ALAMO-MENTUM: Tim Duncan drives on the Heat’s Udonis Haslem during a nine-point Game 2 he can’t repeat for the Spurs tonight. (AP)
Over the weekend, Tony Parker lobbied for a statue of Tim Duncan to be erected outside San Antonio’s AT&T Center. But the legendary power forward can’t play like a statue if the Spurs are to win their fifth title since 1999 and dethrone the defending champion Heat.
While LeBron James was shaky offensively, Duncan had his worst game statistically in his Finals career in Sunday’s 103-84 crumbling loss to the Heat that tied the Finals at 1-1. Tonight, the series switches to a familiar June venue — Alamo City — for the next three games.
In the Finals that have gone 1-1 under the 2-3-2 format, the home team is oddly 3-9 in Game 3. That trend could continue if the 37-yeatr-old Duncan does not turn back the clock against an undersized but more athletic Heat frontline.
None of the Spurs’ Big 3 played well in Game 2, but Duncan was the worst offender. The three-time Finals MVP scored nine points with one assist and looked as sluggish as the humid San Antonio air. He missed early around the hoop, then clanked four of his patented mid-range, left-wing jumpers in the third quarter.
If he’s to win “one for the thumb,” Duncan will have to look more like the guy who earned First-Team All NBA in a renaissance season.
“I know I played awfully,” Duncan said. “[But] we got one game here. We have three at home, so we’re excited about that. But if we play like we did [Sunday], that’s not going to matter.’’
Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 27 points on 10-of-33 shooting. Tonight they look for their 100th playoff win as a trio.
“We have basically no shot winning a game against them if none of us play good,” Ginobili said. “We got to step up and do better.”
The Spurs wasted an opportunity with James struggling offensively. Miami’s Big 3 did not sparkle either. When the Heat went on their game-winning 33-5 run, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were mostly watching from the bench.
Duncan was watching, too — on the court. His 3-for-13 shooting yielded his lowest career field-goal percentage (23.1 percent) in a Finals game. It was also the Spurs’ second-largest margin of defeat in the Finals.
“I look at my shots and they are the shots I want,’’ Duncan said. “Obviously they’re contested shots, but they’re the shots I feel I can make. I’m going to be back in the gym and hopefully come out with a better stroke. I’m getting shots I want. I just have to knock them down.”
Duncan, who has a nice height advantage against the Heat, was 0-for-5 in the first quarter of Game 1 before coming on strong, along with Tony Parker.
Parker also had a letdown in Game 2, dogged all night by Miami’s swarming defense after he embarrassed them in the series opener. Mario Chalmers, the unsung starting point guard who led the Heat in scoring, also was harassing Parker.
“They played great defens,” Parker said. “They were just more aggressive, very aggressive on the pick-and-rolls and all our drives.’’
Parker had five turnovers after having zero in Game 1, when the Spurs posted a Finals-record four. The Spurs committed 17 turnovers in Game 2, and that played a role in the Heat’s 33-5 onslaught that began with 3:11 left in the third quarter and the Spurs clinging to a one-point lead.
“That was the biggest thing, and it starts with me,’’ Parker said. “I’ve said if we can keep our turnovers under 10, it would be better.’’
The Heat have not lost back-to-back games since Jan. 10.
“It’s always easy to bounce back after a loss,” Parker said. “Now it’s our turn to see how we’re going to handle our losses and going to respond.’’
The Spurs have to make a tactical decision in guarding James of whether to continue sending extra defenders his way on drives and leaving the Heat’s perimeter players open. James is averaging just 17.5 point in the series. Parker said they could rethinking the strategy for Game 3.
“We’ll talk with the coaching staff and see if we’re going to keep doing that,” Parker said. “Right now the other players are playing great, too. So we can’t have both.”
They Spurs also need some Duncan bank shots tonight. Bank on that.