Trailing the Spurs 3-2 and facing elimination, the Miami Heat came storming back from behind in Game 6 to force a series-deciding Game 7.
Leveling the playing field has changed things for both teams.
It's still championship or bust for the Heat, but they're at home, clad with the knowledge that they didn't put their best foot forward by any means in Game 6 and still won. Momentum has shifted.
Could the NBA season really end like this, with the Miami Heat, who looked absolutely invincible for most of the regular season, vanquished at home by the ancient San Antonio Spurs? In Game Five, San Antonio's Manu Ginobili returned from the dead and Danny Green broke Ray Allen's NBA Finals record for made three-pointers while Allen was right there on the opposing bench. The Spurs took a 3-2 series lead and now have two games at Miami's American Airlines Arena to close out the series, clinching their 5th title in franchise history and improving their perfect record in NBA Finals to 5-0.
Well, if the Spurs are going to win a title tonight that means they will have to defeat the Miami Heat two games in a row, something which hasn't happened in a long long time. Not at all during the postseason (granted, the Heat have been having a problem winning two games in a row for the last month).
Being back at home should also give Miami an advantage tonight. The scary thing about Sunday night's loss for Miami is that it didn't seem like an effort/attention/psychological issue, which is how the Heat's losses during this series have mostly been explained away. The Heat were in the game right up until the final minute, the Spurs' lead was down to one point in the game's third quarter. The Spurs just totally and utterly outplayed the Heat, there's no "we outplayed ourselves" excuse available for Miami's Game Five performance. The San Antonio Spurs were a better team, in fact they looked like the exact kind of team capable of handing the Heat their first back-to-back loss in months.
For the first time all postseason, they are facing a win-or-go-home situation. And for the second time in the last eight years, they've been pushed to Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Will the Spurs be able to steal another win on the road and lay claim to their fourth title in the last decade, or will the Heat hand San Antonio's Big Three their first ever Finals loss en route to a second straight title?
There really isn't anything better than a Game 7.
Time: Thursday, June 20, 9 p.m. ET
Where: AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami
Series: Tied 3-3
