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HEAT 87 - Spurs 111 Game Recap

The Miami HEAT fell to the San Antonio Spurs 111-87 Thursday night at AT&T Center. Chris Bosh led the way for the HEAT with 24 points and seven rebounds.

 

Impact Performance of the Night: The ageless Tim Duncan showed why he is known as the “Big Fundamental” as he scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He hit a few wide open mid-range jumpers, but did most of his damage in the paint against Miami. The HEAT had a tough time containing him and even when they were in position, he usually converted.

 

Tony Parker played a great game as well. He started the game 5-of-6 from the floor and had three assists all in the first quarter. Parker finished with 17 points. The first quarter Thursday night was very similar to the first quarter in Houston on Tuesday. The Spurs shot 79 percent in the quarter thanks to Parker and Duncan’s great play.

 

Chris Bosh kept the HEAT alive in the game and was very aggressive from the start. He had the first six points for the HEAT and finished the game with 24 points.

 

The Deciding Run: The Spurs were up 79-74 with 2:14 left in the third before they went on a 16-6 run to go up 95-80 with 6:18 left in the game. This came right after a third quarter in which the HEAT clawed back and picked up their defense. Shane Battier had three consecutive possessions of great defense that got the HEAT going. Offensively, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh led the HEAT on a 10-4 run early in the third quarter.

 

Earlier, the Spurs ended the first quarter on a 19-8 run behind impeccable ball movement.

 

Play of the Game: With 6:22 left in the game, Kawhi Leonard played the passing lane, stole an errant pass from Chris Bosh and took it all the way for the slam to go up 95-80. That play capped off the deciding run and kept the HEAT from coming back.

 

The HEAT’s play of the game came with 10:52 left in the third quarter. Shane Battier stole the ball from Boris Diaw on a great defensive play and threw it ahead to Wade who finished it at the other end. The play occurred during the aforementioned stretch in the third quarter where the HEAT picked up their play and made a little run of their own.

 

Trend to Watch: After doing a good job of protecting the ball in the last few games, the HEAT had turnover problems against the Spurs. Miami committed 20 turnovers against a team you simply cannot turnover the ball against. The HEAT played a little sloppy and that cost them when they were trying to mount a comeback in the second half. The HEAT will need to protect the ball better against another great defensive team in the Chicago Bulls.

 

The Takeaway: The Spurs were simply on their game and the HEAT just weren’t. LeBron James struggled with his jump shot in the game, although that didn’t deter him from impacting the game on the defensive end. Dwyane Wade made some nice plays, but really couldn’t find a groove either. Parker got the Spurs off on the right foot in that first quarter and Tim Duncan took it home. The HEAT need to forget about this one and focus on the Bulls, whom they defeated a few weeks ago in Miami.

 

Notes: Michael Beasley had another great game on Thursday night. He had a great block on Tim Duncan with about two minutes to go in the third quarter and also had some nice defensive plays on Boris Diaw. Beasley’s continued development on defense will be vital moving forward. He also stayed aggressive yet efficient on the offensive end, scoring 11 points on 50 percent shooting.