Spurs win again; NBA title is one win away
CLEVELAND — In nature, there are predators, and there is prey. Like a gazelle in full stride, the Cleveland Cavaliers raced blissfully into the NBA Finals, celebrating the team’s first such appearance in franchise history. Once there, they found themselves standing in dead-aim of the proverbial Big Bad Wolf, or more fitting, the Texas Wolf — aka San Antonio Spurs, who snuck out of “The Q” in Cleveland Tuesday night with a 75-72 victory that was controversial for what didn‘t happen.
The victory gives the Spurs a 3-0 series lead and puts them in a position to win their third NBA title in 5 years — and their fourth title in 9 years — Thursday night in Cleveland. San Antonio has lost 3 times in sweep situations, most recently in the 2005 Western Conference Finals against Phoenix.
What didn’t happen in Tuesday night’s game is a foul call on the final play: Bruce Bowen swiped LeBron James’ arm as he made his move for a 3-point shot that would have sent the game into overtime, and would have given Cleveland a better chance in OT.
But James was more inclined to blame Cleveland’s decision making on the previous possession; if the Cavs’ had converted on the prior play, with James double-teamed and forced to pass off to Anderson Varejao, who missed a layup, the Cavs could have tied the game before James’ desperation 3 became necessary: Woulda, shoulda, coulda….
“Incidental contact,” said James of Bowen on the final shot. “It didn’t affect my shot, I had a good look at it and missed.”
The contact didn’t look incidental.
“He did take a stab at him and we talked about it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We’ll keep what we said to ourselves, it might happen again. We’ve seen every crazy thing happen, positively and negatively, so our experience in that regard does help. That was the best defense we’ve played all season, without a doubt.”
Tony Parker is a game away from being deservedly named Finals MVP. With Cleveland down only 2, Parker hit a critical 3-point shot with 1:00 remaining to put the Spurs up by 5.
“He’s not really a 3-point shooter,“ said the Spurs’ Tim Duncan of Parker’s long-range shot in the clutch. “On the release, I was questioning the shot, but I was happy with the result. He’s just playing so confident right now.“
“I just go out there and try to be a difference and just play my game,” Parker said of his MVP possibilities. “If it happens I be the first one to be very happy, and if it goes to Timmy, I be happy to win a third championship,” said the soft-spoken French all-star.
The “Big 3” for San Antonio had their lowest scoring night of the playoffs. Parker led the Spurs with 17 points, Duncan added 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili, who put up 25 in Game 2, scored only 3 points, but they were the only 3 points he needed: All free throws in the game’s final 10 seconds, to account for the Spurs’ final margin of victory.
It was Bowen who was the workhorse Tuesday night for San Antonio: On the floor for 43 minutes, Bowen snagged 9 rebounds, blocked a shot, scored 13 points and added an assist.
“Bruce did everything for us, he was unbelievable,” Duncan said. “He made some big shots, rebounded, played great defense…I can’t say enough about him. What he does defines our team.”
LeBron James did all he could, leading Cleveland with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The Cavs’ young superstar, however, missed on three straight attempts at one point with under 4:00 remaining, that would have pulled the Cavs even.
“We dug ourselves a big hole, but we put ourselves in a position to win tonight. We can’t live on history (facing a possible sweep) so we just have to go out and win 4 games straight,” James said.
The Spurs went on a 10-0 run to end the first half to take a 40-38 lead into the locker room. Both James and Duncan got into first-half foul trouble, getting 3 calls each by the second period.
If the Spurs go on to win this series, they will become only the fourth NBA franchise to have won four or more titles: Boston, Chicago and the Los Angeles Lakers are already in the record books. San Antonio has a 21-7 record in closeout games. The Spurs are unbeaten in closeout games in the 2007 playoffs.
