NBA Finals Game 3: San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat – 5 Talking Points

Danny Green #4 and Gary Neal #14 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrate in the second quarter while taking on the Miami Heat during Game Three of the 2013 NBA Finals at the AT&T Center on June 11, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. (Getty Images)

The Young Big-3 (pun intended for 3!)

Since they were playing away from home, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had come up with a plan to stop Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on the court. Stifle them at the back court and ensure Duncan isn’t allowed to play iso at the post. It worked as Parker and Ginobili could only manage 6 and 7 points respectively. What Spoelstra did not account for however, was the young brigade of Kawhi Leonard, Daniel Green and Gary Neal.

Leonard had a superb all-round game with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals (2 of which came when he was guarding James). Neal led the Spurs’ charge in the second and third quarter with 24 points in the game, including a half time buzzer beating 3-pointer that set up the blazing run in the third quarter, and also brought the San Antonio crowd to their feet

But the man of the night was definitely Danny Green, who scored a game-high 27 points. After his 5/5 3-pointers in Game 2 were overlooked because of the Miami dominated victory, he carried his form into game 3 and sank shot after shot from beyond the arc and finished with seven 3-pointers. He timed his runs perfectly to get into position and when the ball reached him, there was absolutely no hesitation to shoot, prompting Gregg Popovich to say “He’s a pretty confident young man right now.”

Together, the three of them scored 15 of the Spurs’ 16 3-pointers – which is also an NBA Finals record! They also combined for 51 points to lead the Spurs over Heat.