No LeBron James. No Dwayne Wade. No doubt for the Miami Heat Sunday night in San Antonio.
The shorthanded Heat — by choice — defeated the Spurs 88-86 on a game-winning 3-pointer by Chris Bosh. The win now gives the Heat a three game advantage over the Spurs for home-court advantage if the two meet in the NBA Finals this June.
Without his co-stars, Bosh carried the Heat in primetime against the Spurs. The All-Star forward had 23 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and made 3-of-5 from behind the arc. The last of those 3’s came with just 1.1 seconds remaining, putting the Heat ahead for good.
Although the Spurs were missing Manu Ginobli, a win in the AT&T Center without James, Wade and Chalmers is about as impressive as it can get. And it will give the Heat (especially their role players) the confidence they need to win on the road should the two meet in the finals.
Ray Allen had 14 points, Norris Cole had 13, and Mike Miller chipped in 12 off the bench. Bosh carried the team for an entire game and the Heat left no doubt that not even the Spurs may stand a chance this spring.
The Heat never intended to win 33 in a row.
They have always intended to win back-to-back championships.
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
The Spurs haven’t played in the Alamodome in more than a decade. I know they might be hard to watch, but that detail is hardly an obscure fact.