The Heat Get Dismantled By The Spurs Again, Now Need Historic Comeback To Win NBA Finals
The Spurs won 107-86 on Thursday, taking a 3-1 series lead back to San Antonio. No team has ever come back to win the NBA Finals after going down 3-1.
Game 4 was even more of a beatdown than Game 3, when the Spurs made 19 of their first 21 shots and set the Finals record for field goal percentage in a half.
San Antonio didn't have that sort of offensive outburst on Thursday. They just steadily, methodically dismantled the Heat with ball movement, 3-point shooting, and team defense. They opened up a nine-point lead after the first quarter, a 19-point lead after the second quarter, and a 24-point lead after the third quarter.
It was the type of game where Boris Diaw was throwing blind behind-the-back passes to a cutting Thiago Splitter:
The Heat have only lost one playoff series since LeBron James got to Miami. If any team can come back from a 3-1 hole, it's the team with the best player in the world that's coming off two-straight titles.
But right now these two teams look like they're on different levels. The Spurs are deeper, younger, and more versatile. Outside of Game 2 - when LeBron had one of his best Finals games ever - this series hasn't been close.