Tony Parker's time has come to lead San Antonio Spurs

Even amid the chaos of the waning moments of a game against the Miami Heat, Tony Parker said Friday he still managed to glance up at the clock before delivering his clutch shot and give San Antonio the win.

“When I was on the ground, I had time to look at the clock and so I knew there was 1.7 seconds (left on the shot clock) and I had time to make a shot,” Parker said of his dagger that propelled the Spurs to a 92-88 win over the Miami Heat in the opening game of the NBA finals on Thursday.

Parker held onto the ball as he tried to run the clock down and it appeared the Spurs were going to be called for a shot clock violation in those final seconds.

He spun, slipped to the ground, ducked under defender LeBron James and somehow managed to maintain the dribble and possession before banking in a 16-footer with less than a second on the shot clock.

Speaking during the Spurs practice at American Airlines arena, France’s Parker said he ranked that shot as one of the top three in his all-star career because he did it on such a grand stage.

“You have to put it in the top three,” Parker said. “Maybe the top one because it is the NBA finals but it doesn’t mean anything right now. It is only one game. If we go all the way, then you can put it at number one.”

Spurs centre Tim Duncan said he never gets tired of seeing Parker take over games in the final minute.

While Parker may not score as many points as some of the other elite guards in the league, he is one of the best all around players at that position, Duncan added.

“He’s as good as anyone in the league right now,” Duncan said. “He is asked to do so many different things so his numbers are less than some of the other guards out there.”

Parker finished with 21 points and six assists and no turnovers on nine-of-18 shooting from the field in game one.

Heading into Thursday’s game, he was averaging 23 points and 7.2 assists in the playoffs.

Parker was named MVP of the 2007 finals when the Spurs beat James’s Cleveland Cavaliers for the title. He was having another all-star season this year before suffering an ankle injury that caused him to miss some games.

Parker said he was a much better team leader now than in 2007. It is a role he was asked to embrace by Gregg Popovich after the Spurs’ coach watched Parker lead Team France in the 2011 World Championships.

“When I first arrived in San Antonio, I was 19 years old,” Parker said. “So I had always been a leader in France, but it was hard to be the leader of the Spurs.

“You had Tim Duncan and you had David Robinson. So I never wanted to step on their toes.

“It just arrived naturally. I had coach Pop’s blessings and Timmy’s blessings. Pop trusts me. So it helps a lot with my confidence.”