Gary Neal scored a playoff career-high 24 points and Danny Green had a game-high 27 points as the San Antonio Spurs stunned the Miami Heat 113-77 in game three of the NBA finals.
The Spurs never trailed in the contest, seizing a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series as they gave the Heat a taste of their own medicine after Miami blew out San Antonio 103-84 in game two.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise if these are the last two teams standing this season in the NBA finals,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I don’t think either one of them is going to go down because they have a bad night.”
Kawhi Leonard finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four steals as San Antonio’s supporting cast bounced back with vengeance to rout the Heat in front of a crowd of 18,581 at AT&T Center arena on Tuesday.
Green went seven-of-nine from three-point range for the Spurs, who went on two monster runs in the second half - a 23-8 surge to start the third quarter and a 13-0 run to begin the fourth. They outscored Miami 63-33 in the second half.
“Those guys shot incredibly,” Spurs star Tim Duncan said of Green and Neal. “They gave us some breathing room when we needed it.”
