a 10-point lead scoring six for the quarter but Tony Parker started weaving his magic again late in the period to see the match go into half time all-square. Wade continued his virtuoso performance in the third period as Chris Bosh joined in the party. The 7"0 centre was fired up as he shot 3-4 from the field along with four rebounds and two blocked shots. The Miami defence was nullifying the influence of Parker in the quarter and as a result the Spurs needed to find other outlets to score. Danny Green stepped up and continued his incredible percentage from the three-point line hitting two from outside. He and Gary Neal combined for 12 three-pointers in Game 3 and, although they're attempts last night were dropping, the amount of good looks for San Antonio had decreased. LeBron James was answering his critics as he and Wade were shooting at better than fifty percent for the match and Miami took a 5-point advantage into the final break. The match was still in the balance when the teams took the floor in the final period but all hopes of back-to-back victories for the Spurs were shattered when James, Wade and Bosh all continued to dominate. Bosh was a beast on the boards collecting another five for the quarter as future hall of famers James and Wade proceeded to shoot lights out. Miami took their lead to 16 midway through the quarter and the series was destined to be turned into a best of three scenario. LeBron James and Chris Bosh ended up with double-doubles on the night (33 and 11, 20 and 13 respectively) and Dwayne Wade added another 32 to go with the six steals that emphasised his two-way game. The Heat shot an impressive 52.9 percent from the field while San Antonio could only manage 44.3 percent, which they accompanied with 18 turnovers. Veteran and four-time champion forward Tim Duncan was the best for the Spurs as he finished the match with 20 points and 10 rebounds but it was a disappointing night for all concerned in Texas. The 109-93 victory was hands down Miami's best performance of this years finals series and back-to-back rings for the Miami outfit is a possibility again. The next game is Sunday night in San Antonio and the home side need to consolidate on the home court advantage before returning to Florida for the final two scheduled games of the post-season. Irrespective of who you support this seems to be a series that is destined to go down to the wire.
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