Small is big for Wade, Heat in Game 4 win

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

The San Antonio Spurs may have lost this game on the opening tip. Well, not the opening tip, that was a turnover two seconds into the game. No, San Antonio lost the game on one of the first possessions of the game.
 
That was when Tiago Splitter was matched up with Dwyane Wade – purposefully with Mike Miller in the lineup instead of Udonis Haslem – and the notion perhaps insulted Wade. A series of looking old and stuck on the perimeter for Wade would not do. Not with San Antonio more or less ignoring him with Splitter on him.
 
Wade drove to the basket and drew a foul. Gregg Popovich recognized Splitter could not hang with that Wade and inserted Gary Neal immediately.
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Spurs-Heat Game 4: Halftime Report

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade came back with a vengeance in the first half of Game Four. The two took to the paint and tried to get to the rim in giving the Spurs a double-digit lead.
 
San Antonio was ready to respond.
 
A late run from San Antonio leaves the Spurs right back where they started, tied at 49-49 despite 10 turnovers and the Heat getting out on the break and attacking the basket.
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5 things to watch: Spurs vs. Heat Game 4

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs (14-3) will look to put a grip on the 2013 NBA Finals as they host the Miami Heat (13-6) at the AT&T Center for Game 4.

The Spurs are coming off a huge win over the Heat in Game 3 winning 113-77 in San Antonio. The Spurs were paced by Danny Green, who finished with a career postseason-high 27 points and made a postseason-high 7 three-pointers. Gary Neal finished with a postseason-high 24 points, connecting on a career postseason–high 6 threes. The Spurs set a Finals record with 16 three-pointers. Lebron James finished with 15 points off 7-21 shooting from the field.

Tony Parker is also expected to play tonight in Game 4 after suffering a left hamstring injury in Game 3.

And as the Spurs look to go up 3-1 in the Finals, here are five things to watch for in Game 4:

• Miami is 5-3 on the road this postseason.

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NBA Finals: This is a weird series

Written by Trevor Zickgraf on .

Danny GreenIt started off as we thought it might.  Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are key in a San Antonio Spurs win while LeBron James had a triple double in a Game 1 that could've gone either way.  Then things got weird. 

First the Spurs got crushed by the Miami Heat, which isn't too weird, but what was weird is that the blowout wasn't a part of a "LeBron game" or a "Big 3" game.  Rather, it was Mario Chalmers scoring 19 and Ray Allen scoring 13 to help James, who had a sneaky good 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists game.  Then Game 3 came, and the Spurs this time poured it on, handing the Heat their worst playoff loss in the franchise's relatively young playoff history.  There was no Tony Parker brilliance, no Tim Duncan throwback game and no Manu Ginobili outburst off the bench.  Nope, it was the Gary Neal and Danny Green show.

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San Antonio capitalizing on extra offensive chances

Written by Quixem Ramirez on .

The entire Miami Heat defensive gambit predicates on one thing, and one thing only: Chances. Extra chances are what spur their subsequent offensive assault -- only Denver and the Clippers scored more points off turnovers than Miami during the regular season.
 
Miami is still dangerous in the half-court, but especially so in transition, when the defense is scrambling to align properly and LeBron James can slide by unimpeded for a jarring dunks or Dwyane Wade can utilize the open creases in the defense to get easy buckets.
 
James made 429 shots inside five feet, many of which occurred in transition. That mark led the league. He attempted a bunch of shots there also; only Greg Monroe, Dwight Howard and Russell Westbrook were more frequent visitors to the most efficient spot on the floor.
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Spurscast #298: Finals series, Part 2

Written by Kyle Boenitz on .

On this week's edition of the Spurscast, Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) and Aaron Preine (@DukeOfBexar) join me to continue our Finals series.

The San Antonio Spurs are now up 2-1, so what does that mean for the rest of the series? What adjustments do the Heat need to make to get back into it? How did I not know how old Q was?

We answer these questions and more, on this edition of the Spurscast.

The Spurscast. The original Spurs podcast.

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Music: Bob Seger -- Night Moves

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Video: Jimmy Kimmel Live's Guillermo goes 'Mano a Manu'

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

During the 2013 NBA Finals, Guillermo of "The Jimmy Kimmel Live" show hit up media day in Miami which meant one thing - comedy gold. In case you do not know who Guillermo is, he is the loveable sidekick for Jimmy Kimmel and regularly gets into shenanigans during the show.

While the Finals series was in Miami, he took part in the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat media session and asked the hard hitting questions such as if Chris Andersen "sucks" in baseball, the last time Ray Allen made out with a girl and much more.

He also caught up with Manu Ginobili where he shared with the masses his exclusive interview with Manu Ginobili in a segment he called "Mano a Manu."

Check out the "lengthy" interview Guillermo had with Manu including pestering Tony Parker and Tracy McGrady as to why LeBron hates him.

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Heat's Lewis says Spurs were option last year. Discusses Green, Leonard's growth

Written by Paul Garcia on .

AT&T Center – Almost a year ago in early July, Miami Heat forward Rashard Lewis was a free agent and searching for a championship contender to sign with. Before signing with the Heat, Lewis was rumored to be in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers, Heat, Atlanta Hawks, and the team he’s down 2-1 against in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs.

On Wednesday at the Heat media session before the team practiced, I caught up with Lewis and asked him if the Spurs were really a team he was interested in and I also asked him about his thoughts on the Spurs’ young perimeter players who are making a name for themselves on the biggest stage in basketball, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.

First, Lewis told me that signing with the Spurs was an option.

“We did (have communication),” Lewis said. “I didn’t necessarily talk to them. I think there was some talks with my agent and I think T.J. Ford came down. I think they kind of talked about it for a little bit.”

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Video: Spurs-Heat Game 3 micro-movie

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat was one for the record books. The Spurs simply crushed the Heat winning 113-77 in San Antonio thanks in large part to the 3-point barrage by Danny Green and Gary Neal.

Green made a postseason-high 7 three-pointers while Neal finished with a career postseason–high 6 threes. The Spurs set a Finals record with 16 three-pointers. Green and Neal became the first two teammates to each make 6-plus three-pointers in an NBA Finals game.

It was a tremendous night for the Spurs and a night fans will never forget.

Relive those great moments from Game 3 with a Game 3 micro-movie by the NBA.

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Report: San Antonio among possible landing spots for Dwight Howard

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Center Dwight Howard will be a free agent this summer and according to Steve Kyler of Hoops World, the San Antonio Spurs (among other teams) are listed as a possible landing spot for him next season.

The much maligned big man had a disappointing first season season with the Lakers. From injuries to a sub-par performance in the first round of the playoffs against San Antonio, Howard hasn't been the dominating player he once was with Orlando.

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