The Miami Heat won 98-96 over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the 2014 NBA Finals. The Heat are 5-0 in playoff series after losing Game 1 in the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh era (since 2010-11 season). Miami lost Game 1 of the 2012 and 2013 NBA Finals but still went on to win the title. The Heat haven’t trailed 2-0 in a series in the James-Wade-Bosh era. “LeBroning” update for game two: No cramps.
James played it out this game finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds. James started cold and finished hot, knocking down 14-of-22 shots. He was 1-for-4 with three turnovers in a shaky first quarter, then made 11 of his next 13. James had three assists; one of them was to Chris Bosh who connected on a three-pointer off a pass from James with 1:18 remaining. The Heat have now won 13 straight following a loss in the postseason. Bosh finished with 18 points.
The game was entertaining to watch from start to finish. James owned the headlines in Game 1, nothing was different in Game 2. He personally erased a 62-56 San Antonio lead by scoring eight points in less than a minute, and his 14 points in the third quarter had Miami down only 78-77 heading to the fourth. “For me, once I get into a good groove, I feel like everything is going to go in,” James said. The Heat outscored the Spurs by 11 points and shot 60.4 percent with James on the court. The Heat are 15-1 in the postseason when James has at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. The one loss was to the Celtics in 2012.
With 6:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, Mario Chalmers elbowed Tony Parker in the midsection, drawing a flagrant foul call. To borrow ESPN’s Stan Verrett and Neil Everett’s banter “Is that bad? Well it was not good.” San Antonio missed four consecutive free throws after that possession, and neither Parker nor the Spurs looked the same the rest of the way. What was a two-point Spurs lead spiraled into a Miami victory.
The Heat have gone 46 straight playoff games without consecutive losses, the third-longest streak in NBA history. The series is tied 1 all, identical to last year when the Spurs won Game 1 and the Heat tied the series with a Game 2 win.
