by The 2014 NBA Finals were set to take place as the Miami Heat would do battle with the San Antonio Spurs. This was a rematch of the previous year’s finals, which Miami won in seven games, handing the Spurs the franchise’s first ever Finals defeat. This marked the 12th Finals rematch in NBA History. The Spurs had home-court advantage since they finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA. This was the Miami Heat’s fourth straight appearance in the NBA Finals.
They were the first team since the 1987 Boston Celtics to make it to four straight NBA Finals, and only the fourth team in NBA history to do so. The Spurs ran a ball movement style offense and a very deep bench as proven with no player averaging 30 minutes during the regular season. This was the San Antonio Spurs sixth appearance in the NBA Finals, their only loss coming the prior season against the Heat.
The Spurs were up by 5 points with less than 30 seconds to go in a possible clincher in Game Six the previous season, they had to cope with that loss all year and came into the finals with a massive chip on their shoulder because of it. They were out for revenge and were prepared to use their entire roster to win.
Small forward Kawhi Leonard didn’t forget having missed the foul shot that kept the lead at three in Game Six, and left the door open just wide enough for Ray Allen to send it into overtime with a game tying three pointer. Leonard hadn’t forgotten about the pain of losing that game and then the series, it would take him a few games, but eventually the pain of the previous year’s disappointment would be forgotten as Leonard would step up in the most memorable of ways. But first, there was Game One.
The series began on June 5, 2014 in San Antonio. Call it fate for the Spurs or just plain bad luck for the Heat, but the air conditioner unit was broke that night at the AT&T Center. The temperature on the floor reached almost 90 degrees at certain points.
At first the Heat didn’t seemed fazed by the warm temperature and led most of the game. They held a slim lead a few minutes into the fourth quarter when the conditions caused LeBron James to dehydrate and suffer cramps, limiting him to just five minutes of playing time in the fourth quarter. With James out of the game, the Spurs went on a 15–4 run, and outscored the Heat 36–17 in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs had looked sluggish all game and had several costly turnovers, but the second James left the game they were given new life and exploded, they just started draining shots every time they touched the ball. They couldn’t miss, and the Heat, without James couldn’t score. It was a perfect time for Bosh and Wade to step up, but they didn’t. Instead without James in the lineup, the Heat crumbled and allowed the Spurs to walk away with a 110 -95 win. LeBron James did everything he could, but the cramps were just too much and Erik Spoelstra would not allow him to play through the pain.
LeBron James and the air conditioner both returned to form for Game Two, as James scored 35 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as he led the Heat to a 98 – 96 win. It was after this Game that Gregg Popovich pulled Kawhi Leonard aside and told him he needed to step it up in his coverage of LeBron James, also that he needed to produce more on the offensive end of things. He heard his coach loud and clear.
Kawhi Leonard was a standout at New Mexico State. In his freshman year with the Aztecs he led them to a 25–9 record and the Mountain West Conference tournament title. Leonard led the MWC in rebounding, was named MWC freshman of the year, first team All-MWC, and was the 2010 MWC Tournament MVP. Leonard’s sophomore season, he averaged 15.7 points and 10.4 rebounds as the Aztecs finished with a 34–3 record. He helped them win the conference tournament championship yet again. Leonard was named to the Second Team All-America and would forgo his final two seasons at San Diego State to enter the 2011 NBA Draft.
Leonard was selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers but was later traded on draft night to the San Antonio Spurs along with the rights to Erazem Lorbek and Davis Bertans in exchange for George Hill. Leonard placed fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the 2012 All-Rookie first team. His career was off to a solid start, but haunted by that one missed foul shot.
In Game Three, Leonard put to rest any memory of the missed foul shot when he went off for a career-high 29 points. The Spurs were on fire from the start and couldn’t miss a shot, it was a finals-record 75.8% shooting effort from the team during the first half. Leonard made his first six shots and was 10-of-13 for the game. San Antonio led by as many as 25 and held a dominating 71 – 50 halftime lead.
Behind a remarkable effort by LeBron James, the Heat actually fought back in the third quarter to cut the lead to 81 – 74 at one point, but never got any closer. The Spurs got hot once again and the final score was 111 – 92. The Heat, who had been 8–0 at home in the playoffs, were led by James and Wade with 22 points apiece. Another key decision by coach Popovich was to insert Boris Diaw into the starting lineup to create more ball movement.
Game Four was more of the same as Leonard had 20 points and had 14 rebounds in another rout of the Heat. The Spurs won 107–86 to take a 3–1 lead in the series. It was the first time in 13 prior playoff losses for the Heat that they didn’t respond with a win. The last time the Heat lost two games in a row in a playoff series was in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. The Spurs defense held Miami to just 35 percent shooting in the first half.
A backbreaking moment was a dunk by Kawhi Leonard following a missed foul shot that none of the Heat players went for. James had another stellar effort with 28 points and 8 rebounds, but it simply wasn’t enough as both Wade and Bosh were nowhere to be found.
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