NBA Finals 2013: San Antonio Spurs Push Miami Heat to Brink; Game 6 Should be Classic


The back-and-forth nature of the 2013 NBA Finals continued in Game 5 as the San Antonio Spurs won their last game at home to take a 3-2 lead as the series shifts to Miami for the final act. Two things that were common in these Finals continued again on Sunday night: blowout wins and one player stepping up after being criticized the day before the game.

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was raked over figurative coals by the media over the weekend for his poor play in the Finals and then put together a vintage performance in Game 5 — his only start of both the regular and post season — to bring the Spurs within one win of a fifth title. The 35-year-old free-agent-to-be poured in 24 points and 10 assists, including seven of eight from the free-throw line, to overcome 66 points from the Miami Heat‘s Big Three.

Now Miami must win two consecutive games — something it hasn’t done in over a month — to win another title. How will LeBron James and company respond with their backs to the wall while guys like Danny Green — who broke Ray Allen‘s record for most three-pointers in a Finals series — continue to ride momentum? The NBA is taking this incredibly unpredictable matchup to South Beach to find out.


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