2013 NBA Finals

Background

LeBron James and Tim Duncan previously faced off in the 2007 NBA Finals, when James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which saw the Spurs sweep the Cavaliers in four games, giving San Antonio their fourth NBA title. After the deciding game, Duncan sought out James in the locker room to praise him for a great series and told James that the league would be his someday.

In 2010, Spurs president of basketball and head coach Gregg Popovich made a congratulatory phone call to Heat president Pat Riley for signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play with Dwyane Wade.

San Antonio Spurs

This was the San Antonio Spurs' fifth appearance in the NBA Finals, attempting to win their fifth NBA championship in team history. The Spurs finished the regular season with 58 wins, finishing in first place in the Southwest Division and the second overall regular season record among Western Conference teams. They recorded only two losses in the first three rounds of the playoffs: they swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round in four games, eliminated the Golden State Warriors in six games in the second round, then swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals in four games.

Miami Heat

This was the Miami Heat's fourth appearance in the NBA Finals and the third appearance for three straight years, attempting to win their third NBA championship. The Heat finished with the best regular season record, recording a league leading 66 wins, and first place in the Southeast Division. They swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs in four games before eliminating the Chicago Bulls in five games in the second round, winning four straight games in the series. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games.

Regular season series

The Heat won both games they played against the Spurs during the regular season: 105–100 on November 29, 2012, and 88–86 on March 31, 2013. For the November 29 game at Miami which was nationally televised, Popovich sat out starters Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green, at the end of a long road trip in order to ensure they had enough rest for the playoffs, as the Spurs had some of the oldest players in the league. NBA commissioner David Stern was outraged when he learned of this and fined the Spurs $250,000 for not informing the Heat, the league or the media in a suitable time-frame that the four players were not making the trip to Miami. Despite the absence of their four starters, the Spurs led the game until the final minute when the Heat came back to win 105–100. The Heat responded somewhat in kind for their trip to San Antonio, as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Mario Chalmers sat out with minor injuries, though those moves were understandable in light of Miami's dominant position for clinching the home-court advantage for the playoffs as well as the end two games earlier of the Heat's record 27-game winning streak. Miami ended up winning anyway thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from the top player they left active for the game, Chris Bosh.

Game summaries

Game 1

San Antonio won the opener as Parker scored on a bank shot with 5.2 seconds in regulation with the shot clock about to expire. San Antonio scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, while limiting Miami to just 16. Parker led the Spurs with 21 points and 6 assists. The Heat held a 52–49 halftime lead, and James recorded a triple-double in the game. However, Miami's Dwyane Wade, who scored 17 points, was shut out in the final period. Chris Bosh, who recorded 13 points, only scored 2 in the fourth quarter.

Game 2

Miami evened the series, using a 33–5 run in the final two quarters after the two teams were neck-and-neck late in the third. During that run, James made a highlight-reel block on a dunk attempt by Tiago Splitter early in the fourth quarter. The Heat also made 10 out of 19 three-point shots, and five players had double-digit scoring games: James (17), Chalmers (19), Ray Allen (13), Chris Bosh (12) and Dwyane Wade (10).

Game 3

San Antonio bounced back in Game 3, setting the Finals record for most three-pointers in a game (16), and giving the Heat their worst loss in franchise playoff history. The Spurs ensured the game was a blowout by outscoring Miami 35-14 in the fourth quarter after leading 78-63 at the end of the third. Gary Neal had one of the best games of his career, making 6 three-point shots and finishing with 24 points, and Green led all Spurs players with 27 points. The Spurs shined despite a lackluster game from Tony Parker who scored only 6 points before he had to leave the game due to a hamstring injury. For the Heat, Mike Miller made all five of his three-point shots and finished with 15 points on the night, while Wade led the Heat with 16 points. However, James was held to just 7 of 21 shooting from the field, finished with only 15 points, and did not shoot a free throw for the first time in his Miami playoff career. After a strong showing in Game 2, Mario Chalmers was held to 0 points and 1 assist.

Game 4

The Heat evened the series again, pulling away from San Antonio in the second half after an even contest at halftime, 49–49. The Heat continued their streak of not losing consecutive games that the team started in January. The Big Three (the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) for Miami finally came together in a big way. James led the Heat with 33 points, while Dwyane Wade had 32 and Bosh had 20. Duncan led the Spurs with 20 points. Parker started strong with 15 points in the first half, but could not provide the Spurs with any offensive production in the second half.

Game 5

San Antonio used a marquee shooting performance to down the Heat and take a 3–2 series lead. The Heat trailed the Spurs by double digits for most of the game. Although they finally closed to within one point, 75–74, with 3:05 left in the third quarter, they could not overtake and San Antonio started to pull away after that. Making 42 of 70 shots, San Antonio became the first team to shoot at least 60 percent in an NBA Finals game since the Orlando Magic in Game 3 of the 2009 Finals. Tony Parker led the Spurs with 26 points, while Danny Green scored 24 points, with 6 three-pointers, breaking the all-time record for three-pointers in a Finals series, set by Ray Allen in 2008. Manu Ginóbili, making his first start of the season, had a strong performance with 24 points and 10 assists. Tim Duncan also contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds, and provided strong defensive support. At one point in the game, Spurs went on a 19–1 run, with Green and Ginóbili scoring most of those points. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade turned in strong performances, leading the Heat with 25 points each, while Ray Allen had 5 three-pointers and scored 21 points total.

Game 6

The Heat rode a triple-double performance from James (32 points along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds)—becoming the first player since Magic Johnson in 1991 to have two triple doubles in the same NBA Finals series—and 20 points from Mario Chalmers, while Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 30 points and 17 rebounds; however, Duncan was held scoreless after the third quarter. Fans and media outlets alike have begun dubbing it "The Headband Game" in reference to the signature accessory LeBron James lost on a dunk with just under nine minutes left in the 4th quarter and did not wear the rest of the way. The game is considered by players and commentators to be one of the greatest games in NBA history. LeBron James regards it as one of the best games in which he has ever taken part. Dwyane Wade predicted it will go down as "one of the best finals games that's been seen", while NBA legend Magic Johnson called it "one of the best two or three games" he had ever seen. On July 17, 2013, Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals received the 2013 ESPY award for Best Game.

The Spurs were leading 75-65 at the end of the third quarter, but LeBron James sparked a 20–7 run for the Heat to start the fourth quarter, personally scoring 11 of those points. With 10:30 remaining, the Spurs still up 77–70, Mike Miller's shoe came loose but he did not have time to put it back on so he tossed it off court; with one sock and one shoe he received a pass from LeBron James and sunk a three-pointer to pull the Heat within four.

With 2:09 remaining, the Heat pulled ahead 89–86 but the Spurs went on a run of their own spearheaded by Tony Parker, who shot a stepback three and a reverse layup in consecutive possessions to put his team ahead 91–89. On the next possession, James lost the ball in the post; this eventually led to a pair of Manu Ginóbili free throws after an intentional foul (by Ray Allen) on the other end, pushing the score to 93–89. James committed a second crucial turnover forcing it into the hands of Ginóbili. Manu Ginóbili who was fouled by Allen, would miss one of two free throws, setting the stage for the comeback.

With 0:28 remaining, the Spurs were up 94–89, and league officials began bringing out the yellow tape to cordon off the floor for the Larry O'Brien Trophy presentation. LeBron James missed a three-pointer, but the ball was kept in Heat possession by Wade and Allen both tipping the ball until Mike Miller got the rebound and passed to James, who made the three-pointer to pull within two points with 20 seconds left. After failing to steal the inbound pass, the Heat immediately fouled Kawhi Leonard, who missed one of two free throws, keeping it a one possession game at 95–92. James was entrusted with the final shot but missed a 26-foot jumper from beyond the arc. Chris Bosh was able to collect a key offensive rebound before passing to Ray Allen, who stepped backward and made a three-point basket from the right corner with 5.2 left to send the game into overtime. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich opted with a small lineup to defend the perimeter in the closing moments of the fourth quarter, resulting in the Spurs' Tim Duncan being on the bench as both Heat's three-pointers came off of rebounds. The Spurs had no timeouts left after Allen's shot, but received a de facto extra timeout due to the video review that confirmed that Allen had both feet behind the 3-point line when he released the ball. Tony Parker was able to drive the length of the court and launch a short off-balance jumper over LeBron James, but it became an airball as the buzzer sounded to end the 4th quarter.

In overtime, James hit a floater with 1:43 remaining to give Miami a 101-100 lead. That score would hold all the way down to final moments, where Dwyane Wade would miss a jumper trying to extend the lead, and San Antonio getting the rebound with 12 seconds left. The Spurs opted not to call timeout and let Manu Ginobili get a full head of steam heading towards the basket. However, Ray Allen would strip the ball away from Ginobili on his way up for a shot and Allen would recover the ball, forcing the Spurs to foul him with 1.9 left. Allen made both free throws to put Miami up 103-100. San Antonio still had a chance but Bosh (who had a key block earlier in OT), came through with another key block in the final seconds to prevent a three-point game-tying shot from Danny Green.

Game 7

James scored 37 points, including five 3-pointers, and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Miami to a 95–88 victory in Game 7. With the win, the Heat captured their second consecutive NBA championship. After a 3-point shot by Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs trailed by just two with 50 seconds remaining in the game. They had a chance to tie the game, but Duncan, guarded by Shane Battier, missed a shot under the basket and a follow-up tip-in attempt. James went on to hit a 17-foot jumper that secured the victory. Wade scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds, and Battier scored 18 points on six 3-pointers to offset scoreless nights by Bosh and Allen. James tied Tommy Heinsohn's record set in 1957 for most points in an NBA Finals Game 7 win, and won his second straight NBA Finals MVP. The Heat became the fifth team to win the NBA title by coming back from a 3–2 series deficit and win the final two games at home once by the Boston Celtics in 1969, (twice by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988 and 2010, and Houston in 1994).

Player statistics

Broadcast

In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC and Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy served as commentators. ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown as commentators. For the first time, ESPN Deportes provided exclusive Spanish-language coverage of The Finals, with a commentary team of Álvaro Martín, Carlos Morales, and Alejandro Montecchia.

Aftermath

The Heat finished second in the Eastern Conference the next season behind the Indiana Pacers with a 54-28 record. The Heat swept the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round and defeated the Brooklyn Nets in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, setting up a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals match-up with the Pacers. The Heat won that series in six games and advanced to the NBA finals for the fourth consecutive year.

The Spurs finished with the NBA's best record at 62-20 the next season. The Spurs outlasted their Southwest Division rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, in the first round in seven games, finished off the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the Western Conference semifinals, and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals in six games to return to the NBA finals.

The teams set up their Finals rematch in 2014, but it was the Spurs who came away victorious, ending the Heat's hopes of a three-peat in the series in five games and claiming their fifth NBA championship. During the next offseason, the Heat lost a key member of their "Big Three", when LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made it to the Finals in 2015 where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. The Heat did not make the 2015 NBA playoffs, while the Spurs defense of their title ended in the 1st round when they lost a 7-game series to the Los Angeles Clippers.