Basketball - Spurs stun Heat to close in on NBA title

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat 114-104 in one of the most masterful offensive performances in NBA Finals history.

They now lead the series 3-2.

The Spurs shot 60% overall, 40% from 3-point range, and 80% from the free throw line.

Only 10 teams have ever shot 60-40-80 as a team in a playoff game since 1986, and none of them did it in the Finals.

Since 1986, only three other teams have shot 60% in an NBA Finals game, and none of them shot more than 14 3-pointers.

The Spurs shot 22 3-pointers tonight.

It was just an incredible display of offense. Tony Parker (26 points) destroyed every Heat player they put in front of him, Tim Duncan (17 points, 12 rebounds) abused Chris Bosh in the post, and Manu Ginobili (24 points, 10 assists) created shots out of nothing. If they didn't turn it over 18 times, they could have dropped 130 in this game.

The Spurs are a ball movement-based team that tries to get an open shot on every possession. Tonight we saw what happened when that ball movement works, and all of those open shots go down.

Coach Gregg Popovich gambled by putting Ginobili in the starting lineup for the first time all season, and it paid off big time.

Ginobili scored 24 points on 8 for 14 shooting in his best performance in weeks.

This Miami team was one of the best defense teams in the NBA during the season. San Antonio simply dismantled them. 

 
This is a series of wild swings, and Miami still has a good chance to win it in Game 7. But no team can beat San Antonio if they play like they did tonight.