Spurs vs. Heat: Preview NBA Finals Game 3
Game 3 of the NBA Finals tips off tonight from South Florida in American Airlines Arena as the Miami Heat hosts the San Antonio Spurs.
The best of seven series is tied 1-1 after the first two games in San Antonio. With its win on Sunday in Game 2, Miami reduced the series to a best of five and took home court advantage as well.
The two teams are very evenly matched with each going on short spurts to lead by 8 to 10 points, only to have the other do the same to tie the score or go ahead.
Miami knows San Antonio’s head coach Gregg Popovich has broken down Game 2 and dissected and re-dissected in preparation for Game 3 in Miami.
Miami expects the Spurs to come out in Game 3, play better, and not make the same mistakes that contributed to their Game 2 loss.
Normally, Miami would have had the day off on Monday, but the team met in Miami to watch films of Game 2.
Tony Parker the leading scorer for San Antonio praised the way the Heat came out and played in Game 2 after losing in Game 1 by 15 points.
It was the 13th consecutive time the Heat has followed a loss in the postseason with a win. Parker said his team needs to respond to their loss in Game 2 as th
e Heat did.
The Spurs were 30-11 on the road during the regular season, while Miami has won 11 consecutive postseason games on its home court and was 32-9 at home during the regular season.
However, the last team to defeat the Heat at home in the postseason was this San Antonio team in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last season.
Manu Ginobili said he and his Spurs teammates were in a difficult situation having to go to Miami with the need to win at minimum one of the next two games of the series.
The Spurs do not want to return to San Antonio down 3-1 in the series.
Both teams felt they did not play well in the game they won. San Antonio had too many turnovers in Game 1, but was helped when LeBron James suffered severe leg cramps and could not play over half of the fourth quarter.
Miami started slow in Game 3, but James caught fire during the third quarter. James ended up scoring 35 points with 10 rebounds.
With Miami’s win in Game 2 in San Antonio, the pressure is now on San Antonio to do the same in Miami. Tim Duncan the veteran forward for the Spurs said the past does not matter. He said the team is now here and must come through with a win.
Miami knows if they can hold serve in each of the last three games at home they can win the championship. However, they do not want to think about that, as they know the Spurs could easily win Game 3 or 4 and put all the pressure back on the shoulders of the Heat.
Pick: Spurs 95-91
