"I can sense it from Timmy's comments over the last couple days. James, the MVP of the finals the last two years, said of the Spurs: "They wanted us, they got us.
But the Heat beat the Pacers in six games to reach the championship round and are playing their best ball of the year.Ī four-time NBA MVP, James averaged 27.1 points this year and Wade, who was hobbled in last year's playoffs but is now healthy, chipped in 18.7. Miami, once again led by the so-called Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, went 54-28 this season, two games behind Indiana in the East.
2014 western conference finals series#
The series begins Thursday in San Antonio in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, where the Spurs, unlike a year ago, have the home-court advantage, based on their NBA-best 62-20 regular-season record. "We have four more (games) to win," San Antonio forward Tim Duncan said Saturday, seconds after the Spurs defeated Oklahoma City to win the Western Conference. The Heat overcame a title-busting, five-point deficit in the final 28 seconds of regulation and held on in Game Seven at home to win their second straight championship. The big question, however, is how the memory of last year's late-game meltdown by the Spurs in Game Six will be played out. "It's just a remarkable effort by both teams to get here again."īoth teams tweaked their rosters since last year's epic series, won by Miami in seven games. "It's going to be a knockdown, tough battle for both teams," the former Los Angeles Lakers guard and 14-time All-Star told Reuters. The San Antonio Spurs will be looking to avenge last year's agonizing loss to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals when the two teams return for a best-of-seven showdown that Hall of Famer Jerry West compares to an all-out brawl. The shot-blocker finished with just six points and two rebounds in Game 6 and wasn't the same force inside after blocking off the paint in Games 3 and 4.San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21), guard Patty Mills (left) and forward Boris Diaw (33) celebrate during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The re-emergence of Ibaka, along with dominant games from Durant and Russell Westbrook, is the only way the Thunder can stay alive and force a Game 7. The following tweet from the Thunder summed up the desperate mindset of OKC: Oklahoma City's two victories at home at least guaranteed the team the chance to fight for its season, again at home, in Game 6. You have no clue what's going to happen, how a team is going to come out, whether they're going to be lethargic or hold the ball, get 50/50 balls or don't get 50/50 balls." We talk to our team about that all the time. "I think every game, it's a different animal. "I have no clue, honestly," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the disparity. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was at a loss when explaining the margin of victory in all five games of the series, per the Associated Press via ESPN: After out-scoring the Thunder by 10 in the third, the Spurs were cruising to a 28-point win that surpassed 30 at numerous points throughout the fourth. San Antonio ground out a double-digit lead at half. Returning home for Game 5 was just what the Spurs needed to get their offense back on track and start frustrating the Thunder's offense.
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