The Miami HEAT defeated the San Antonio Spurs 113-101 Sunday afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena. The win is the HEAT's fifth straight regular season win over the Spurs, a franchise high.
Impact Performance of the Night: Chris Bosh repeated his performance from earlier this week, dominating his second opponent in as many games. Bosh finished with 24 points and five rebounds in just 26 minutes. He was 9-of-10 from the floor, which comes on the heels of his 8-of-8 second half against the Lakers on Thursday night. His jumper was pure all night. He got things started early on a corner three and didn’t let up. Bosh’s offensive effort was balanced, scoring four baskets at the rim, four on midrange jumpers and one on a corner three. He displayed a level of diversity that few big men are capable of. He finished in the pick-and-roll, on a post-up, on an isolation and in the pick-and-pop. San Antonio couldn’t muster any answers for Bosh in the HEAT’s dominating win.
The Deciding Run: Miami was in control of the game in the first half, entering the break with a 58-50 lead. The two teams traded baskets and the HEAT held a 66-62 point lead with 8:44 left. From there, Miami took off, going on a 25-9 run to end the quarter. Chris Bosh sparked the run by grabbing a steal on a possession where the HEAT were scrambling defensively. Bosh found LeBron James streaking up the floor and he did what he does, dunking with authority. Miami proceeded to get just about anything they wanted offensively, getting clean looks at the rim and getting to the line. It was as good of a stretch as the HEAT have played this season.
Play of the Game: LeBron James and Chris Bosh are very difficult to defend when they’re working the two-man game. There are a number of options and the defense has to try to guess what they will do. Bosh can roll to the rim, pop out for a jumper of slip the screen and dive towards the rim. With 5:43 left in the third quarter, Bosh opted for option three. Tim Duncan was aggressive in his pick-and-roll defense and Bosh saw the crease he could take advantage of. He slipped the screen and James made the perfect bounce pass between Duncan and Boris Diaw. Nobody was left to defend the rim and Bosh finished with a simple dunk.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 125.8; Defensive Efficiency: 109.6
Trend to Watch: The HEAT’s defensive effort today, especially through the first three quarters, was exceptional. They attacked Spurs shooters, running them off the three-point line and forcing them into long two-point jumpers. Rotations were crisp along the back line and it felt as though every shot the Spurs took was heavily contested. This was not the defense we’ve seen over the month of January. Some rest and practice time helped significantly, as did having a full roster of players available for the game. As the second half of the season rolls on, the HEAT defense will be expected to get better and tonight was an excellent first step. San Antonio’s offense has caused headaches for everyone the past few seasons, so holding them down was no small feat. Up next the HEAT have to deal with Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are potent offensively. If the defensive process is similar to today’s, the HEAT will put themselves in a good position to win.
The Takeaway: Today was the HEAT’s most complete performance in some time. Miami was in control for most of the game, executing well on both sides of the floor. They dissected the Spurs defense, getting great shots in high-value areas of the floor. For long stretches of the game, it felt that every HEAT possession was ending with an open dunk, layup, three-pointer or free throws, which is just what they want to accomplish. Chris Bosh had his scoring going, but the ball movement from everyone was excellent. San Antonio presents unique challenges and Miami met them by being aggressive. Early offense was a successful tool for Miami in the early going. They attacked the Spurs defense before it could truly get set. As such, LeBron James didn’t have to deal with the walling off of the paint that we saw last June. The HEAT’s defensive showing was crisp. The final score doesn’t reflect how good they played because of the Spurs’ big close to the fourth quarter after the game was already decided. With both sides of the ball clicking, it takes a near-perfect effort to beat Miami. On the end of a road trip, the Spurs couldn’t provide that and the HEAT came away with a convincing win.
Notes: LeBron James finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mario Chalmers added 16 points and seven assists. Michael Beasley scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Toney Douglas and James Jones were inactive.