Spurs 111, Heat 92
Kawhi Leonard erupted for a career-best 29 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Danny Green scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting as visiting San Antonio built a large first-half advantage and defeated Miami to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Tony Parker also scored 15 points and Tim Duncan had 14 for the Spurs, who opened the contest by making 19-of-21 field-goal attempts. San Antonio shot 59.4 percent overall, made 26-of-32 free throws, and forced 20 turnovers during the impressive victory.
LeBron James had 22 points, seven assists and five steals and Dwyane Wade also scored 22 points for the Heat, who will try to even the series Thursday when they host Game 4. Rashard Lewis scored 14 points and went 4-of-5 from 3-point range while Chris Bosh had only nine points.
Miami trailed by 25 in the second quarter but used a 10-0 burst in third to creep within seven and trailed 86-75 entering the final stanza. The Heat were down 90-80 after Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining but the Spurs re-established control with a 12-4 burst and led by as many as 20 in the final minutes.
Leonard scored 16 first-quarter points as San Antonio went 13-of-15 shooting to build a 41-25 lead. The Spurs’ lead reached 55-30 nearly four minutes into the second quarter and they led 71-50 at the break after setting an NBA Finals record by shooting 75.8 percent from the field in the first half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: James committed seven of Miami’s miscues while the Spurs finished with 12 steals, led by Green’s five. … The Orlando Magic held the previous NBA Finals record of 75 percent shooting in a half, accomplished in Game 3 of the 2009 finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. … The 71 points Miami gave up in the first half is the most the franchise has allowed in a postseason game.