2013 NBA Finals, Game 2: Miami surges in third quarter to even series

The players that surround Miami’s Big Three have always been crucial to the operation, but those role players have taken on added importance this postseason as Wade has begun some sort of injury-induced regression. Wade can still be a killer for stretches, but it’s clear he’s not the same force of nature he was in 2006 when he willed the Heat to their first championship. It’s a fact of life the Heat are simply going to have to accept. Anyone who has seen Wade during these playoffs knows it’s unlikely he’ll opt out of $20 million next summer or $21 million the year after that.

All of this means the Heat are going to be more reliant than ever on their role players moving forward, but they just might be OK with that. James, Wade and Bosh can be so dominant when they’re all playing well that it obstructs a very real truth about the Heat: the team is at its scariest when the role players are carrying a sizable portion of the load.

The whole thing starts on a sideline out-of-bounds situation with 14 on the shot clock. The Spurs try to run a Parker/Splitter pick-and-roll with 10 seconds left, but the play is shut off because of poor spacing from Kawhi Leonard. By standing under the basket, Leonard has allowed James to position himself under the rim, preventing a lob pass to Splitter for a layup.

Keep that in mind as we roll the tape forward.

It is common practice for zoos to get in the spirit of their local teams’ playoff efforts. Sometimes, though, it kinda feels like the animals aren’t real fans -- like the zoos are merely projecting their fanaticism onto disinterested beasts. With that in mind, let us take a look at the fan residents of the San Antonio Zoo and Miami Jungle Island.

On its face, that’s quite a statement. Baubles is shredding apart Miami’s championship aspirations much as he would a honeycomb. I sense something fishy, though. Take a look at this bit from the Fox San Antonio investigative report on the subject:

But what’s most striking about Dwyane Wade in his dusk is that his approach has not changed. He continues to play like he is a star on the verge of explosion, like every possession requires his expert touch. This once was true. Now, nights like Sunday happen: Wade led the Miami starting five in usage rate (27 percent) and finished last in efficiency (84 offensive rating).

And Manu is still doing everything and doing everything at full tilt. But he is not doing it well every night, or some nights. Now, nights like Sunday happen: he played 17 minutes and had as many turnovers as made field goals and assists combined.

Duncan’s night was especially rough, as the future Hall of Famer had just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting in one of his worst NBA Finals performances ever. Duncan was never able to get into a good rhythm, although he told Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News that he got some of the looks he wanted:

Duncan went just 2-of-10 on shots inside 15 feet and 2-of-6 on shots inside the paint, failing to cash in on his size advantage down low after scoring 20 points in Game 1. The 37-year-old did grab 11 rebounds on Sunday, but the Spurs need more on offense in order to knock off Miami.

Would you like to see that slowed down? The NBA’s “phantom cam” has you covered:

Perhaps you’d prefer it fashioned into a homemade version of one of those NBA BIG ads (via Reddit):

As you can see in the above GIF, Joey Crawford was officiating this game. As such, there were times when the calls got less than a stellar reception from the players, LeBron James in particular. Here is one of those instances:

James said himself he wasn’t at his best offensively after the game, and he scored less than 20 points for the second straight game. He did finish with eight rebounds and seven assists, including this insane pass out of a double-team in the fourth quarter, a key play when the Heat completely bypassed the Spurs on the way to victory:

The Heat used 17 San Antonio turnovers to blow the game open while getting into transition, this after the Spurs coughed the ball up a total of four times in Game 1. As it scored 19 points off those miscues, Miami did a good amount of protecting the ball itself, turning it over just five times.

“You need to shoot well and you need to take care of the basketball,” Popovich said. “It’s a bad combination.”

The entire game wasn’t a blowout. It appeared similar to a back-and-forth Game 1.

Miami led 50-45 at the half despite shooting 51 percent to the Spurs’ 41 percent. Much of that had to do with San Antonio’s 3-point shooting, which was accurate on 7-of-10 attempts and made up for seven first-half turnovers. Green got going by hitting three 3-pointers to start the Spurs’ scoring, and they struggled to score in the final eight minutes of the first and found themselves tied with the Heat a 22 apiece heading into the second quarter.

Here’s video of the play.

Flex all you want, ‘Bron. This is going to live on in highlight packages a long time.

How about we do a running inner monologue for LeBron James’ myriad expressions? Sounds good, let’s do it.

“Stupid MVP. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

When you spend so many years playing together, you get each other’s facial mannerisms down pat. Just look at how well Manu Ginobili imitates Tim Duncan:

Not bad, Manu. Not bad:

Shannon Sharpe just took a water taxi from a Miami-style garden party to the game.

How is the game going according to the three questions heading into Sunday night?

The game started with Bosh hitting two of Miami’s first three shots, but it was his general activity that was key for the Heat. He got in passing lanes on pick-and-roll coverage for three steals and also recorded a block off the ball. Bosh got another hoop on a follow tip for six points in the first half, and he led the Heat with five rebounds heading to the break.

The Spurs’ team defense, combined with Leonard’s individual defensive work, forced the ball out of James’ hands. The Heat need to be prepared to make plays when James drives and kicks. James also has to be more willing to force the Spurs’ frontcourt to make a play at the rim. James made six of his eight field goals around the rim:

Instead of driving to the rim, he allows Duncan to force him out of the paint. James then passes out to Wade in the corner to reset the offense.

Tony Parker launched and hit his game-sealing jumper in Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals with an infinitesimal amount of time on the shot clock, putting the San Antonio Spurs’ lead out of range for the defending title-holders, the Miami Heat.

Problem, though: there series is still young and the Heat are probably a little bit angry.

Good news, guys: Joey Crawford will referee Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Wait, why are you groaning?

Crawford joins Ed Malloy and Ken Mauer for Sunday night’s crew, with Marc Davis as the alternate official.