Spurs-Heat Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Nov 29 2012 12:24AM

The Miami Heat are off to their best home start in franchise history, which may not be encouraging for a San Antonio Spurs team that has been routed in its last two trips to South Beach.

San Antonio, though, has a run of its own going, too.

Miami seeks to remain unbeaten at home while the Spurs look to complete a perfect six-game road trip as the streaking teams meet Thursday night.

The Heat (10-3) have won their first six games at American Airlines Arena and earned their fourth consecutive victory overall with a 110-108 come-from-behind win over Cleveland on Saturday.

LeBron James scored a game-high 30 points and finished with five assists, the last coming when he found Ray Allen for a 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds left to put Miami ahead for good.

Chris Bosh finished with 23 points and Allen had 17 off the bench for the Heat, who trailed by seven with 1:58 remaining.

"It speaks to the competitive will that the guys have at the end of close games," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We have a lot of gamers in that locker room. They rise to the occasion. They want situations like that. That can be dangerous, as well."

That's especially true at home, where the Heat have won 28 of their last 30 regular-season games and 10 straight including the playoffs.

They've also dominated the Spurs in their last two games at Miami, getting 30 points from Bosh in both victories - a 110-80 win March 14, 2011 and a 120-98 rout Jan. 17, when James had 33 points and 10 assists.

A similar result doesn't seem as likely given how well the Spurs have been playing during their trip.

San Antonio (13-3) cruised to a 110-89 victory over Orlando on Wednesday behind a game-high 20 points from Manu Ginobili while Tony Parker added 14 and eight assists.

"It's early. We'll lose our share, but right now we're playing pretty well, I guess," coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's our second road trip this month. I think they do deserve credit for keeping their focus all that time."

Tim Duncan added 15 points for the Spurs, who have won eight straight and 19 of their last 21 regular-season road games. A win would give San Antonio just its third unbeaten road trip with a minimum of five games in franchise history, with the others coming on five-game swings in 1984 and 1990.

"We're just playing basketball the way we've been playing it," Duncan said. "Whoever is put in front of us, that's how we're playing. We've been playing well for a couple of games here and we hope to continue it."

While San Antonio remains humble, Miami knows how dangerous the Spurs can be.

"Year in and year out, the Spurs are going to come into a season and not be one of the talked about teams in the NBA and they're going to have the best record in the league," said Dwyane Wade, who sat out the last meeting with a sprained right ankle. "It should be no surprise. You should come to expect it."

Spoelstra expressed similar thoughts.

"They've done a terrific job on the road even dating back to last season," he said. "They are a well-oiled machine."

San Antonio is allowing only 95.1 points per game, but Miami is the league's second highest-scoring team, averaging 104.8.

James, who is averaging 30.6 points in his last seven games versus the Spurs, ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring at 25.2 per contest.

Allen, Heat top short-handed Spurs 105-100

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Nov 30 2012 12:27AM

MIAMI (AP) The NBA plans to make San Antonio pay for resting four starters.

The Miami Heat almost could not.

Ray Allen's 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds left gave Miami the lead, LeBron James finished with 23 points and the Heat rallied late to beat the Spurs 105-100 on Thursday night - digging deep despite San Antonio's decision to have four top players resting at home in a move that bothered NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The Spurs played without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green, all sent back to San Antonio by coach Gregg Popovich, who said the move was in his team's best interest. Stern disagreed, calling the decision "unacceptable," apologizing to fans and saying that sanctions against the Spurs will be forthcoming.

After the game, Popovich said he was unaware of Stern's statement and declined comment about what it might mean.

"Oh, it would have been great if we won," Spurs forward Matt Bonner said after hearing about Stern's statement. "It goes back to what I was saying, I'm sure everybody else was saying before the game. We have faith in everybody on our roster. We think we have one of the deepest teams in the league."

The Heat weren't disagreeing afterward.

"We survived," Chris Bosh said. "And we won. They have a bunch of talented guys over there. I know that nobody's going to really give them credit, but they are a tough bunch."

How tough? Try this - the Spurs led by seven with 4:48 left, and the margin was still 98-93 when Gary Neal made a 3-pointer with 2:14 remaining.

From there, Miami closed on a 12-2 run.

But all anyone will likely remember from this one is Popovich's decision - and whatever Stern does as a result.

"I apologize to all NBA fans," Stern said. "This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming."

Allen scored 20 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and Chris Bosh finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, now 7-0 at home.

Neal had 20 points for the Spurs. Tiago Splitter scored 18 points, Nando De Colo added 15, Boris Diaw scored 12 and Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which finished a six-games-in-nine-nights road trip with a 5-1 record. Bonner also had 10 rebounds, one more than he had grabbed all season entering the game.

"Pop is the coach of the San Antonio Spurs," Neal said. "He did what's best for us."

Stern's statement was released roughly the same time as tip-off in Miami for the nationally televised game.

The Spurs' five starters came into the game averaging a combined 23.6 points, or 1.6 points less than James averaged entering Thursday night.

And when the Heat ran out to a 16-6 lead, it seemed as though a blowout was in the offing. After all, even the oddsmakers in Las Vegas expected it to be that way - the Heat were favored by six points in most sports books before the news broke that the Spurs' regulars were resting, after which the line swelled to 13.

Apparently, no one told the Spurs that the second-string was supposed to play second-fiddle.

San Antonio closed the first quarter on a 21-6 run, taking a 27-22 lead after the period, and simply did not go away. The Spurs led by as many as seven at one point, and after James Anderson made a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds left in the third, San Antonio held a 76-73 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

But once again, James-to-Allen proved magical for Miami.

With the Heat down by one, James nearly lost the ball in the lane, collected himself and kicked it out to Allen, who connected from the left wing to put Miami ahead to stay. James also set up Allen for a final-moment four-point play to lift Miami over Denver earlier this season, along with another late 3-pointer that helped the Heat edge Cleveland last weekend.

"Every time a guy turns his head I have to find the open spot so LeBron can see me," Allen said. "Anything can happen out there. We put ourselves in such a tough situation, but we kept plugging away."

Thing is, no one ever thought it would come down to that.

Before the game, Popovich said he decided to sit his core when he saw how challenging this particular part of the schedule was for his team.

"Everybody has to make decisions about their schedule, about players playing and back-to-backs and trips and that sort of thing," Popovich said before the game. "In our case, this month we've had 11 away games, after tonight. We've had an eight-day trip and a 10-day trip, and we're ending it with four (games) in five nights here. I think it'd be unwise to be playing our guys in that kind of a situation, given their history."

It's not unlike other moves Popovich has made before; in fact, not only did he give Duncan, Parker and Ginobili time off together toward the end of last season, which was condensed by a lockout, he actually flew home to San Antonio with them and took a two-game, pre-playoff sabbatical.

Popovich said he's gotten letters in the past from fans upset about similar moves, adding that he understands their point and asking that they understand his: He thinks rest is necessary for a roster like San Antonio's. And this decision, Popovich said, wasn't about the fact that the Spurs were facing Miami - it was more about a home matchup with surging Memphis on Saturday.

"Perhaps it'll give us an opportunity to stay on the court with Memphis on Saturday night," Popovich said. "Historically, when you're on a long road trip, that first game when you come home is really tough. And Memphis is one of the best teams in the league. They're of much more concern to us than playing four games in five nights. It's pretty logical."

Given Stern's statement, it's also logical to think that the Spurs could know their penalty by Saturday as well.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Popovich's move didn't affect Miami's preparation.

"Each organization has a big-picture view of what they are trying to get accomplished and I think the league respects that," Spoelstra said.

In this case, maybe not.

NOTES: Miami last played on Saturday, at home; San Antonio had played on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, all on the road. ... A moment of silence was held before the game for Sasha McHale, the daughter of Houston coach Kevin McHale. Sasha McHale died Saturday at age 23. ... It was the third straight home game in which Miami trailed in the fourth quarter. ... The back-and-forth game ended a run of blowouts in the Heat-Spurs series. The previous five meetings were decided by an average of 24.8 points, including three 30-point games - two of those Spurs wins in San Antonio, the other a Heat win in Miami.

Notebook: Heat 105, Spurs 100

Zachary Paul, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:56 PM - Updated Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:26 AM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-100 Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Heat forward LeBron James led all scorers with 23 points, but it was Ray Allen's 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference. Allen received a pass from James at the wing to put the Heat ahead 100-98.

Miami trailed 98-93 before making its move late in the fourth quarter. The game was much closer than many expected because the Spurs were playing without stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and starter Danny Green. Coach Gregg Popovich sent the players home Thursday morning after a game the previous night in Orlando.

Popovich said the decision was based on the team playing four games in five nights. The Spurs started Boris Diaw, Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter, Nando De Colo and Patty Mills.

Splitter led the Spurs with 18 points and nine rebounds. Guard Dwyane Wade had 19 points for the Heat while center Chris Bosh added 18 and 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "We're not going to make any excuses for tonight. You deal with a lot of different things during the course of the NBA season. Our guys were looking forward to this game." -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

THE STAT: James and Wade combined to shoot 16 of 33 from the field, scoring 42 points.

TURNING POINT: Trailing 98-93, the Heat regained control with a 7-0 run and scored 20 of the game's final 28 points.

QUOTABLE II: "This was a tough loss. I couldn't be more proud of the way the guys played. We had an opportunity to win a basketball game. Winning games in the NBA is tough. I thought we played really well but not quite good enough." -- Popovich.

HOT: James came away with yet another near triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and seven assists. He shot 9 of 16 from the field, but it was his late-game passing that was most important for the Heat.

NOT: Mills' shooting made the Spurs realize they were playing without their starting point guard. Mills shot just 3 of 11 from the field, including an ill-advised 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

GOOD MOVE: Finding Allen in the closing seconds seems to be the best option for the Heat. Trailing by two, James found him on the wing for the open 3-pointer. It was his third winning shot in the late stages this season.

BAD MOVE: The Spurs trailed 103-100 after Allen made two free throws, but Popovich opted not to call a time. With no plan, they got a bad 3-point shot by Gary Neal to end their chances of pulling off the unlikely victory.

NOTABLE: NBA commissioner David Stern issued a statement regarding Popovich's decisions to rest most of his starters. It read, "I apologize to all NBA fans. This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming." ... The Heat were without forward Shane Battier (knee) ... Miami guard Allen played despite suffering from back stiffness during pre-game ... Heat swingman Mike Miller recorded his 500th career steal.

UP NEXT: For the Heat: Saturday vs. Nets, Tuesday @ Wizards, Thursday vs. Knicks. For the Spurs: Saturday vs. Grizzlies, Wednesday vs. Bucks, Friday vs. Rockets.

• Spurs: Jackson, Leonard
• Heat: Battier, Harrellson

• Spurs: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 23
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #38 Michael Smith, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 19703
• Duration: 2:24