NBA FINALS -- Heat evens series at 2-2
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 15 Jun 2013
The defending champions Miami Heat bounced back from a humiliating Game 3 defeat by routing the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Thursday night at the AT@T Center.
Owners of the best record in the regular season with a 66-16 clip, the Heat haven't lost back-to-back games since January 8 and 10. The defending champions are now tied with the Spurs at 2-2 in this best-of-7 title series.
LeBron James made good on his promise to be better. He poured 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, the highest scoring game in the series for the four-time MVP. True to his words, he was more aggressive and penetrated the paint where he was denied to score many times in the third game.
But it was the topnotch play of Dwyane Wade, the 2006 Finals MVP, which proved to be the enhancer as he gave his best performance in the playoffs. Playing with a bum knee through most of the postseason, Wade contributed 32 points, six rebounds and six steals.
Chris Bosh added 20 points and 13 rebounds. It's the Big Three's time to turn around the game in favor of the defending champions as they combined for 85 points, 37 more than their previous high. The Spurs committed 19 turnovers which were converted to 23 points by the Heat.
James played for 41 minutes, Wade 40 minutes and Bosh 38 minutes. And they reduced the 2013 Finals into a best-of-three series.
The game was tied at 49-49 at the half. Miami hammered San Antonio, 28-17 in the fourth quarter. The previous Heat's losses were caused by the collapse in the endgame. The Heat played tighter defense in the perimeter and did not allow more open shots.
Tim Duncan had 20 points for the Spurs while the injured Tony Parker contributed 15 points and 11 assists. The French point guard was scoreless in the second half.
It was a must-win situation for Miami as no team in the NBA has bounced back from a 1-3 deficit to win the title. And they did it to bring the series back to their homecourt in Game 6.
Game 5 is scheduled on Monday Philippine time still at San Antonio, Texas before the series shifts back to the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. (MS)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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