NBA: "Spurs rout Miami” - That just happened

Awards

Player of the Game : Kawhi Leonard. Yes, Gary Neal & Danny Green scored 24 & 27 respectively but it was Leonard who was solid all-around. He scored 14 points on 60 percent shooting, pulled down 12 rebounds and had 4 steals. Also, he had the task to defend the best player in the world right now, and he did it amazingly, limiting the MVP to 15 points off 7-21 shooting, and the 9 point run LBJ had was when Kawhi was on the bench.

X-Factor: Do I have to tell you? Danny Green and Gary Neal for their threesome with the Miami Heat,

Danny Green now has the record for the second most 3?s in NBA Finals, with 7. He has scored more points than LeBron this series. In 2010, he was cut by a LeBron lead Cavaliers. Gary Neal, on the other hand, went un-drafted in 2007 and played 3 years internationally in Turkey, Spain & Italy before being picked by the Spurs, and now here he is.

Worst Show: I never thought this would happen, but yes, LeBron was a no-show in this game as he scored a measly 15 points off a disastrous 7-21 shooting (11 of them when the game was pretty much decided). And although he pulled in 11 rebounds and had 5 assists, he wasn’t the same force he was these past years. Adding to that, Lebron had a +/- of (-)32, meaning his team was outscored 32 when he was on court. This was his worst +/- ever!.

Notes

• Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined to score 25 points, the fewest in a playoff game that all 3 played in. They won by 36 still!
• The Spurs grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, their most in a postseason game since June 19, 2005, against the Pistons. Tim Duncan, at age 37, had 7 of them, the reason why he’s called Benjamin Button these days.
• The Spurs set an NBA Finals record with 16 3-pointers in Game 3.
• The most astonishing stat - Miami’s first victory in San Antonio came on December 23, 1996, in its 11th try. David Robinson broke his left foot in the second quarter of the Heat’s 90-79 victory, missed the rest of the season, and the Spurs fell into the lottery, which they ended up winning so they could take Duncan with the No. 1 pick in the 1997 draft – 16 years later, he is still haunting them.

The Spurs did what Miami generally do to other teams. But still, with a quiet game from Lebron, it would be pretty foolish to jump into any quick conclusions. After all, its M!am! we are talking about and with Tony Parker having an MRI on his calf, who knows what’s in store for us.

Till then, watch this video of LeBron dancing with Danny Green

How times change.