MIAMI — The Spurs unleashed a team-wide offensive burst never seen before — and very likely will never be seen again — in the NBA Finals.
And, if you listen to them, they also unleashed something they had seen all year — just not in the Finals.
Kawhi Leonard, who had totaled 18 points in the first two games, led a Spurs offensive start that could be described as stunning. Or unbelievable. Or awesome. Or grab a thesaurus and use whatever word you want. Leonard scored 16 of his career-high 29 points in the first quarter and the Spurs, who hit 19 of their first 21 shots, went on to a 111-92 victory and a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
“I don’t think we’ll ever shoot 76 percent in a half again,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose gang shot 25-of-33 (75.8) before halftime, the greatest shooting half in Finals history. “That will never happen again. I mean that’s crazy.”
Also crazy was the Heat surrendering the most points they ever have yielded in a playoff half, 71, in those first 24 minutes.
“They jumped on us and they were the aggressor tonight and they had us on our heels. That’s something at this point of the season, shouldn’t happen,” said Miami’s LeBron James (22 points, seven turnovers) whose 14 first-quarter points were overshadowed.
“There were no magic plays. We just moved the ball and every shot went in,” said the Spurs Manu Ginobili (11 points off the bench).
“They came out at a different gear than we were playing at,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
Leonard was big on both ends as he battled James all game. Leonard finished shooting 10-of-13, including 3-of-6 on 3-pointers. Danny Green (15 points, five steals) also had a huge first half.
“Just try to make him back down and try to shoot some [tough] shots,” Leonard said of his approach to James. “[If] he gets going, you really can’t do nothing.”
Leonard’s two-way game was what the Spurs have grown accustomed to.
“Nobody has to go and tell him how important he is. He knows,” Ginobili said.
“He was just himself,” Popovich said. “That’s how he played all year long. He’s got to be one of our better players or we’re not good enough.”
Of course, there had to be drama for the Spurs who were back in the building where last year they suffered one of the worst collapses in Finals history, blowing a five-point lead with under 30 seconds left in Game 6 and then losing Game 7.
The Heat, behind far better aggression — and 11 of Dwyane Wade’s 22 points — cut the lead to seven in the third quarter before the Spurs regrouped. They took an 86-75 lead into the fourth after Boris Diaw, who started for Tiago Splitter, scored inside.
“They got a couple turnovers, made a couple plays, made a couple shots,” said Tim Duncan (14 points). “They won the third quarter but we were still up 10, 11 . We just don’t panic.”
And they never allowed the Heat to get the game within single digits again. The Heat were within 90-80 in the fourth, but Leonard dunked and added a pair of free throws. After a Wade drive, Parker drilled a 3-pointer for a 97-82 lead with 6:57 left.
Folks will talk about that first half for as long as they talk about first halves in NBA Finals. The Spurs led by 25 points early in the second quarter, hitting that astounding 19-of-21 shots (for most of the half, they were more efficient from the floor than the line). Those two misses? They came from noted slackers Duncan and Parker, one each.
And the 71 points were the most in a Finals half since the Lakers scored 75 in 1987. Their 41 first-quarter points made them the first team to score 40 in a first quarter since Game 6 in 1967 when both Philadelphia and San Francisco did it.
“We hate the performance we put on tonight,” James said. “But it’s 2-1. Not 4-1.”