Buoyed by 24 points from Bosh and a near triple-double from James, the Heat pulled away in the second half to turn one of the regular season's most hyped matchups into a 113-101 blowout of San Antonio on Sunday, Jan. 26.
In a battle of the NBA's second-most efficient offense and fourth-best defense (per NBA.com), Miami's whirring flurry of ball movement and open jumpers won out. The Heat shot 58.1 percent from the floor, highlighted by an excellent third quarter that reminded fans why there is no better team on the planet when they are motivated.
Ahead by eight at halftime, the Heat made 10 of their 16 shot attempts and knocked down 12 free throws to stretch their lead to 91-71 by the time the fourth started. Bosh, working both off the dribble and as a recipient of open shots in the mid range, led the way with 12 points. He and James combined to make seven of their eight shots, causing San Antonio to miss its perimeter shots as well.
The lead got so pronounced that coach Erik Spoelstra didn't point in James' direction after pulling the league MVP with 3:39 remaining in the third. The last image of him for the afternoon was him sprinting down the court in reaction to his fourth foul, which drew a technical.
Ahead by eight at halftime, the Heat made 10 of their 16 shot attempts and knocked down 12 free throws to stretch their lead to 91-71 by the time the fourth started. Bosh, working both off the dribble and as a recipient of open shots in the mid range, led the way with 12 points. He and James combined to make seven of their eight shots, causing San Antonio to miss its perimeter shots as well.
The lead got so pronounced that coach Erik Spoelstra didn't point in James' direction after pulling the league MVP with 3:39 remaining in the third. The last image of him for the afternoon was him sprinting down the court in reaction to his fourth foul, which drew a technical.
Although San Antonio stuck around in the first half, it rarely felt like the Spurs had any control of the outcome. Miami raced out to an 8-0 lead within the first two minutes and never trailed, with San Antonio only tying the game twice after the opening tip.
Tim Duncan was the only one of San Antonio's proverbial Big Three to show up, scoring 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting as the Spurs' struggles against elite competition continued. Tony Parker had just 11 points and seven assists, while Manu Ginobili added three points on 1-of-7 from the field.
Both teams came in dealing with injury issues, but the Spurs seemed especially affected. San Antonio was playing without Danny Green, Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard, three key rotational cogs from last June. Green and Leonard in particular were thorns in Miami's side during the Finals, the former red-hot from beyond the arc and the latter James' main antagonist on the defensive end.
The Heat were nearly at full strength, as Wade returned from a four-game absence to rest his ailing knees. He wasn't close to being 100 percent, though, coming off the bench for the first time in more than a half-decade and managing only eight points in 24 minutes. Though unorthodox, Spoelstra did not rule out this becoming more of a permanent thing, per Skolnick:
Miami was also able to show the defending Western Conference champs the new wrinkles in its core. Greg Oden suited up for the third straight game for the first time in a Heat uniform, entering in the second quarter and giving Miami an instant jolt of energy. Oden got to the line, blocked a Duncan shot and pulled down a defensive rebound in his first two possessions. He even dunked on the Spurs forward later in the quarter.
It was the second straight game where Oden played double-digit minutes, and Spoelstra even entered him late in garbage time to help him get more game action. We'll have to see if Oden sticks around come May and June, but it's clear he has supplanted Udonis Haslem, Miami's only inactive player on the open roster.
In all, it was a matchup of a team coalescing versus one in a holding pattern until key pieces return. The Heat will face a similar opponent on Wednesday, when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit Miami. Kevin Durant has arguably supplanted James as the MVP favorite while playing without Russell Westbrook, and this game will do nothing to change that.
But something tells me James will be just fine with Durant winning the MVP as long as the scoreboard looks similar to Sunday.
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