Miami Heat force Game 7 by defeating San Antonio Spurs 103-100

Lebron James, The Miami Heat superstar entered Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs averaging 31.5 points, 10 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 11 elimination games. But entering the fourth quarter Tuesday night, James had missed nine of 12 shots, and the Heat trailed by 10 points.

With Miami's season on the line and another premature referendum on James' legacy up for discussion, James delivered with 16-fourth quarter points and two in overtime, leading the Heat to a 103-100 victory and forcing one more game.

Spoelstra did not make another change in the starting lineup, staying with forward Mike Miller in favor of forward Udonis Haslem.

"It's more how than who, and that's been our focus yesterday and today," Spoelstra said 90 minutes before tip-off.

The Heat again struggled against San Antonio's precision offense. Spoelstra made the bold decision to lock down on Spurs three-point specialist Danny Green. That part of the plan worked. Green, who already set a Finals record for three-pointers made in a series, made one on five tries and scored three points.

But that left Duncan with several opportunities. Duncan took advantage of Miami's focus on Green, making his first eight shots of the game, including six in the first quarter. Miami did a better job limiting three-point attempts, but struggled to contain Duncan.

He scored 13 consecutive points during a stretch in the second quarter, and the Spurs erased 44-39 deficit with an 11-0 run to finish the half.

Both teams were hot early — the Spurs started 8-for-11 and the Heat 7-for-11 — and both coaches called quick first-quarter timeouts after the other team scored. Neither wanted to let the game get away early.

Miami had a habit of falling behind early in this series, but it avoided that pothole in Game 6 with strong offense. Each Heat starter scored in the opening quarter, and James had five points and five assists, accounting for 19 of Miami's 27 first-quarter points.

WATCH 2013 NBA FINALS GAME 6 FULL REPLAY VIDEO BELOW:

article source: usatoday.com

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