The Heat of the moment

The Miami Heat played some big cards in finally repelling the resilient San Antonio Spurs, 95-88, and clinching their second straight NBA championship. Just when it was incumbent upon San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich to come up with something new after blowing a lead in the last half-minute of Game 6 and losing in overtime, it was Erik Spoelstra who showed the old dog some new tricks.

Off the bat, the Heat showed intimidating defensive intensity. Each time Tim Duncan touched the ball in the first quarter, there were suddenly two defenders on him. Duncan would go on to get his points, but he would be black and blue in getting every single one of them. The Heat showed different looks, starting off with Chris Andersen energetically pushing the veteran around. They’d double team and bump Duncan, then use other players, finishing with Chris Bosh, their sacrificial lamb on defense in Game 6.

The physicality of Miami was evident in the free throw tally from the first half. The Heat had barely a handful, making three of three. The Spurs scored on 14 out of 15. But Miami pressed on, knowing they would wear down their older rivals. There was no count of disrupted shots, missed lay-ups, and fatigued Spurs players who has trouble recovering from being bumped every step of the way to the basket.

The low-scoring first quarter started to look like a Spurs game. Neither team played particularly well, each scoring only 14 points. There was a lot of sloppy passing and poor shot selection. The pressure was apparent, frustration building quickly. Manu Ginobili slapped his hands in exasperation when he sat down midway through the period. Each team tried to shake off their nerves.

In the second quarter, San Antonio’s gamble became apparent. The Spurs backed off on LeBron James, denying him the driving lane, daring him to beat them with the outside shot. James obliged, burying his midrange jumpers. But he wasn’t the only Heat player scoring. In past games, the champions had been needing a third scorer behind James and Dwyane Wade. Chris Bosh had been inconsistent, and the bench spotty. Now, Shane Battier started serving notice with two three-pointers. Mario Chalmers started pitching in, too. The Spurs gambit backfired.

Miami also made it difficult for San Antonio to hit the outside shots. They challenged almost every shot, forcing Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard to put the ball on the floor and face a gauntlet of defenders. Simply put, they took the Spurs out of their comfort zone, swallowing them up inside the paint, then positioning themselves for the defensive rebounds.

Dwyane Wade also took what the defense gave him, which included quite a few mid-range jumpers. Wade had averaged in double figures of the first half of every game in the series. This time was no different, except for his continuing output in the second half. Wade then alternated his jumpers and attacks on the basket, pretty much getting his way against Spurs defenders. San Antonio had been able to contain the Miami running game in the second halves of their wins in the series. Not this time.

This is not to say that what they did was easy. Even when they led very late in the game, James kept reminding his teammates that the job wasn’t finished. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a replay of Game 6. Miami’s defensive intensity never waned, and their fouls were harder, grinding down the morale and will of the Spurs. Ginobili, in particular, had a hard time, as the Heat cut off the passing lanes and forced him away from the basket. It was obvious the Spurs did not have a solution.

After their remarkable comeback in Game 6, Miami’s confidence was sky high. They knew that the overtime loss of the Spurs would drain the visitors. This was where homecourt made all the difference. This one-game advantage was what they had been working for all season long, the cushion they needed in case they were in this situation. Game 7 was not the time to shrink. Given all their material advantages, the Heat needed to push the Spurs around, wear them down.

It worked, settling all the questions about Miami’s greatness.