NBA Finals 2014: LeBron James, Heat bounce back for 98-96 win to tie series

The best player on the planet showed why in a scintillating third quarter, then delivered the key pass to Chris Bosh in the corner in the final minute and a half to seal the Heat’s 98-96 Game 2 victory. The series is now tied at 1.

James had made almost all the scoring plays to get Miami to this point, but down by one with a minute to play he drove the lane, drew the usual crowd of defenders and kicked it to Bosh for a wide open three. This was the exact same situation that drew scorn and derision in Indiana when Bosh missed. In fact, Bosh had missed another three on the previous possession.

No matter. LeBron is hard-wired to make the right basketball play at the right time and that’s exactly what he did again. This time Bosh drilled the shot and the Heat escaped south Texas with a 98-96 win and a split.

The Spurs got off to a hot start and took an early 30-22 lead in the second quarter. At that point in the game, San Antonio was simply out-executing the Heat and appeared to be in control of the game. But as last year’s series indicated, things can change very quickly when these two teams play each other. Miami quickly rattled off a 15-3 run to retake the lead.

Eventually, both teams got comfortable and really started to settle in. The first half was primarily a defensive affair and Miami and San Antonio went to the locker room at halftime with the score tied, 43-43.

Chris Bosh used to be a Raptor and he’s still screaming like one. Well, at least we imagine this is what raptors looked like when they screamed. Unfortunately we’ll never know, because dinosaurs are extinct. Sorry, guess we should have said “spoilers.”

Unless ...

Parker left the court and returned after a few minutes, but the game is close and any missed time could have a huge impact on the final outcome.

There are many faces to Gregg Popovich and all of them are frowning. He’ll always hate talking to the media, but the coach of the San Antonio Spurs was feeling a little punchy when it came time to conduct a fourth quarter interview with sideline reporter Doris Burke.

Question: “What are your objectives as far as LeBron is concerned?

LOOK OUT! CHRIS BOSH COMING THROUGH.

Update: The NBA fined Wade $5,000 for his acting job.

Manu got called for a foul as Wade pretended to be shot in the eye with a laser cannon and had to sit down with his third foul of the game.

Here’s one of the really terrible ones:

Game 2 of the NBA Finals started with a bang thanks to 12-year-old singer Sebastien de la Cruz, who blew the roof off the Alamodome with his stunning rendition of the national anthem.

The San Antonio native made a name for himself in last year’s series and nailed it once again. Don’t believe us? Just listen to his finale.

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Somebody told Danny Green to put a picture of himself drinking Alkame Water, a brand he’s a spokesperson for, on Instagram:

“Staying hydrated before game 2 lol @alkamewater”

Game 1 was close until the Spurs pulled away late in a game featuring 13 lead changes. Miami found success forcing the Spurs into turning the ball over 23 times, turning their high-pressure defense into 27 points off of turnovers. San Antonio out-rebounded the Heat 39-29 and scored 15 second-chance points compared to Miami’s seven.

Game time: 8 p.m. ET

“I hate it,” Popovich said. “To me it’s not basketball but you got to use it. If you don’t use it, you’re in big trouble. But you sort of feel like it’s cheating. You know, like two points, that’s what you get when you make a basket. Now you get three, so you got to deal with it. I don’t think I don’t think there’s anybody who is not dealing with it.”

“Yeah, he does,” Green said. “Pop’s a pretty smart guy. Even though he hates it, he knows it’s a thing you need to be successful in this league. He looks at statistics and he knows what successful and not successful teams do well. He doesn’t like it but he respects it and knows it’s a key thing for us in order to win games.”

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

JUEGO DOS: 8 p.m. ET on ABC. San Antonio leads 1-0. The A/C is purportedly fixed at the AT&T Center.

“Let’s separate the past to last night.” Spoelstra said. “(Thursday) night was such an extreme situation and you have to be able to differentiate the two. Last night was so extreme. That’s the toughest part for people to understand.”

The reflexive response among those in the bubble was to defend the four-time MVP, and not just because the criticism in question was unfounded and pointless. There is no one with any shred of medical or athletic credibility arguing that LeBron should have pushed through the pain that rendered his legs immobile at the worst possible moment. That would have been foolish at best and potentially damaging at worst.