MIAMI — All is not lost for the Heat.
All they need do is rev up their offseason plans and bring in Carmelo Anthony before Game 5 of the NBA Finals Sunday.
For the second straight game, the Spurs embarrassed the Heat on their home court, outplaying them in every conceivable facet. The Spurs put on a passing clinic — when they weren’t doing the same defensively. When the nightmare ended for the Heat, the Spurs were laughing with a 107-86 victory that gave them a 3-1 lead in the series.
“They smashed us, two straight games,” said Miami’s LeBron James, giving a pretty succinct analysis of the two games here.
“It was pretty much the same game as the last game,” said San Antonio’s Boris Diaw (eight points, nine rebounds, nine assists), who started a second straight game and led a passing display that drove the Heat berserk from the outset.
Miami, which saw a streak of 13 wins following a playoff loss end, know the enormity of the task ahead. No team ever has won the NBA Finals by overcoming a 3-1 deficit. When the Heat began their run with the Big Three, they had far more grandiose plans.
Not one, not two, not … OK, maybe two.
“We put ourselves in a position where it is making history,” said James, who scored 28 points — 19 in the third quarter, when he led a failed rally.
The Spurs moved the Heat around with their passing and bottled them up with their defense from the outset. A double-digit lead arrived in the first quarter. A 20-point-plus lead was there in the second.
“I can honestly say I don’t think any of us were expecting this type of game,” said coach Erik Spoelstra, whose Heat were slaughtered in every category. “Probably, this was the biggest surprise of the series.”
Yeah, no one foresaw the Spurs being this good for a second straight game. Or the two-time defending champs being that bad.
“We’re playing Spurs basketball. We’re just moving the ball and we’re just playing the way we’ve been playing all season,” said the Spurs’ Tony Parker, who had 19 points.
So back home in San Antonio, the Spurs can clinch their fifth championship since 1999 and end Miami’s attempt to become the fourth franchise to forge a three-peat.
“Great position for us, obviously, going back home with a closeout game,” said Tim Duncan, who forged his NBA-record 158th career playoff double-double (passing Magic Johnson) with 10 points and 11 rebounds. “Obviously, they’re the champions and they’re going to show a lot of fire.”
Well, they didn’t in the last two games.
The Spurs shot 57 percent to 45 percent for the Heat. They mauled Miami 44-27 in rebounding. The Spurs passed the Heat silly, racking up 25 assists to 13 for Miami. The Heat did have a 25-19 edge in personal fouls.
Hey, at least they had more in something.
“Winning and losing is never one thing,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “[It’s] a lot of factors. It’s not just shooting well or shooting poorly. There are turnovers and there are free throws and there’s rebounds, all kinds of things.”
And the Spurs dominated in every area.
Every player on the Spurs roster scored, led by Kawhi Leonard, who followed up his career Game 3 with a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double. Patty Mills hit 14 points off the bench.
At times James was almost on an offensive island as Dwyane Wade looked gassed. Wade missed nine of his first 10 shots and finished with 10 points, as he misfired on missed several gimmes.
“I just missed them,” he said. “I’m an accurate shooter and I don’t like missing.”
The only noise the Heat made was getting within 13 points in the third quarter, but the Spurs took the jab and punched back, as they ran off seven straight points, ending with a drive by Diaw, whose size and versatility has impacted the Finals in a huge way. So the Spurs led 68-48, and the home crowd booed the Heat. It wasn’t the first time.
And it wasn’t the last.