Jun 10, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich speaks to the media after game three of the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. San Antonio Spurs won 111-92. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The San Antonio Spurs used a historically red-hot shooting first half to build a 21-point half time lead, ultimately rode that big lead to a huge 111-92 Game 3 victory to take a 2-1 series lead over the Miami Heat.
San Antonio shot a record-setting 76 percent in the first half, behind 25-of-33 shooting. In the first quarter, the Spurs shot 13-of-15 from the field, including hitting on all four 3-pointers.
In a way, it was over before it even started.
Regardless, the Spurs are now two games away from the an NBA Championship. Here is what both teams had to say after Game 3…
Kawhi is the fourth player in the last 29 years with 29+ points on 13 or fewer shots in the Finals.
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 11, 2014
Spurs: 15-3 in best-of-7 series when leading 2-1 in the Gregg Popovich era
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 11, 2014
Manu on the Spurs' first half: "It’s not something you can plan. There was no magic plays. We just moved the ball - every shot went in."
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 11, 2014
Scott: "83% of teams that lead 2-1 in the Finals win the Finals. You know that right?" Kawhi: "No." https://t.co/BvarTFWkpF
— Courtside (@courtside) June 11, 2014
Duncan credited Kawhi and Green tonight. "They were huge for us. They were the difference in the game tonight."
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 11, 2014
Duncan with the striped yellow shirt tonight. pic.twitter.com/4kZ60ejGRQ
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 11, 2014
Parker, asked about the first half: "It's just one of those games that it was going in."
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 11, 2014
LeBron: "They jumped on us. They were the aggressors tonight. They had us on our heels from the beginning."
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) June 11, 2014
Popovich: "I don't think we'll shoot 76 percent in a half ever again."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
Heat's primary ball-handlers - LeBron, Wade, Mario -.combined for 15 of Miami's 20 turnovers.
— Michael Wallace (@MyMikeCheck) June 11, 2014
What was different in the third quarter defensively? "Played a lot harder."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
Chris Bosh: "We did it to ourselves... with all due respect to them. We have to take this one on the chin."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
Bosh: "You can't win a championship with that kind of effort, home or away... We did nothing right, & we deserve what we have."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
Chalmers: "This might be the worst defensive game we had all year."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
Chalmers: "I think everybody else is doing their job and I'm being that guy that's not helping out. I don't want to be that guy."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
It's clear that the Heat want to help Chalmers, and they know they need him, but one told me, "He needs to meet us halfway."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
The Heat lost Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals by 36. So this was an improvement.
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
Wade: "Mario is a big piece of what we do. And we're missing that piece right now.... We're not going to leave him out on an island."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) June 11, 2014
The Spurs are now two games away from a fifth NBA Championship. Game 4 is on Thursday and could very well be seen as a must-win for the Miami Heat. Going down 3-1 back to San Antonio is not an ideal spot for the Heat.
I’m sure they’ll be ready for Game 4, but there’s only so much they can do when the Spurs are hitting on all cylinders on the offensive end, which happened to be the case in Game 3.
Game 4 should be all kinds of fun.