After a record-setting start to the game, the San Antonio Spurs weathered a strong push by the Miami Heat that cut the Spurs’ lead to as few as seven in the third quarter, and held on for a 111-92 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
San Antonio was led by Kawhi Leonard, who set a career high with 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Danny Green also chipped in with 15 points (13 in the first half), going 7-for-8 from the field and helping the Spurs to a 71-50 halftime lead.
The Spurs set all-time marks for shooting percentage in the first quarter (86.7 percent) and first half (75.8 percent) of an NBA Finals game, and approached the record of 79 points in a half. Miami was able to claw back into the game by outscoring San Antonio 25-15 in the third quarter, but following a timeout with 8:53 to go in the fourth the Spurs went on a 14-6 run over the next four minutes to effectively end the game.
The Heat were led by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, both of whom scored 22 points but also combined for 12 of Miami’s 20 turnovers. Both teams shot the three ball exceptionally well, with the Spurs and Heat both going 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
Game 4 will be Thursday night in Miami, and with the Heat trailing 2-1 and facing a Game 5 in San Antonio, it is essentially a must-win.
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