Tony Parker Powers Spurs Past Heat in Game 1
2013 NBA Finals: Heat vs Spurs
Miami, FL
Tony Parker scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth period, including a bank shot with 5.2 seconds left, to carry the San Antonio Spurs to a 92-88 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at AmericanAirlines Arena.
With the shot clock winding down, Parker released a shot just before the buzzer sounded. After a review, officials counted the basket that helped the Spurs take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
"We were very fortunate. It looked like [Parker] lost it two or three times. But he stuck with it. He kept competing. He gained control of it again. He got it up there on the rim. Great effort by Tony," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Parker also issued six assists, Tim Duncan added 20 points and 14 boards, Manu Ginobili had 13, Danny Green added 12 and Kawhi Leonard scored 10 for the Spurs.
LeBron James tallied a triple-double of 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists while Dwyane Wade added 17 points for the Heat, who led most of the way before the Spurs took control with seven minutes remaining.
James and Wade were basically no-shows in the fourth quarter. James scored six late points while Wade was held scoreless as the Heat scored just 16 points in the final period.
"Well, it's pretty clear. There were plays to be made and our offensive inefficiency going down the stretch most of the fourth quarter probably hurt us more than anything," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who got 13 points each from Chris Bosh and Ray Allen.
The Heat were ahead for most part of the game before Spurs grabbed the lead for good on a jumper by Leonard that made it 79-78 with seven minutes remaining.
The Spurs pushed their lead to seven when Green hit a 3-pointer to make it 88-81. Miami then scored five straight points, capped by three free throws by Ray Allen to cut the lead to 88-86.
After Duncan and James exchanged free throws, Parker then took over and sealed the victory for the Spurs.
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