Tim Duncan made his first six shots and scored 15 points to help the San Antonio Spurs take a 54-49 lead over the Miami Heat after an entertaining first half of Game 1 of their NBA Finals rematch on Thursday night.
Manu Ginobili had 11 points and Tony Parker added 10 as San Antonio's veteran Big Three got the Spurs off to a strong start in their attempt to avenge last year's heartbreaking, seven-game loss.
LeBron James scored 13 points and Dwyane Wade had 12 for the two-time defending champions, while Ray Allen and Chris Bosh each scored 10.
San Antonio shot 50 percent and Miami was hitting more than half its shots for most of the first two quarters, which featured seven lead changes, four ties, and was the same type of tight game the teams played to finish last year's NBA Finals.
It was a widely anticipated matchup after the thrilling conclusion to their series a year ago. San Antonio had a five-point lead in the final half-minute of regulation in Game 6, but the Heat rallied and then won a Game 7 that was close the entire way.
The Spurs shook off that disappointment and the age of their three team leaders to post the NBA's best record and home-court advantage in this series.
The air conditioning in the AT&T Center was malfunctioning, and fans were trying to cool themselves on the hot night, a reminder of what it was like in the old Boston Garden when the Celtics and Lakers got together.
The Heat are the first team since those Celtics of 1984-87 to get to four straight finals. They are well-rested after a relatively easy roll through the Eastern Conference playoffs, a key to keeping Wade healthy entering the finals.
The Heat stuck with their small lineup featuring Rashard Lewis as a starting forward, but San Antonio went back to being big by reinserting Tiago Splitter into the first five.
Bosh, scoreless in Game 7 last year, scored Miami's first five points in the Heat's 7-2 start. But Ginobili came off the bench firing, making consecutive 3-pointers for an 18-13 lead.
Wade and James combined for six straight points before Ginobili made another 3, and Patty Mills added one to close the first-quarter scoring and give the Spurs a 26-20 advantage.
An 8-0 Miami run in the second was quickly countered by six straight from the Spurs, who held the Heat without a basket for the final 2 ½ minutes to build their five-point lead.
NBA Finals
Only a few pivotal plays separated the Heat and Spurs in last year's NBA Finals, and both teams expect another hard-fought series.
NBA Finals Game 1: Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
Read live updates from Miami Herald sports writers, columnists and photographers at Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.
In My Opinion
To get to the other side, where there is sunlight and cheering and a ticker-tape parade waiting, you have to first go through this long tunnel. You have to go through a place where arenas will be full and loud and yet you can feel so alone, even as all of America is watching. You fight through this tunnel that takes two weeks to traverse, and you understand that everything you have worked for and dreamed of might come down to the capriciousness of whether the arc of a single shot is true or centimeters awry.
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, June 5, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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