The Miami Heat (0-1) will play against San Antonio Spurs (1-0) in Game 2 of NBA Finals on Sunday, June 8, 2014. The highly anticipated Finals continue at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Heat vs. Spurs Game 2 will begin at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET. ABC is streaming the NBA Finals on their website, but users must have television subscription. Information on how to watch the game on live stream can be found below.
San Antonio sealed their win on Thursday after a 30-9 fourth-quarter run. While the air conditioning malfunctioned, both teams played at an extremely high level despite some turnover. LeBron James sat out because of a debilitating cramp due to the heat.
The Big Three Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili were fantastic in their rapid ball movements to open players, among whom was Danny Green that burnt a hole through the net late in the game. Duncan had 21 points, 10 rebounds and shot 9-for-10 from the field; Parker had 19 points and eight assists; Ginobili had 16 points and 11 assists.
In the press conference following Game 1, the Spurs and Heat players each talked about what happened that night, and how they will proceed forward.
Duncan said that while Green missed a couple shots in the beginning, he and his teammates and Spurs coach view that every time Green shoots, it is going in. They have a lot of confidence in Green, who later went on fire in fourth quarter.
About the effects of the heat on the players, Duncan said that people started getting cramped up, but Popovich kept switching people in and out to keep the players as fresh as possible.
Parker said that he was a bit worried about his ankle during the first quarter, but after getting warmed up, he felt no lingering effects of his ankle injury. He also commented on how they kept their focus continously pushing, knowing that it will be a long game.
"When Bosh hit that three, it was a heart breaker, but we came out and time out and said it was still a long game. Just keep pushing the pace, we felt that they were getting a little bit tired. LeBron was asking to be subbed. So we were like, let's keep pushing and get some easy basket," he said.
Ginobili recalled how his poor performance in last year's Finals really hurt him, but he felt that he has helped his team win Game 1. While showing a display of confidence, Ginobili will not underestimate his opponent, who can easily make a come back like in 2013 NBA Finals.
"At this point, I felt that we are at the same exact spot as last year. We are up 1-0," he said. "They always come back. They always adjust well. They have great players, so we gotta come back on Sunday and play them better."
Although Miami Heat's James played for only 33 minutes, he had 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in Game 1. According to reports, the court's temperature rose above 90 degrees. Coming out of Game 1, the four-time MVP said he will be there on Sunday, and he's "not hiding," implicating that the game is still on and he's not backing down from winning the NBA Finals just yet.
Dwayne Wade acknowledged that they made a few mistakes, which Spurs capitalized them, and said that becasue of miscommunication on a rotation, which allowed Danny Green to hit the three and Ray Allen the other in the fourth quarter.
"They made shots. We made a few mistakes and they capitalize all four, and they also ran an offense to the T and got all the shots they wanted and they made them," said Wade. "Obviously when LeBron went out at a 2-point game was not ideal, but we got to get better. We got to get better shots on offensive end. We did turnovers a few times. We didn't get good looks. You can't do that versus Tim."
Green said he grew up playing basketball in New York, so he is not unfamiliar with playing in an environment of high heat or non-air conditioned gyms like at AT&T Stadium.
"Most guys are not used to play in that heat," he said. "It was different, but I'm sure guys lost a little weight, but got some good conditioning in there."
Bosh stated that with two days to recuperate, they just have to move forward, and capitalize on every opportunity like the seven point lead that they had in Finals Game 1. About the effects of the heat, he thought he had been playing for 45 minutes, but it had been only 32 minutes, which showed how his body was a bit more fatigued than usual.
NBA Finals 2014 - Heat vs. Spurs Game 2 will be televised on ABC, and HD quality live streaming can be watched through ABC's website.
NBA Finals Schedule:
Game 2 - Sunday, June 8, Miami at San Antonio, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 3 - Tuesday, June 10, San Antonio at Miami, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 4 - Thursday, June 12, San Antonio at Miami, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 5 * Sunday, June 15, Miami at San Antonio, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 6 * Tuesday, June 17, San Antonio at Miami, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 7 * Friday, June 20, Miami at San Antonio, 9 p.m. ET, ABC
*If necessary
