The San Antonio Spurs ended game one of the NBA Finals on a 31-9 run to pull out a 110-95 victory over the Miami Heat.
During that stretch, the Spurs made 14 of their 16 field goal attempts, including a perfect 6-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“They broke us down; they executed,” Miami center Chris Bosh said in his postgame press conference on NBA.com. “We always have to be ahead of the play, and we made a few mistakes where we failed to be ahead of the play.”
After the Spurs led by five at halftime, the Heat seized the lead in third quarter and led by four heading into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, Heat small forward LeBron James began to cramp up and missed much of the final seven and a half minutes of the contest, including all of the last four minutes. When he left the game for the final time, Miami trailed by two points.
He finished with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Bosh was one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine boards. Shooting guard Dwyane Wade contributed 19 points.
The Spurs, who connected on 58.8 percent of their field goal attempts, turned the ball over 22 times.
“For us, that’s the Achilles’ Heel; when we have a game like that turnover-wise, invariably it’s a loss for us,” head coach Gregg Popovich said in his postgame press conference on NBA.com. “The turnovers are usually a killer. We feel very fortunate to have won this game.”
Power forward Tim Duncan went 9-of-10 from the floor in a 21-point, 10-rebound performance. Point guard Tony Parker amassed 19 points and nine assists. Shooting guard Manu Ginobili compiled 16 points and 11 assists, according to ESPN.
The air conditioning in the AT&T Center was not working properly, which resulted in the arena getting very hot (90 degrees Fahrenheit). Game two of the series will be Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.