Tonight is a very critical game for both teams left in the NBA to be crowned Champions. Both the Spurs and the Heat are in must win situations, but for one team it becomes more critical to stay alive.
The defending Champion Heat are down 3-2 in the series as it returns to South Beach for a pivotal Game 6, and a must win situation for the raining NBA Champions. This is their third trip to the Finals in as many years, and are looking to repeat as Champions.
The Spurs pulled ahead by taking Game 5 from the Heat with a 114-104 Victory on Sunday Night in San Antonio, and there was one player that hasn't really shown up in these Playoffs. Manu Ginobili decided hey I'm in the NBA Finals, maybe, just maybe I should step up my game and go out and play like it could be my last game. Ginobili had 24 points with 10 assists in Sunday's game when during the entire finals he's averaged 7.5 PPG, that's not getting it done.
Ginobili went on record saying: "I'm being honest, I don't care about scoring 24, I was angry, disappointed. We are playing in the NBA Finals, we were 2-2, and I felt I still wasn't helping the team much, And that was the frustrating part."
Ginobili may have been angry, frustrated, disappointed, whatever you want to call it, but it was just one game. Given it was a big game, but it was just one game, they haven't won anything yet. They need to remember that the Heat haven't lost back to back games since January, and they went on that incredible 27 game win streak this year. The Heat are not a team to sleep on.
Neither team slept on the other, and it showed throughout the duration of this game. Tim Duncan came out big in the first half, and played like the former champion that he is. It wasn't quite enough to put the Heat out of this game for good. This game was so good that it had to go into overtime with Ray Allen hitting a big time 3 with 5.2 left to go in the game to send it into OT.
James had the 4th quarter of his life scoring 16 points, which is a career NBA Finals high for James, and it showed as the Heat were down 5 with 20 seconds left to go in the game. They were able to come back and tie the game thanks to strong play in the paint by Bosh to flip a rebound out to Allen for the game tying 3.
Overtime wasn't much different then the rest of the game, as both teams were playing as if it was the last time they were ever going to touch a basketball. The Defense, for both teams, was outstanding. If you are a big time basketball fan, someone who's never watched a game in your life, or just your casual fan as I am, this was a very exciting game to watch.
The Heat held a one point lead with 27 seconds left and they did everything in their power to make sure that they finished with the lead in tack. Ginobili, who was fantastic in the game on Sunday as well as tonight in game 6, committed the worst foul ever with 1.9 seconds left in OT. Now most would say that this should have been a foul on the Heat, and I saw nay. First off Ginobili took a bus to the hoop and should have been a traveling foul but instead Allen went to shoot two big free throws.
The game would end with 3 point hot shooter Danny Green getting the in-bounds pass with 1.9 seconds left and was rejected by Bosh as time expired. James would finish this game with his 4th triple double of these playoffs. James had 32 points 10 rebounds and 11 assists to help lift the Heat to force a game 7 on Thursday to decide it all.
Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.
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