LeBron Goes Beast Mode in 2nd Half as Heat Take Game 2

Tied 1-1

Alright welcome in to the full recap for game 2 of the 2014 NBA Finals once again between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs where the Heat refused to go down 2 games and capture their 13th straight playoff bounce back victory against the Spurs 98-96 behind a 2nd half clinic by LeBron James.

First off I have to address an apology yet again for another screw up and I take full responsibility. I thought today's game 2 would start the same time as game 1, which is at 6:00. So I had to run some errands a little bit until 6:30, meaning I would've missed half of the 1st quarter until I checked my phone on Yahoo Sports to see that the game was at halftime already so I rushed to get home and I checked the time that it started at 5:30 and I just shook my head a little. Yeah quite a slow start for my NBA Finals' coverage, that was my error, hence why there was no halftime post and it's just only Q3 and Q4 posted in the Q-by-Q reaction. Luckily, I didn't miss the whole game, I thought saw a great 2nd half where the Heat and Spurs exchanged blows and the Heat later delivered the knockout blow with Bosh finding Wade.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 35 points, 10 rebounds, 14-22 shooting. Even with the leg cramps in the 2nd half and the broken down A/C, I thought LeBron was very efficient in Game 1 with 25 points. This game right here showed why he is currently the NBA's best player. I said in my finals preview, that LeBron has no excuse to foil under pressure since he has 4 years of NBA Finals experience and he is 2/2 now in putting up big numbers early on in the finals. Last year the Spurs were daring him to shoot and he couldn't hit just one jump shot until games 6 & 7. This year, LeBron is taking it to the Spurs, especially this game, he was hitting his jump shots and answering time after time when the Spurs looked like they were making a run.

Chris Bosh, 18 points, 6-11 shooting. Bosh so far has played surprisingly good in the finals this year. He doesn't have to put up great numbers, he just has to be an efficient contributor and answer the call whenever and he hit a really big shot in the closing seconds in the 4th quarter to give Miami a two point lead and made the extra pass handing the ball to Dwyane Wade after the Spurs trapped him for an open layup to pretty much seal the deal. 

Rashard Lewis 14 points, 5-9 shooting. A better game from Rashard Lewis, he made some vintage shots that made him a deadly shooter at the 4 spot back in the day. I remember when he went off against the Lakers in game 2 in '09 and he didn't have a great 3 point shooting this game, but he made shots that were just back breaking for the Spurs as they were trying build the momentum to their side. 

The Negatives

Bench play. The Heat bench only scored 12 points compared to the Spurs' bench with 37 points. I'm glad Coach Spo is mixing up with some role players I mean James Jones and Udonis Haslem saw some action this game, but an inconsistent rotation is a factor for poor bench play. Ray Allen contributed decent, but not too much to bolster the poor bench play. As the series shifts to Miami, I'm expecting at least most of the bench players to light it up and be that X-factor aside from the trio of Wade, James, and Bosh.

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives 

Big 3. Tim Duncan 18 points, 15 rebounds, 7-14 shooting, Tony Parker 21 points, 7 assists, 8-15 shooting, Manu Ginobili, off the bench, 19 points, 7-15 shooting. The Spurs' big 3 have been spectacular the first two games. From what I heard from the 1st half, Duncan got off to a real great start and Miami's defense had no answer for him and every time they stop him, it's a foul. Like I said before, the key to effectively hurt Miami's defense is give Duncan the ball inside and they just couldn't stop him. Ginobili and Parker, they played great, Parker obviously with that huge shot to give the Spurs a brief 92-93 lead and Ginobili hitting a 3 that if the Spurs drew that up earlier, they could've saved time and play the foul game.

The Negatives

3rd Quarter free throws. Just a tough pill to swallow for the Spurs who were so good at the charity stripe during the regular season. Parker had a chance to give the Spurs some cushion when he drew the flagrant one foul on Chalmers, couldn't hit one and then Duncan, drew a foul, free throws, couldn't hit one and free throws especially when game 2 is an early critical game in the finals are huge and those misses came back to bite big time in the 4th.

Tiago Splitter, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1-3 shooting. Huge regression for Splitter after having a great offensive outing in the 1st game, he just wasn't involved as much as he was last game.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Danny Green 9 pts 3-5 shooting, Kawhi Leonard 9 points, 3-9 shooting, fouled out. The Spurs' X-factors didn't show up this game. The Heat's defense have checked Green very good in the first two games and he hasn't put up big numbers yet. Leonard, you talk about a major letdown from the future franchise player, just 9 points in his first two finals games. He wasn't afraid to take gambles and create his own shots last year. I don't know what's going on with Leonard and if you're a Spurs fan, you gotta be frustrated because your future franchise player when Duncan is gone is not playing up to par the last 2 games and what more when the series shifts to Miami?

Conclusion

The Heat haven't been down 2 games in a long time and they got just what they wanted to try and take a 3-1 lead as the series shifts to Miami. For the Spurs, it's a hurtful loss this game and it definitely blows their home court advantage, luckily the finals shifts back to a 2-2-1-1-1 format so Miami would not win on their home floor again, but the Spurs need to at least take 1 game on the home floor of the 2x defending champs. Once again I apologize for the mishap, but I was able to cover game 2 as much as I could for you guys today. I couldn't stay up for the re-run on ESPN nor watch the replay on NBA TV tomorrow because I have a summer class on that day. Hopefully you guys read my announcement regarding the halftime post and it will be effective starting game 3 on Tuesday. I'll see you guys later.