NBA Finals Game 3: San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat – 5 Talking Points

The San Antonio Spurs took full advantage of their first home game in the NBA Finals by thumping the Miami Heat by 36 points. After a narrow 4-point win for the Spurs in Game 1 at Miami, the Heat came back strong in Game 2 with a 103-84 blowout victory.  The Spurs just redefined the term ‘blowout’ with the third largest win in NBA Finals history!

Here are the 5 talking points from Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals:

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat drives to the basket against Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonio Spurs during Game Three of the 2013 NBA Finals on June 11, 2013 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Getty Images)

DE-FENSE

The Spurs started the game with some tremendous defending in the paint. Miami were struggling to penetrate the ‘D’ and were forced to take mid-range jumpers. They obviously had a plan to keep LeBron James quiet, as they doubled up on him whenever he received the ball. He was given absolutely no space whatsoever and poor shot selection meant it was up to Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to deliver. And they failed, as both shot well below 50% – not the best way to show up in a crucial game in the Finals. It was almost pitiful to see that the Heat had a few air-balls as well!

The Spurs were very smooth in their defensive transitions and double teams and that proved to be crucial in this Game 3 contest.