Spurs Take Game 1 From Heat

    The defending NBA champion Miami Heat fell short to the San Antonio Spurs 92-88 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. The Heat, who entered their third consecutive championship series, lost the opening game like they did in the 2006 and 2012 NBA Finals which they eventually won. The Spurs, who have never lost a series in the NBA Finals in the history of their franchise, won the first game of the NBA Finals as they have on four other occasions.
    LeBron James pulled off a special performance for the Heat with a triple-double as he had a team-high 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 rebounds in 42 minutes. It was the third career triple-double that he compiled in an NBA Finals game. Dwyane Wade added 17 points in 36 minutes while Chris Bosh knocked down 13 points with five rebounds in 35 minutes. Miami had help from the bench as Ray Allen got 13 points in 24 minutes.
    Tim Duncan, looking for his fifth NBA title with the Spurs, picked up a double-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. Tony Parker dropped down 21 points with six assists in 40 minutes and reserve Manu Ginobili contributed 13 points in 30 minutes. Danny Green hit 12 points while Kawhi Leonard got a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
    San Antonio began the game on a 9-2 edge and the seven-point margin would be their biggest lead until late in the final quarter. Miami bounced back with an 11-2 run and would get ahead 24-23 after one quarter. The Heat extended their lead to 38-29 with a 14-6 rally to start the second quarter. They were up the entire period and led 52-49 at halftime.
    The Spurs fell behind by seven points early in the third quarter, trailed throughout the period and were down 72-69 as they entered the final quarter. San Antonio had an 8-4 spurt at the start of the fourth quarter and took their first lead since the first quarter 77-76 with 7:47 remaining. The Spurs later had a 11-3 rally in the middle of the period and were up 88-81 with 2:17 to go. The Heat were able to pull within two points at 90-88 on two free throws by James with 31 seconds left. Parker answered with a field goal from the right side as the 24-second clock buzzer went off and just five seconds left in regulation.