LeBron James, Heat blow out Spurs to even NBA Finals after Game 2
MIAMI – It wasn't a triple-double, and for much of the first three quarters, LeBron James' performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals wasn't pretty. Nevertheless, James showed why he's the reigning MVP with an awesome display of athleticism on both ends of the court in the fourth quarter in the Heat's rout of the San Antonio Spurs, 103-84, on Sunday, a beatdown that tied the Finals after two games at AmericanAirlines Arena.
James highlighted a 30-5 Heat run with a stunning block of a tomahawk dunk attempt from the Spurs' Tiago Splitter, followed by an assist on a Ray Allen 3-pointer and a breakaway dunk seconds after the triple.
James finished with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field; he entered the final quarter 3 of 13.
Before the run, Miami went up 54-46 following two James free throws with 9:05 left in the third quarter. The Spurs countered with a 16-7 run to take a 62-61 lead following a Danny Green finger roll lay-in with 3:50 left in third.
Miami got the last – and decisive – laugh of the third as it finished the period with a 14-3 run finalized by a Mario Chalmers 3-point play with 9.8 seconds left in the third quarter.
Chalmers scored seven points and dished two assists while playing the entire third quarter. James and Wade shot a combined 1 of 8 from the field in the third. San Antonio allowed eight points off five turnovers in the third as well.
The Heat put Game 2 away quickly in the fourth with straight 11 points in the run. With 8:18 left in the game, Splitter tried to spark the Spurs with a big jam. James, however, was much higher and swatted it away to the delight of Heat fans. Thirteen seconds later after sparking a steal, James threw down a two-handed jam to put Miami up 24 points, inciting a Spurs timeout.
It was apparent that San Antonio threw in the towel when seldom-used reserves Tracy McGrady, Patty Mills and Dejaun Blair were in after the timeout.
Green led the Spurs with 17 points on a 6-for-6 shooting night. Tony Parker, the hero of Game 1, missed nine of his 14 shots from the field and finished with 13 points. No other Spur scored in double figures.
Miami's Chris Bosh was aggressive in the first quarter Sunday, scoring six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field – and he attempted no 3-pointers. Bosh was strongly criticized after the Game 1 loss for shooting and missing four triples. Even Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said that Bosh was open from deep for a reason. He finished Sunday with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
While Miami limited the Spurs to 38.1 percent shooting in the first, the quarter ended with the game tied 22-22. The Spurs rode the wave of hot 3-point shooting from Green and Gary Neal who hit on all four attempts.
The Heat led 50-45 at halftime after shooting 54.5 percent from the field. James had only four points at intermission after missing five of seven shots and not shooting a free throw. One of those misses from the field was a half-court attempt that nearly went in at the halftime buzzer. His first six quarters of these NBA Finals netted just 22 points.
NBA Finals coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Watch: LeBron emphatically blocks Tiago Splitter's dunk attempt
• Heat dominate despite subdued output from LeBron
• Odd slogan for Heat T-shirt about Larry O'Brien
