2014 NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs in the lead after a convincing victory against the Miami Heat in game 3
After scoring a combined 18 points in the first two games, Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points giving the San Antonio Spurs a 2-1 series lead, and handing the Miami Heat their first home loss of this year’s playoffs. Leonard started the game on a high, getting all of his first six shots in, including a pair of threes. The Spurs won 111-92.
He shot 10 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 6 from beyond the three point arc for the game. Leonard scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half, a record breaking effort for the Spurs. The Spurs knocked down 25 shots of 33 attempts, recording 75.8% beating the Finals record of 75% that the Orlando Magic had set in the 2009 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I just found a rhythm and my teammates found me the ball. I made shots,"-Kawhi Leonard
The other key contributor to the Spurs early offense in the first half was Danny Green who finished with 15 points, 3 assists and 5 steals. Despite battling foul trouble, he set the tone for the game with a couple of steals early on . Green is known across the league for his shooting and holds the finals records for most threes in a game, but in this encounter the Heat had closed him down and he adapted by putting the ball on the floor and putting in floaters off the dribble.
Highlights from Kawhi Leonard’s career high game:
The Spurs offense went all guns blazing throughout the game, shooting 60% from the field, 45% from the three point range and 82% from the free throw line. However, it was a game neither Coach would be satisfied with when it comes to the defense as the Heat didn’t shoot all that bad either (51%-48%-75%). The Heat had no answer on the defensive as the Spurs excelled with their offense in the first half.
Dwyane Wade finished with 22 points and was extremely good in the thrid quarter, a period of play that the Heat outscored the Spurs by 10. The Spurs had a lead of just seven points at that stage. LeBron James also finished with 22 points along with 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals but a costly 7 turnovers. The Heat were very sloppy with the ball as all of the 20 turnovers were contributed by 5 players-James, Wade, Ray Allen, Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers.
Turnovers, missed layups and sloppy defence are the areas the Heat will have to make adjustments, in order to come out on top in Game 4 that is pivotal to their chances in the series. The Heat were outscored 12-4 in the open court largely due to their 20 turnovers in comparison to just 12 by the Spurs.
Meanwhile, Chalmers was ineffective for the third straight game in these finals, facing foul trouble for the second time in these three games so far. Allen with 2 three pointers in the game is now only 4 adrift of Robert Horry’s record of 56 three pointers in the NBA Finals.
The Finals will be played as per the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the first time after 29 years. This will give the Spurs a chance to wrap up the series at home in San Antonio if they take Game 4.
The Spurs win is the 38th for the road team in this post-season, the most in the Playoffs since 2007. Their lead of 21 after 2 quarters was the largest in the Finals at halftime by a road team since 1996.
Here is the 41 point first quarter from the Spurs that set the tone for them: