SPURS STORM CLEVELAND

 

 

Well so far in the NBA Finals things had gone to expectations. Games 1 and 2 had been in San Antonio. The Spurs won Game 1 pretty smoothly, and threatened to anhiliate the Cavs in Game 2. Now the series switched to Cleveland for what was potentially a three game stretch. Of course that required the Cavs to win one of the next two games. Then again, the crowd was certainly noisy and the Cavs staff reckoned that they knew what they needed to do.

Well the first quarter was very slow, over a minute had gone before the Spurs took the lead, they went on to lead 4-2 but both sides were really looking to smother each other. To start with, it was the Cavs that won the battle soon getting the edge though the Spurs levelled mid-1st quarter. Anderson Varjao did his share of what succsessful offense work there was in the quarter and at the buzzer it was a case of "so far so good" for the home fans. Cavs led 18-16.

In the 2nd quarter the Cavs looked to build on their defensive work with a better offence and so the pace quickened and the Cavs starting bombing the Spurs from downtown and extended their lead. The Spurs went on to have a second wind but the Cavs came back to lead 38-30 late in the half. And then the home side left coach Mike Brown snarking as he ranted at the offense suddenly going ice cold. Fine by the Spurs who completed a late turn around when a Tony Parker jumper beat the buzzer. Spurs led 40-38.

In the 3rd it was another battle of the stingy defences with there being no score for over two minutes in the early stages of the quarter! The Spurs generally had the edge early on though the Cavs always came back to tie the game, including at 48 with just over four minutes to go in the quarter! It was a Brent Barry three pointer that ended another mutual drought though, the Cavs starting to stare down the barrel of a gun with the Spurs leading 55-50 with a quarter to go.

Points were still hard to come by in the 4th but the Spurs used what they had to entend their lead to double digits. The Cavs got back in the mixer after that but only seemed to be capable of damage limitation and by mid quarter, the Spurs were back at double digits again! The Cavs replied with another slow run including a two and a half minute drought and they cut the deficit to one with six seconds on the clock! Manu Ginobi had the last word with two free throws, the Cavs missed a three pointer in an attempt to force over time, and the Spurs won 75-72!

Could there be a sweep in the NBA Finals?

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