NBA: Heat force game seven versus Spurs with OT win

(Updated 12:16pm) The Miami Heat came up with enough stops late in game six, to force a seventh and deciding battle for the 2013 NBA championship, via a 103-100 overtime victory, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.

The Spurs had taken a 3-2 series lead by beating the Heat in San Antonio last Sunday (Monday, PHL time) and were hoping to close the series out.

At the onset of OT, the Spurs took a three-point lead on a Kawhi Leonard jumper and a Tony Parker free throw, 100-97. Ray Allen and LeBron James both hit shots though to put the Heat ahead, 101-100, 1:43 left in the extension.

The Heat forced a 24-second violation on the Spurs on the next trip down, but James missed the turnaround on their offensive.

San Antonio had multiple chances but two Manu Ginobili turnovers sandwiched a blocked Tony Parker shot, which forced them to foul Ray Allen who hit both free throws, 1.9 seconds left.

The Spurs had one last chance to win, but Danny Green's triple was blocked by Bosh, his second big rejection in OT, forcing a winner-take-all battle on Thursday (Friday, PHL time).

LeBron James, who was rejuvenated in the second half after losing his headband on a score, finished with a triple-double of 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Mario Chalmers poured in 20 markers, while Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 24, with Bosh adding 11 big rebounds and two rejections.

Down by 10 to start the fourth quarter, the Heat unloaded an 8-2 run built on triples from Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller to get within four, 77-73, 10:26 remaining in the game.

James then took over with eight of his side's next 10 points, to knot things at 82-all. After a missed triple by Danny Green, Ray Allen put the Heat ahead for the first time since the second quarter, 84-82, 6:03 left in the fourth.

A James split made it a three-point Miami lead, before he met a Leonard drive with a score of his own, 87-84, 4:45 left. Two minutes without a made shot were ended by a Ginobili make, but Wade matched it with charities, 89-86, 2:09 on the clock.

Ginobili tried to go back-to-back but missed a triple, though Danny Green got the offensive foul and called timeout. Isolated at the top of the three-point arc and with time winding down, Parker nailed a big triple, then came up with a steal on Mario Chalmers on the other end that he converted into a jumper, 91-89, 58 seconds left.

Off a timeout, James turned the ball over as Kawhi Leonard came up with a steal. Forced to foul to stop the fast break, Ray Allen sent Manu Ginobili to the line for two charities, which he converted. James turned the ball over anew on the next time down, and off the foul, Ginobili this time earned a split, 94-89, 28.2 seconds remaining in the game.

The Heat sued for time anew, resulting in a James triple try that missed. Mike Miller hauled in the offensive board and dished it to James who hit on the second go-around, for just a two-point game, 20.1 seconds left.

Down five with under half a minute to play, James canned a huge triple off an offensive rebound, to make it a two-point deficit for Miami, 94-92, 20.1 seconds left.

The Spurs whistled for time and got the inbounds to sophomore Kawhi Leonard. His first charity bounced right out of the hoop, but he converted the second, 95-92. James tried to line up a second triple, but he missed. An offensive rebound again by the Heat led to an Allen triple though, and the Spurs could not hit with 5.2 seconds left, resulting in the extra period.

The Heat shot 46.9 percent from the field and held the Spurs to a 43.5 percent clip by the game's end. They also converted 57.9 percent from downtown, while giving up just 5-of-18 long-range makes to their foes (27.8 percent).


More than halfway through the first quarter, back-to-back hits by Tim Duncan had the Spurs up 24-19, but Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier connected from the field to knot things up. Then a Chalmers triple put the Heat up at the 48.7 seconds mark, only for a Tiago Splitter charity to water down their lead after 12 minutes, 27-25.

Battier and Danny Green exchanged triples at the start of the second, but with LeBron James sitting on the bench, the Heat managed to keep building their lead behind Chalmers and Dwyane Wade, 36-30.

Another pair of back-to-back hits by Duncan, who was 8-for-8 from the field at this point, got the Spurs within one, 40-39, 5:28 left in the first half, but LeBron James got the four back, 44-39.

Unfortunately for them, the Heat would fail to score again in the period, after James' free throws. They went on to miss six attempts, coupled with two turnovers, while the Spurs on the other end closed out the half on an 11-0 blast, seven coming from Duncan, to put the road team up at the break, 50-44.

Tim Duncan took a dip in the fountain of youth to produce 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting, along with eight rebounds and a steal in just under 20 minutes. Kawhi Leonard added 10 markers, while Boris Diaw and Gary Neal produced a total of seven off the bench.

Mario Chalmers was the only Heat member in double figures at the break with 14 points, including two triples. LeBron James had nine points on nine field goal attempts, plus three rebounds and five assists, while Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored six apiece.

The Spurs turned the ball over eight times, and saw their offensive rebounds doubled, 8-to-4, but they were hitting more of their shots, 58.3 percent, while holding the home team to a 41.5 clip.

Manu Ginobili kept things rolling for the Spurs, hitting a three-pointer to start the third, but San Antonio got just one more field goal over a six-minute span, allowing the Heat to claw within a point after a Mike Miller lay-up, 57-56, 6:16 left to play.

After a timeout though, the Spurs came out swinging again. A Parker and-one drew Wade's third personal and gave San Antonio some breathing room. Not content with that, the road team tacked on eight more points for an 11-0 run, getting a double-digit lead, 68-56.

A floater by Wade snapped the Spurs' run, only for them to punch back with three from the stripe, 71-58. Battier and Wade buried jumpers to get their deficit under double-digits, but the Spurs still boasted of a 10-point lead, 75-65, despite James charities to end the penultimate canto.

Tim Duncan finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds, but he lost steam in the latter part of the game. Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and hauled in 11 boards, while Tony Parker finished with 19 points and eight assists.

Both teams finished with 15 turnovers each, but San Antonio gave up 17 turnover points, versus 12 by Miami. The Spurs were just 22 percent from the field in the extra five minutes, while the Heat were hitting at a 42.9 percent clip. - AMD, GMA News