Something that had never been seen before: 75% from the field and 71 points in the first half (41 in the first quarter alone, shooting with senseless percentages), away, in an NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs play their symphonic attack, andante con brio, and take home game 3, again overturning the field factor and the inertia of the series.
Yep, inertia, momentum, as they call it from across the ocean. That unquantifiable yet very evident force in a team sport. It seemed in the hands of Miami and a James never so brilliant at these levels, but now it's in the hands of San Antonio, even if nothing is written in stone yet and the Heat still have many cards to play.
The hombre del partido (or Mvp, if you prefer) wears the black and silver jersey number 2 (like an old-fashioned right-back) and the name of Kawhi Leonard. Rara avis if there is one: 22 years old, rather silent (at least so they say), 2,01 meters tall, but endless arms. Yesterday he defended strong on Lebron James, not just any one, and on the other side he scored 29, with 13 shots from the field, playing an 11-point first half.
But what worked, especially in the first half, was the whole Spurs orchestra, from the usual Duncan to Parker (who made a lot of mistakes, but scored in the team's few moments of dry offensive), passing through a sumptuous Boris Diaw and a Danny Green from 15 points (with 8 shots) and 5 balls stolen from the opponents.
In the first half, Miami held on to the game thanks to Lebron and the triples of a vintage Rashard Lewis, increasingly similar to the 118 million dollar man who took Orlando (on Dwight Howard's shoulders) to the NBA final in 2009. a lifetime ago.
After 71 to 50 in the first two partials, the Spurs attack got stuck, as if a stone was blocking the gear mechanism (it is in these moments that you realize what is missing in San Antonio: a great offensive star to cling to in times of lean), and the Heat, also thanks to the late registration of Dwayne Wade in the game, shortened to reach a double-digit lead, before being driven back by a triple from our Marco Belinelli, author of three points ( the only ones in his race) of capital importance, in the most difficult moment for his family.
In the fourth quarter, the Heat miss a few open shots to get back into contact and the Spurs stretch again, up to +19 of a final score that reads 111 to 92 and that puts Miami, once again, with their backs to the wall.
