Spurs set history in Game 3 win over Heat

MIAMI — The air conditioning inside American Airlines Arena wasn’t broken, but the Spurs offense was red-hot in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It started off with a 41-point first quarter, followed by a 30-point second quarter and the consistent hot hand of Kawhi Leonard, and when it was all over the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 111-92.

The loss was Miami’s first at home this postseason and was the 38th road playoff win this year, setting a new NBA record. Speaking of records, the Spurs red-hot offense set a Finals record with their 75.8% field goal percentage in the first half. Majority of that performance came from Kawhi Leonard who had 18 points in the first half and finished with 29 points on the night.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told the media after the game that the team’s 19-21 shooting start was crazy.

“That’ll never happen again, that’s crazy.”

Leonard finished the game with 29 points, 4 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. Danny Green and Tony Parker had 15 points each and Tim Duncan finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Leonard went 10-13 while Green shot 7-8 and the Spurs finished with a 59.4% field goal percentage.

The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade and LeBron James who each had 22 points, but for James, he committed a Finals career-high 7 turnovers in the loss and Wade had five himself. Outside of two of the Big Three, the Heat’s only other double-digit contributors were Rashard Lewis with 14 points and Ray Allen with 11.

Turnovers were an issue for Miami who committed 20 of them but almost rallied back with a 25-point third quarter.

Game 4 is on Thursday in Miami, tip-off set for 9:00pm EST

Follow Mike Pendleton on Twitter @MP2310

Facebook.com/FullScaleSports Twitter:@FullScaleSport

Photo credit: (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Related Posts

• Matt Weiters’ Season Over; Out Nine Months
• Clippers’ Doc Rivers Promoted
• The Murder That Caused Spurs Kawhi Leonard To Be The ‘Quiet Storm’