June 20, 2023 • 47 mins
On Episode 7 of Four Years of Heat, Israel Gutierrez chronicles the fallout from the Ray Allen Game 6 shot, the Heat's Game 7 win and lead up to the rematch with the Spurs in the 2014 Finals. Matt Bonner and Mario Chalmers talk about the struggle to get ready for a Game 7 after the epic drama of the Game 6 Heat comeback. Shane Battier discusses his unbelievable performance in Game 7 and the satisfaction of role-players stepping up to help the team win on the biggest stage. Udonis Haslem addresses the importance of winning, but the Spurs were now the team with the chip on their shoulder.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
That shot was the most biggest shot in the world.
To this day, I think about that shot when I
see him. I just see that replay. That's what you know,
that one shot. That's what you call some mother excuse me, confidence. Confidence,
and that's what I how I played anything I do, music, golf, basketball, whatever.
(00:28):
I know, I'm good, I know I'm great, but my
confident level is just next level. The way he got
that ball and just made that shot.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Come on, James outside, three in the air, off the
rimbow gun, screep out ball, seven seconds to play, out
of three to the corner.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
pH Yeah, that was legendary.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Ray Allen's three pointer that sent Game six of the
twenty thirteen Finals to overtime, where the Heat would eventually
save their season, was one of those you remember where
you were when it happened moments, But for the teams involved,
the feelings after Game six were just as vivid, and
they would spill over onto the floor for Game seven,
when another confident jump shot would close the deal for Miami.
(01:12):
Welcome back to four years of Heat. I'm your host,
Israel Gutierrez and this is episode seven the peak. Ray
Allen described the reaction to hitting a big three point
shot as a bomb going off. The Spurs entered Game
seven as if Allan's three pointer was a literal explosion.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Mentally, they were tattered.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
You could almost hear it in Mano Genobili's voice after
the game.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
We were a few seconds away from winning the championship,
and we let it go.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
There was just one off day between games six and seven,
and Spurs coach Greg Popovich tried to bring the team
together for a dinner that would help them regroup. Mono
Genobili was particularly hard on himself after only scoring nine
points and missing one of the late free throws that
helped Miami recover. Matt Bonner remembers how difficult it was
for everyone to shake the sense of loss.
Speaker 6 (02:09):
I remember after the game that night, it was awful
like it started actually, it started out awful, like it
was just such a feeling of defeat, you know, a
crushing feeling. I remember Manu was really being really hard
(02:30):
on himself because he didn't have the greatest game. I
don't know how what I could compare it to metaphorically,
everybody's really upset. It felt like, all right, we're gonna
lose by fifty. In Game seven, like we got nothing
left mentally, psychologically, We're just completely spent and defeated. And
you know, in typical coach Pop fashion, he loves dinners
(02:56):
in the community, you know, healing over food, and I
remember we went to an Italian place. It had a
really long team dinner, and by the end of the
dinner we were kind of like refilled the cup. All Right,
we still have another game to play, We still have
another crack at this and everybody was feeling a lot better.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
The series had already taken everything out of Bonner physically,
as he wasn't even an option in the season ending game.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
The Spurs were noticeably off.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Jenobili managed something of a bounce back effort with eighteen points,
but the rest of the group had no spring. Danny Green,
who set the record for most threes in a final
series two games earlier, was zapped of his powers, missing
eleven of twelve shots.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Tim Duncan tried.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
To erase the memory of Game six with twenty four points,
twelve rebounds, four steals in a block, but there was
no recovering, not with just a day between games.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Not in the same building.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Mario Chalmers was on the winning side, and he believed
even his team was running on empty.
Speaker 7 (04:00):
Like I still to this day, I say, Game six
is probably the hardest game I ever had to play
it in my life. And it was just what it
took to come back, what it took, like the mental
part of it, the actual playing part of it. That
game drained a lot of a lot of players that game.
A lot of people was emotionally drained and physically drained
from that game. So I remember when we made in
Locker Room, it was just like, you know, we really
(04:23):
did that, Like we really came back and put ourselves
in this moment right here against you know, some of
the great so Tim Duncan's a Hall of Famer, my
New Hall of Famer, Rey Papovical Hall of Famer, Tony
hall of Famer. So it was kind of like like
to be able to do that against those Caliburton quality
of guys, It's like, you know, we really just did
(04:43):
something special in that Game six. So let's not take
this for game Let's not make this Game six one
of the greatest games. To lose in Game seven and
not make this a championship worth happening. So that mindset
was just leave it all on the line, this Game seven,
this is what you this is what you built for.
This what you play for is these moments right here.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
It was actually the game six moments set'll be remembered
as the most exciting, with Allen's shot replaying for eternity.
It's been ten years since that shot, and maybe twenty
years from now people will incorrectly remember it as a
series winning shot in Game seven instead of the shot
that tied Game six. But it might as well be
remembered that way, because losing Game seven for Miami wasn't
(05:26):
an option.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
The sports gods couldn't possibly be that cruel.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Jackie McMullin had seen something similar before, working as a
reporter in the nineteen eighty six World Series. She was
waiting by the Red Sox clubhouse, preparing to interview Boston
pitcher Bruce Hurst, who looked like he'd be named MVP
of the series, as the Socks were leading the series
and Game six by two runs in the tenth inning.
As the wait for Hurst grew oddly long, McMullen made
(05:53):
it back out to the field in time to see
the score was now tied and New York Mets batter
Mookie Wilson hit a ground bow that would slide under
the glove of first baseman Bill Buckner and into the outfield,
allowing the Mets to score a third run in the
inning and extend the series. The way most people remember it,
that Buckner play alone cost the Red Sox the World Series.
(06:15):
In reality, the Socks had an extended chance to recover,
but really, how could they.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Here's Jackie.
Speaker 8 (06:23):
People remember what they want to remember. So the Red
Sox lose that game and there's a rain delay the
next day, they have to wait a whole nother day.
But you knew they there was just no way they
could win Game seven. It was just impossible to happen.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
The Mets won Game seven, forever framing Buckner as a
goat the negative version of that word. The Heat would
approach Game seven with a goat of their own. You
know which version of that word.
Speaker 9 (06:47):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Lebron James may have needed Ray Allen to extend the series,
but he wasn't going to rely on anyone else to
win it. It was the most statistically odd game of
the series. Game sevens traditionally are, and following the emotional
roller coaster of Game six, you could almost predict this
game would be a strange one.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
One game on our home floor to bring home another championship. Man,
This is everything that we worked for all season long,
all the sacrifices we'd made to each other, Dog every
single day, Dog, every single minute. They say hard work payoff, man,
So let's make that statement become true.
Speaker 9 (07:21):
All right, and here we go in seven of the finals.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
In fact, the game six hero wouldn't score a point
in Game seven, but Alan had already seen what his
Game six shot did for his teammates, and based on
their reactions, he had a strong feeling they'd complete the deal.
Speaker 10 (07:39):
There was something wrong with me. I think it was
my finger, Like my finger like I don't know, like
I've broke an attendon. So it like kind of it
went limp. So I had to get this splint on it.
So for longest time, I couldn't. I couldn't pick my
finger up. It was it looked like it just the nerve.
I don't know what happened to me. So I was
(07:59):
in the training room before practicing. You know, this was
going to the game seven. We will walk in. I
was in the front training room. All the guys were
in the in the locker room, I walk in and
Mike Miller goes there he is, and you know, everybody
was in there, and it was like the ultimate sign
of respects, you know. And later on he says he
(08:22):
I was like, I told him, I said, Bro, you
hit a shot with your shoe off. He goes, Bro,
if you didn't hit that shot, we wouldn't be here today.
Speaker 9 (08:29):
And I just.
Speaker 10 (08:30):
Remember just feeling, you know, such a great feeling to
know that you did your job when your team needed
you to do your job, you know, to do something
and and it's more than your job. It's going to
love beyond hit and doing something that you know, put
your team in the situation to win a game where
you you you gain the most, the utmost of respect
from all your peers. That that is one of the
(08:53):
greatest feelings and one of the reasons that you play
this game to be able to be relied upon, to
be you know, buy your team, you know, buy the organization.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Game seven was a win for the organization, but Lebron
James would have to do most of the heavy lifting.
That's because Allen wasn't the only scoreless Heat player. Mike
Miller started and didn't score in nineteen minutes. Chris Bosh
played twenty eight scoreless minutes and was in some early
foul trouble. Even ultra confident Mario Chalmers was one of
(09:23):
seven from three point range in the game. There were
three constants in this one, however, Dwayne Wade's mid range
jumper was on. He hit eleven field goals for his
twenty three points.
Speaker 9 (09:34):
Age seven is tied.
Speaker 11 (09:35):
James kicks it out, Wig fags across the lads, flicks.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
It up, it in.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So was Lebron's jumper. He hit five threes in that game.
Speaker 9 (09:45):
James, We'll try another three. Puts it in.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Lebron James four to three pointer up the game. James again,
Look how far off they're playing.
Speaker 9 (09:54):
He'll try it again.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Jis come Labron, James Murting.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The Spurs play and there was one bench contributor. After
not scoring in double figures in his first six games,
Shane Battier exploded for six three pointers and eight tries
for eighteen critical points.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
James opened up top Chalmers Battier for three.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
The only other points off the bench were three from
Chris Anderson. Here's Chalmers on how rewarding the finish was
for Battier.
Speaker 7 (10:25):
I felt great for shake. You know, Shane's a great guy,
great dude, great person, and it was just to see him,
you know, get beat up by David Wes, get beat
up by Roy Heiro, get beat up by Kendrick Perkins
and KG. It was just like, like, you basically helped
us get to where we are just by taking blows
and getting beat up. Just putting your body on the
line six right from that in a closeout game after
(10:48):
what you just went through.
Speaker 12 (10:51):
It just shows like.
Speaker 7 (10:53):
The grown upness he had about It's just like, yeah.
Speaker 13 (10:56):
You can't.
Speaker 7 (10:57):
You can keep beating me up, keep beating me up,
but you're not gonna get me down. And I'm still
gonna be here if.
Speaker 9 (11:00):
You need me.
Speaker 11 (11:02):
James kicks it out in the corner. Battier puts it
in five for five.
Speaker 7 (11:08):
Yeah, it was like we were in the NBA for
a reason. No matter if you're a defender or whatever
your role is, you're still a basketball player at the
end of the day. And Shane showed day like, I'm
one of the greatest defenders to play this game. But
I can also shoot, and I can also make big buckets,
and you can also count me in those.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Moments among the most memorable images of that game seven
were the fist pumps from Battier after his fifth and
six threes of the game, both of them crucial in
a contest where neither team had the energy to pull away.
Speaker 9 (11:38):
Yeah the floor, Lebron step through the Battier course three,
got up, Battier dropped down down.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Neither team would score more than eighteen points in the
first quarter. Neither team would lead by more than six
in the second half. Here's Battier.
Speaker 12 (11:54):
It's a weird game. And if I watch up you know,
obviously I've watched it multiple times and it was one
of those games where it's like it just crap happens
and the ball just didn't find CB, and you know,
Lebron obviously was stounding at d you wit had twenty something,
But it was never a point where it's like, cbe
(12:14):
we need more from you. Like we knew CB was
battling Tim Duncan. We knew he was. He was unbelievable
the pick and roll, you know, blocking shots, and so
it was never like, oh, CV, come out, pick up
your game. No, he was awesome that game. He just
didn't score, which is which is bizarre. But he played
like an awesome game for someone who went scoreless.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
In a late timeout, with the Spurs summoning every last
ounce of energy, Greg Popovich reminded his team how close
they still were to a title.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
Nice, it's the last game of the year. The last
two teams standard right everything out there. They got talent.
We got to beat him with all of us.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
In the final minute, with the Heat leading by just
two points, the Spurs scrambled to secure rebound off of
Battier missed three In the caaotic transition back to the
Spurs end, Battier found himself defending Duncan near the rim.
With Battier on his back, Duncan took a dribble and
swept across the lane for a short hook shot he's
(13:11):
hit thousands of times. He missed the hook shot, then
gently tipped the rebound that he easily reached over Battier.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
He missed that also.
Speaker 9 (13:21):
Under a minute relating.
Speaker 11 (13:24):
Dream nearly lost it back to Jagley inside Duncan across
the lane, Duncan misses the.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Techno god in pass rebound, he clinging to it.
Speaker 14 (13:36):
Two point lyad and a point blank missed by Duncan,
and then.
Speaker 9 (13:41):
The follow time out, mining.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Duncan slammed the floor as the Heat dribbled the ball
up the court and called the time out. Six years
earlier in the finals, Duncan was all smiles, thanking Lebron
in a not so private moment afterward for allowing him
to have that championship before James inevitably took over the league.
Speaker 8 (14:04):
Job la, I love how you're fifteen this n say.
Speaker 15 (14:07):
That with my stay that what you're drive these guys
as It's gonna be your league in a little while too.
But I appreciate you giving.
Speaker 13 (14:13):
My sister.
Speaker 9 (14:17):
Back.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
In those two thousand and seven finals, Popovich took advantage
of Lebron's unreliable outside shooting and swept the Cavaliers. Fast
forward back to this Game seven, with the Heat leading
by just two and a chance to seal a second
consecutive championship, effectively doing as Duncan predicted in two thousand
and seven, with less than forty seconds remaining, Lebron James
(14:39):
took the inbound pass and faced the defense of Kawhi Leonard.
The Spurs weren't switching defenders on Lebron, so Kawhi would
have to work through any screens to stick to him.
James used a Chalmers screen and got barely enough space
to square up from nineteen feet just beyond the right
edge of the free throw line, with Leonard trying desperately
to contest the attempt. After initially playing James for the drive,
(15:03):
as was the game plan the entire series, James rose
up for a championship level dagger that was yet another
example of his growth. It was the exact shot Greg
Popovich had been giving Lebron for a decade plus.
Speaker 11 (15:17):
James pulls up, puts it ahead flow point ly.
Speaker 9 (15:23):
Time out Santa Telio.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Lebron snatched his second steal of the game in the
ensuing possession, forcing the Spurs to foul and sending the
crowd into something of a controlled frenzy. Remember, the Heat
had just come back in stunning fashion in Game six,
so there was a respectful fear. Not even the gold
ropes meant as much as they used to. But the
clock would eventually tick down to zero's with the Heat
(15:47):
still leading, and a second Larry O'Brien Trophy would now
be re routed in the Heat's direction.
Speaker 9 (15:54):
It never gets old. Having up Parade for the third
time down Miss.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Stain Lebron would win his second straight Finals MVP trophy,
leading the Heat in minutes by almost seventy game and
leading them in points, rebounds, assists, and steals also by
fairly wide margins.
Speaker 11 (16:15):
The twenty thirteen Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
for the second straight Finals.
Speaker 9 (16:22):
Lebron James.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Miami was getting used to this feeling too, And in
this moment in time, everything that was promised and that
Rockstar celebration was reaching fulfillment. It was as good as
they'll ever feel on a basketball court together.
Speaker 16 (16:41):
We had to give everything we had and we did it.
Iin't got none left.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
James, Wade and Bosh were repeat champions.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
It was the overcome of all the challenges that we had,
all the hallwork that we put into at all the sacrifices,
all the blusswa and tears toward the whole season. Man,
And this is the way you want to be rewarded.
Speaker 16 (17:01):
Lebron's missed to do whatever it takes, and his knack
now for making big plays and big shots in big games.
Can't nobody say nothing about it. He scored thirty seven points,
He grabs twelve rebounds, he dished all seven says he
guards Tony Parker, he is today's greatest player.
Speaker 13 (17:19):
For us.
Speaker 16 (17:19):
You know, it's about doing what we came together do
and that is to win championships. And we've been able
to do that and now we are part of history.
Speaker 13 (17:28):
Man. Champagne was cold burned, but it's just a sweet
feeling back in that position again. It was like deja vu.
Everybody was just hugging, telling everybody we love him man,
And you know, that's what it's about.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
For the role players like Mario Chalmers and Youdonnis Haslam,
their names will always be linked to winning at this level. Also,
it's not just superstars who create legacies in this association
that's been around for more than seventy five years.
Speaker 7 (17:56):
The way we want it. It was definitely one of
those like, okay, this is this solidify us as a team,
you know, because we did this together as a team
to come back. It wasn't Broad hitting this shot, It
wasn't d Wade doing this. It was she Begett the rebound,
Ray hit a shot. I had twenty points that game,
Like everybody did their part for us to win, and
(18:17):
I think that just showed us, like, you know, as
a team one of the best teams ever do this.
Speaker 17 (18:22):
Like, at the end of the day, the respect that
I have in this league and around here is because
I won. It's not because I'm a nice guy. It's
not because I'm the oldest guy in the league. It
has nothing to do with that. As much as these
people in this organization loved me, as much as the
people in this city loved me. If I didn't win,
I would not be here. If I didn't win, I
(18:42):
would not have the respect. If I didn't win, I
would not have the keys to the city of Miami
and to.
Speaker 12 (18:48):
Be able to do and move and influence and impact.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
It's all built off winning.
Speaker 9 (19:00):
Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Let's raise the two thirteen NBA championship manner.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
By the time the twenty thirteen to fourteen season began,
the Heat had effectively squeezed the fight out of the
NBA's Eastern Conference. With the exception of the Pacers, who
were a bit more dynamic thanks to the continued emergence
of Paul George and the development of a former mister
Basketball in New York, Lance Stevenson, there wasn't a ton
of competition on their side of the standings. It was
(19:35):
the West that looked like it would cook up a
true rival for the two time defending champs. The Western
Conference had seven fifty win teams that regular season, compared
to just two Miami and Indiana in the East. Kevin
Durant would win the MVP Award for the fifty nine
win thunder Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge had the Trailblazers rolling,
(19:57):
The Clippers had Chris Paul Blake, Griffin, Andre Jordan and
were now coached by Doc Rivers. And the Warriors won
fifty one games and were one year away from taking
over the league for their own stretch. Then there were
those darn San Antonio Spurs, who dominated the regular season
to the tune of sixty two wins each win, both
(20:19):
chipping away at the pain of the previous finals and
sharpening their edge for a potential finals rematch with the Heat.
Speaker 11 (20:26):
San Antonio's won thirteen in a row, Spurs fifteenth consecutive win,
and the Spurs with eighteen straight wins San Antonio, They're
ten deep, and they play a system and play with
the discipline that is just remarkable.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Miami, on the other hand, still had the game's most
feared weapons somehow finding ways to improve his game, but
the Heat weren't playing the game on the same razor's
edge that the Spurs were this entire season. Here's Battier.
Speaker 12 (20:56):
Look for that team. It was three years of just
so much tensity. Every single game on the road, every
single game at home.
Speaker 9 (21:03):
It was an event.
Speaker 12 (21:05):
And I sense that that last year just we weren't
willing to do everything it took to stay at that level.
And he just can't cheat the championship, right, And so
it wasn't like anything malicious, but just like you know,
maybe running back on defense or diving for a loose ball.
Things we would have done, you know, one more pass
on offense, things we would have done without thinking the
(21:28):
previous couple of years. We just didn't do it. And
we had enough of those plays where that's the difference
in a little bit of slippage, you know, answering the equation,
and that was a difference. That was a difference.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Unlike in twenty eleven when the team added Battier, or
in twenty twelve when Ray Allen joined Miami, there wasn't
a big name addition to the thirteen to fourteen roster
sharpshooter Rishard Lewis would join the team at thirty four
years old. Michael Beasley would have another run with the
Heat after he was one of the pieces traded away
when Miami acquired James and Boss. There was even a
(22:01):
heartwarming reclamation project and former number one pick Greg Odin,
as the search for competent big men continued to be.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
A constant subplot for this Heat team.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Odin's NBA return from a devastating knee condition only lasted
twenty three games with Miami, and the only real youth
on the roster was at point guard with Chalmers and
his backup Norris Cole. Brian Windhorst of ESPN regularly had
his attention fixed on Lebron James, and he recognized this
was a Heat team that would rely on James more
(22:34):
than any of the previous The free agency.
Speaker 18 (22:36):
They did sign and bring in were much older, and
so they just they didn't have a freshness to the
roster that you kind of need. You know, the game
isn't designed for the same team to go to the
finals four years in a row. Your team kind of
breaks down, and so the Heat were right at that stage.
Dwayne Wade's knee had been bothering him throughout the entire season.
(22:58):
It was being held together other with you know, therapy, tape, stretching,
and some sort of painkillers he can get through. He
was not at his best, and so they were really
in a state where they could be taken advantage of.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Lebron certainly wasn't breaking down. He set a career high
in field goal percentage for the second straight season and
shot a career best sixty two percent from two point range.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
His rookie year, Lebron shot forty four percent from inside
the arc.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
In a March third game in Miami against the Charlotte Hornets,
despite playing with a mask on to protect a broken nose,
Lebron would show just how dominant he could be, scoring
a career best sixty one points, which included eight three pointers, the.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
First sixty point game in mini heat history.
Speaker 9 (23:50):
You know, Lebron very.
Speaker 14 (23:51):
Rarely is satisfying, but right now with a top coming off,
he's he knows he's turned off.
Speaker 9 (23:57):
He's getting alove.
Speaker 14 (24:01):
Of Irock and turned the two thirty years off heat
basketal to the highest score a game in franchise history.
Speaker 9 (24:09):
Would was sixty one with mud Chester.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
By the time the season ended, however, it would appear
obvious Lebron would have to carry this group even more
than he had the previous postseason, even though James was
at a stage in his career where he didn't need
that much assistance. Wade and Bosch would both average their
fewest points since their rookie seasons. The Heat's depth would
be headlined by Battier Anderson, Allen and Lewis, who ranged
(24:44):
from age thirty four to thirty eight. Despite all of that,
the playoff run to the finals might have been the
easiest for the Heat, as that beat down Eastern Conference
didn't nearly have as much fight left. A first round
sweep of the Bobcats followed by a five game win
over the sixth seeded Brooklyn Nets left Miami and Indiana
(25:05):
facing off in a second straight conference finals. The Pacers
did the same as the previous postseason, splitting the first
two games in Miami and taking home court advantage back
to Indianapolis, but the drama wouldn't really last in this series.
The most made for TV moment came when Lance Stevenson,
who played a somewhat reckless style and had already attempted
(25:28):
to irritate by getting involved in the Heat huddle decided
to try a softer approach to bothering Lebron during a
stoppage and play. In Game five, with Lebron next to him,
hands on knees, Stevenson leaned over and softly blue into
Lebron's left ear. After a moment to comprehend what had
just happened, Lebron smiled with a look of slight disbelief
(25:51):
blowing in the.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Ear of Lebron James as James reaction, he can't believe it.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
The Heat eventually disposed of the Pacers in six games
to advance to their fourth straight NBA Finals.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Well the fourth consecutive year, the Miami Heat are heading
to the NBA Finals, the first team of twenty seven
years to accomplish defeat.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
And there were signs of growth happening around this team
as well. Coverage of the Heat had calmed down a
few levels from the insane fervor of the first two seasons.
Lebron James had done enough to prove he was indeed
one of the best players to ever play the sport,
making criticizing him to the level that many did seem
a bit silly. In retrospect, there was probably no better
(26:38):
example of how different the conversations were around Lebron in
the Heat than that Game five against the Pacers. It'll
be remembered for Stevenson being an irritant and for the
Pacers staving off elimination for one game with twenty four
year old Paul George dropping thirty seven points. But does
anyone remember Lebron also scored his playoff career low of
(26:59):
seven points in that game. He was in foul trouble
most of the game, playing only twenty four minutes and
going two for ten from the field in a closeout game.
If he had that exact same game two years earlier,
it would have been an indictment of his ability to
perform in difficult settings. Instead, it's merely a footnote, and
Lebron has reached double figures in scoring in every playoff
(27:22):
game he's played since, one hundred and thirty of them
and probably counting the next series. However, wouldn't allow for
that kind of less than stellar play from James. In fact,
the Heat would have to be sharper than ever if
they were to defeat a Spurs team That would prove
to be Miami's ultimate rivals in this four year stretch.
Speaker 9 (27:43):
Oh God, let's go. Le's get this party started. Go
course call, Let's go baby, Let's beat the Heat. Let's go. Wow,
it's a finals rematch.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
You're in twenty fourteen with the Miami Heat and looking
to become the first to three peat since the Kobe
shack Lakers.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
If you thought the Heat were determined the season after
their loss to the Mavericks in the finals, what Miami
did to the Spurs in twenty thirteen was so devastating
it might have created the most determined team in NBA history. That,
of course, sounds like hyperbole for a measurement that can
never actually be taken, but it's hard to argue with
(28:23):
the result, and as far as the Heat concerned, it
didn't feel like an exaggeration. These Spurs were so ready
for the rematch after sixty two wins and playoff series
wins over the Mavericks, Blazers, and Thunder that Mario Chalmers
joked there might have been a spygate situation happening in
this series.
Speaker 7 (28:42):
I'll say this, San Antonio looked like they spin every
day into that moment. Watching Game six and watching the
whole final series, like everything that we planned on doing,
they knew what we were going to do. They it
was a step ahead. So I take my hand off
to them, and it was like they had to bug
our practice or something. They had to be and practice
(29:03):
with us.
Speaker 9 (29:03):
It's like who was doing.
Speaker 7 (29:04):
It's just the way they played us and the way
they was on all of our adjustments on everything that
we did. It was just like kind of like we
didn't switch our game plan. We thought the same game
plan that from the previous year. It worked the next year.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
In truth, there probably wasn't a game plan that could
have slowed these Spurs. Unlike the twenty eleven finals, where
you could argue Eric Spolster got out coached by Rick Carlisle,
or that the Heat would have won if Lebron had
just played anything like his normal self, there wasn't much
more either could have.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
Done to counter san Antonio. This time.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
The two time defending champs were still living the dream.
The Spurs were fueled by nightmares. Here's Matt Bonner.
Speaker 6 (29:45):
It felt like one of those things that would haunt
your dreams forever unless we came back and won it
the next year. It was like everybody used that as motivation.
Like you always hear these sports movies and books and stories,
you got to overcome adversity. That's all we all knew.
(30:06):
We all knew that. We knew like, all right, this
is adversity. This is going to make us stronger. We
just need to use it in the right way. And
I think if you ask anybody on that team from
twenty thirteen who was on the team the following year
in twenty fourteen, it was like it was like the
Blues Brothers. We were on a mission from God, like
we are we are going to get back there, and
(30:29):
we are going to make this right so that the
rest of our life we don't have to have that
feeling in our gut every time the twenty thirteen finals
comes up in conversation.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Jackie McMullin spent time with the Spurs following the twenty
thirteen fourteen season and wrote a story for ESPN documenting
their journey from one finals experience against Miami to the next.
Players describe the pain they felt the twenty thirteen finals
and how it affected them.
Speaker 8 (31:03):
I think they were all just like what in fact,
well after the fact. I remember Monogolobi tell me, it
was the worst summer of my life after they lost
set series. In fact, it was the only summer he
didn't play for the Argentinian national team. He's like, I
got to go home and get myself right and come
back and fix this because it's my fault. You know,
everybody like great players, that's what they always say, It's
(31:24):
my fault. What can I do to make sure this
never happens again.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
The Spurs, perhaps taking a page from the Heats book,
held their training camp at an Air Force academy similar
to Miami in twenty ten. It was the academy where
Spurs coach Greg Popovich played basketball and it earned his degree.
But what Spurs forward Boris Diao remembers more vividly was
a meeting more effective than the setting of that training camp.
(31:48):
It was the film session that occurred right before they
left for the Air Force Academy.
Speaker 15 (31:53):
We thought we were going to get killed in that
Air Force base pre season, but I actually know it
was actually a good atmosphere and everything. And the main
thing that I remember is the first day that we
started training camp and we actually in San Antonio. Before
going to the base, we go back to the film
room and we watched the game. We watched the game
(32:16):
six and the game seven, and I think we watched
the whole second half probably if I remember correctly, so
not just the last second of the game. And the
idea was attention to details that if we could avoid
many mistakes, so not just the last second of the game,
it wouldn't have go that far the game, it wouldn't
(32:38):
have got to the last second, and to the possibility
of Miami making a three at the last second. So
we based this whole season twenty fourteen thirteen fourteen of
taking care of details and be paying attention and try
to make as the least mistake as possible.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Well, the Spurs were encouraging their aging veterans to play
such refined basketball that it approached perfection. The Miami Heat
were perfectly satisfied, relying on Lebron James. Here's battier.
Speaker 12 (33:10):
We got to the Spurs. We just for a tired
team was tired, just tired. I was tired of each other,
tired of the grind. And when we lost, we knew
that they were so hungry. We couldn't match. We couldn't
match their hunger. They were so hurt, so hungry from
the year before that we could not match their edge,
but we put.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
Ourselves in a position of the people where we want
to get them, and we're here now, so make it count.
Speaker 9 (33:35):
So every game is the game seven.
Speaker 12 (33:36):
It treated that way, so it's meg a statement.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
James was still driven by the bigger picture, hoping he
can carry this group past that fatigue built up over
four straight seasons as one of the last two teams standing,
the Spurs had a plan for James as well. It
wasn't a secret that the Heat were older and relying
more and more on the wrong so on top of
the usual plan that included encouraging him to take long
(34:04):
jump shots, the Spurs also made sure their ball movement
would tire Lebron. Statistically, there were signs of fatigue already.
While Lebron was still ridiculously efficient in the twenty fourteen playoffs,
including shooting forty one percent from three, he also posted
averages that are still playoff career lows to this day,
(34:25):
with under five assists and just over seven rebounds.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Here's Jackie McMullen.
Speaker 8 (34:30):
Movie movie moving the ball, Recover, Recover, Recover, and for
a Heat team that was kind of sneaky, sneakily getting older.
That was a lot to ask, especially for a big
body like Lebron, who had to defend. If you ask
him to defend like that, in the mixer, recover, recover,
move hedge, hedge, hedge, and handle the scoring load. They
(34:53):
figured their best chance at beating the Miami Heat was
to wear Lebron down.
Speaker 9 (34:59):
And how do you do that?
Speaker 4 (35:00):
You put them in the mixer, You shoot threes.
Speaker 8 (35:02):
They were, do you remember this Israel shooting pull up
three pointers?
Speaker 4 (35:06):
Pull up three pointers?
Speaker 8 (35:08):
Because that was going to keep Miami moving out of
their comfort zone. Make Lebron work so much harder than
anyone had ever.
Speaker 12 (35:17):
Made it work.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
And just to make sure Lebron's extra tired, maybe put
that mixer in an oven. That's kind of what game
one of the twenty fourteen Finals in San Antonio felt like.
I was sitting atop the lower bowl of the AT
and T Center in a row with other media members.
As a South Floridian, heat and humidity are practically my relatives,
(35:39):
so much so you don't even notice when they're around sometimes.
But by the third quarter of this game, even I
had to shed a layer and wonder why it was
so warm in this building. As folks around me also
started to lose clothing and drip sweat, it became obvious
there was something wrong with the air conditioning. Some had
noticed before the second half, including Lebron James.
Speaker 9 (36:02):
I'm gonna some cold of water.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
Now they're trying to smoke us out of here.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
In the third quarter, the Spurs announced the air conditioning
failure to the crowd.
Speaker 8 (36:09):
An electrical failure for the power that runs the AC
unit is.
Speaker 11 (36:14):
Malfunctioning at at and T centers, to say the least,
hot and steamid.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
The game was still very much up for grabs as
the teams traded the lead throughout the period, which ended
with Miami leading by two. For the heat, it felt
like a sweaty race against the clock. The team knew
Lebron had cramping issues. It happened in a perfectly cool
American Airlines Arena during the twenty twelve finals, so this
(36:40):
felt like an inevitability.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
Here's Chalmers.
Speaker 7 (36:44):
You can definitely see that comment, just because you knew
he cramped up before. I don't know how he cramped up,
but it's just one of those things like no matter
what you do, no matter how much potassiti you take
or whatever things you do to prevent cramps. It was
bat hot and nangimn have you not really prepared, You're
going to cramp? And I just think that that's what
happened to him, and he went down at the crucial moment.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Lebron first left the game at the seven thirty one
mark of the fourth quarter with Miami hanging on to
a two point lead.
Speaker 11 (37:11):
James crossover move drive torrem and finishes.
Speaker 9 (37:15):
And hobble up. He's cramping up again, Mike. He is
looking over at the training staff and saying he can't move.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Reading his lips, he said, he can't move, and so
they're literally going to carry Lebron James over to the
Miami bench.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
As he was getting treatment and drinking fluids. It only
got hotter in the building. Shane Battier recalls having to
escape the halftime locker room just for relief. He also
joked with the Spurs shooting coach Chip England about the
Spurs being better prepared for the situation.
Speaker 12 (37:44):
It was the hottest, the hottest room ever. It was
a hot yoga hot and like the arena is hot.
We go into the locker room and there was they
had no fans for us, and I know the Spurs
had fans in there in there, so I'm close. I'm
close to Chip England. That's my guy said, guys could
have given us a fan. Man, that's messed up. So
that's messed up. So like, it was so hot you
(38:04):
couldn't even be in the locker room, so you actually
had to go back to the hot arena just to
escape the heat of the locker room.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Boris Dial often wears an engaging smile, and he certainly
had one on his face when discussing this heated contest.
Speaker 15 (38:18):
It was a hot day, start sweating a lot, and
you get dehydrated and you just feel the heat. But
also maybe maybe it was an advantage for us against
that team because a lot of guys play internationally, and
internationally we don't have ac We play in the summer,
so summer basketball and European Championship and World Cup, and
(38:42):
we played so many games with no ACiE every summer basically,
and we just you know, get used to. So a
few players you know in our team knew or were
used to that.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
Matt Bonner was not one of those players.
Speaker 9 (38:56):
You know, I'm not a big heat. Guy.
Speaker 6 (38:58):
I'm from New Hampshire.
Speaker 9 (39:01):
I know.
Speaker 6 (39:02):
Yeah, I went to University of Florida and I've been
in San Antonio, but I just don't operate well when
it's hot. And it wasn't just hot, it was humid too.
People forget that about San Antonio. They think, oh, that
dry heat like Vegas or Phoenix. It's like, no, it's
not like that. It's muggy hot down here. And it
was muggy hot in the arena, and I remember just
(39:24):
sitting on the bench sweating, thinking like, oh my god,
Like if Coach Pop puts me in the game, I
might not be able to get up and down the
court three times before I like pass out. How are
these guys playing forty minutes in these conditions? It was
(39:44):
just from a physical standpoint, I was amazed by all
the guys who played like significant minutes in that game
with their ability to endure that. You know, the one
thing I will say, it was the same conditions for
both teams.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Lebron would attempt to play one more time, coming into
the game at the four p thirty three mark, with
the Heat now trailing by four. He'd hit a layup
after driving past Boris Diao on the very first possession,
but he wouldn't even be able to walk back in
bounds without asking for a substitution.
Speaker 4 (40:15):
He eventually slowly limped his way back to the bench.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
And he Kim barely can't even make it down the floor.
It's a five on four. Eric Sposer asking him of
the foul.
Speaker 11 (40:24):
Patty Mills struggling with it, and there's the foul.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
James couldn't even make it down the floor.
Speaker 9 (40:29):
Man, James is gonna have to be helped over.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
We've seen him again crap up before in playoff situations,
but it never seemed to be this severe. And again
you wonder how much the lack of air conditioning and
the heat of this building is coming into play with
this and everything else. Oh, there's no doubt that this
has had a huge impact.
Speaker 9 (40:47):
On this game.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
There were thermometers in the building that had temperatures in
the nineties in the AT and T Center. Add in
the natural anxiety of a finals game with everyone watching
to see if and when Lebron would come back, and
there was no recovering from this. That meant the heat
couldn't recover either. The Spurs flipped their magical switch to
finish that game despite the climate, on a sixteen to
(41:11):
four run, with twelve of those points coming off three
pointers that were the results of beautiful ball movement.
Speaker 4 (41:18):
It was a sign of things to come.
Speaker 11 (41:20):
Thirty to nine runs San Antonio since trailing.
Speaker 9 (41:23):
Eighty six seventy nine.
Speaker 11 (41:25):
It's green again, Daddy Green from downtown. The San Antonio
Spurs take Game one of the twenty fourteen NBA Finals.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
For the Heat, it was just another game one loss
in the Finals. They're third straight. Miami would recover and
win the previous two championships, so there wasn't much about
Game one that had the team scared. Miami had the
built in excuse of the temperature, causing Lebron to effectively
miss the final seven minutes of what was a close game.
Lebron in the Heat hadn't lost back to back playoff
(41:58):
games since the twenty two of Eastern Conference Finals, and
we all remember how Lebron responded to that in a
Game six. This would be a Game two, but Lebron
still had the motivation to recover from the cramp game,
a situation he was still heavily.
Speaker 4 (42:16):
Mocked for on social media.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Despite articles being written about how debilitating cramps can be.
Speaker 5 (42:22):
Let's when thought them out.
Speaker 9 (42:25):
Whatever it take to win.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
And a motivated James in a fully air conditioned arena
was still a scary proposition.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
Not much kicks it out Lewis James on the attackles
to the rim. Lebron James wanted a foul as well.
Impressive move take that dop the first half, most of
what was in the paint now starting to go.
Speaker 9 (42:46):
From the perimeter and other three. That's good Lebron James.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Four straight juppers toover from downtown and the Heat back
up by two.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
James also had some help from Bosh and Wade to
seal the deal.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Bosh shot blocked down eight, Bosh gonna go to the
rim inside.
Speaker 9 (43:02):
Way lay up with God, what a comeback by the Heat.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
By the final buzzer, it was another game two finals
recovery for Miami and another stellar performance from a fully
recovered Lebron thirty five points three of three from three,
ten rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a two
point Heat win.
Speaker 9 (43:23):
And that's the ball game the Miami Heat, even the series.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
A three peat still felt very much doable. Home court
advantage was Miami's now and In this new two two
one one one finals format, the Heat wouldn't have to
win three straight home games to maintain it. They'd only
have to win two before heading back to San Antonio.
And after the Spurs lost Game two with Lebron's early
(43:48):
exit helping them win Game one, the Spurs were a
bit concerned their PTSD from the previous season would start
to bubble up.
Speaker 19 (43:57):
We were up one with a one minute and a
half to go, and we just couldn't make the shot
to go to come up and top. You know, we
had a great opportunity.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
But Greg Popovich would make one adjustment that would make
this Spurs Game two loss feel like a tiny stumble
instead of a monumental missed opportunity. That adjustment would come
in the form of course DA Through the first two
games of the series, Spurs starting point guard Tony Parker
seemed to be playing just fine, averaging twenty points and
(44:29):
seven and a half assists, but Popovich still found a
way to get the team's offense flowing even more by
giving Parker another point guard.
Speaker 15 (44:38):
The split game kind of put us on ourls, you know,
being at home and giving one away and now going
into Miami basically we didn't have a choice, and he
became you know, must win game. And so the Game three,
the motivation was there. I think Bob put me in
the in the starting five in that game to move
(45:01):
to move the ball, you know, one of the things
that Miami was doing, they were really pressing Tony and
focusing on Tony double team, try to get the ball
out of his hand. So I was just you know,
acting as a release for him, as you know, almost
like a second point guard, because Tony was like double
team and trapped on the side and trying to make
(45:23):
the decision on the other side. And so that that
gave us some freedom to actually move the ball and
accelerate the ball behind pick and rolls.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
The move was supposed to unlock the best version of
the Spurs, the perfect basketball, Diel said the team was
attempting to achieve all season. Would be required for San
Antonio to overcome the heat. If the Spurs were going
to reveal the beautiful game and finally overthrow the champs, However,
they'd have to start the process at the scene of
(45:53):
their most stunning trauma. Bonner and his determined team were
headed back to Miami like to this day.
Speaker 6 (46:01):
When I hear the baseline for Seven Nation Army, it
takes me right back to their arena in the finals
in thirteen and fourteen. That was like their anthem. It
was just such an electric atmosphere to be a part
of it was awesome.
Speaker 4 (46:17):
On the final episode of Four Years at Heat, and.
Speaker 6 (46:20):
Then we came out that Game four is really the
game where we ripped our hearts out.
Speaker 12 (46:25):
I probably should have retired after his sixth series in
game seven year before, looking back at Chicaga just walked off.
Speaker 7 (46:33):
They ran out of villains, Like it was originally the
media and the noise, and then it was losing the
Dallas and then you know, how were we going to
get past this? How we're going to get past that?
Speaker 4 (46:42):
Once they got past everything, they ran out of things
to hate.
Speaker 8 (46:45):
Without that Miami experience, Lebron James would be a completely
different player, a completely different human.
Speaker 4 (46:51):
That team would have been a historic underachiever. If not
for that shot, one title would not have been enough.
Four Years of Heat is a production of iHeartRadio and
the MBA
That shot was the most biggest shot in the world.
To this day, I think about that shot when I
see him. I just see that replay. That's what you know,
that one shot. That's what you call some mother excuse me, confidence. Confidence,
and that's what I how I played anything I do, music, golf, basketball, whatever.
(00:28):
I know, I'm good, I know I'm great, but my
confident level is just next level. The way he got
that ball and just made that shot.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Come on, James outside, three in the air, off the
rimbow gun, screep out ball, seven seconds to play, out
of three to the corner.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
pH Yeah, that was legendary.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Ray Allen's three pointer that sent Game six of the
twenty thirteen Finals to overtime, where the Heat would eventually
save their season, was one of those you remember where
you were when it happened moments, But for the teams involved,
the feelings after Game six were just as vivid, and
they would spill over onto the floor for Game seven,
when another confident jump shot would close the deal for Miami.
(01:12):
Welcome back to four years of Heat. I'm your host,
Israel Gutierrez and this is episode seven the peak. Ray
Allen described the reaction to hitting a big three point
shot as a bomb going off. The Spurs entered Game
seven as if Allan's three pointer was a literal explosion.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Mentally, they were tattered.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
You could almost hear it in Mano Genobili's voice after
the game.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
We were a few seconds away from winning the championship,
and we let it go.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
There was just one off day between games six and seven,
and Spurs coach Greg Popovich tried to bring the team
together for a dinner that would help them regroup. Mono
Genobili was particularly hard on himself after only scoring nine
points and missing one of the late free throws that
helped Miami recover. Matt Bonner remembers how difficult it was
for everyone to shake the sense of loss.
Speaker 6 (02:09):
I remember after the game that night, it was awful
like it started actually, it started out awful, like it
was just such a feeling of defeat, you know, a
crushing feeling. I remember Manu was really being really hard
(02:30):
on himself because he didn't have the greatest game. I
don't know how what I could compare it to metaphorically,
everybody's really upset. It felt like, all right, we're gonna
lose by fifty. In Game seven, like we got nothing
left mentally, psychologically, We're just completely spent and defeated. And
you know, in typical coach Pop fashion, he loves dinners
(02:56):
in the community, you know, healing over food, and I
remember we went to an Italian place. It had a
really long team dinner, and by the end of the
dinner we were kind of like refilled the cup. All Right,
we still have another game to play, We still have
another crack at this and everybody was feeling a lot better.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
The series had already taken everything out of Bonner physically,
as he wasn't even an option in the season ending game.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
The Spurs were noticeably off.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Jenobili managed something of a bounce back effort with eighteen points,
but the rest of the group had no spring. Danny Green,
who set the record for most threes in a final
series two games earlier, was zapped of his powers, missing
eleven of twelve shots.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Tim Duncan tried.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
To erase the memory of Game six with twenty four points,
twelve rebounds, four steals in a block, but there was
no recovering, not with just a day between games.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Not in the same building.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Mario Chalmers was on the winning side, and he believed
even his team was running on empty.
Speaker 7 (04:00):
Like I still to this day, I say, Game six
is probably the hardest game I ever had to play
it in my life. And it was just what it
took to come back, what it took, like the mental
part of it, the actual playing part of it. That
game drained a lot of a lot of players that game.
A lot of people was emotionally drained and physically drained
from that game. So I remember when we made in
Locker Room, it was just like, you know, we really
(04:23):
did that, Like we really came back and put ourselves
in this moment right here against you know, some of
the great so Tim Duncan's a Hall of Famer, my
New Hall of Famer, Rey Papovical Hall of Famer, Tony
hall of Famer. So it was kind of like like
to be able to do that against those Caliburton quality
of guys, It's like, you know, we really just did
(04:43):
something special in that Game six. So let's not take
this for game Let's not make this Game six one
of the greatest games. To lose in Game seven and
not make this a championship worth happening. So that mindset
was just leave it all on the line, this Game seven,
this is what you this is what you built for.
This what you play for is these moments right here.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
It was actually the game six moments set'll be remembered
as the most exciting, with Allen's shot replaying for eternity.
It's been ten years since that shot, and maybe twenty
years from now people will incorrectly remember it as a
series winning shot in Game seven instead of the shot
that tied Game six. But it might as well be
remembered that way, because losing Game seven for Miami wasn't
(05:26):
an option.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
The sports gods couldn't possibly be that cruel.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Jackie McMullin had seen something similar before, working as a
reporter in the nineteen eighty six World Series. She was
waiting by the Red Sox clubhouse, preparing to interview Boston
pitcher Bruce Hurst, who looked like he'd be named MVP
of the series, as the Socks were leading the series
and Game six by two runs in the tenth inning.
As the wait for Hurst grew oddly long, McMullen made
(05:53):
it back out to the field in time to see
the score was now tied and New York Mets batter
Mookie Wilson hit a ground bow that would slide under
the glove of first baseman Bill Buckner and into the outfield,
allowing the Mets to score a third run in the
inning and extend the series. The way most people remember it,
that Buckner play alone cost the Red Sox the World Series.
(06:15):
In reality, the Socks had an extended chance to recover,
but really, how could they.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Here's Jackie.
Speaker 8 (06:23):
People remember what they want to remember. So the Red
Sox lose that game and there's a rain delay the
next day, they have to wait a whole nother day.
But you knew they there was just no way they
could win Game seven. It was just impossible to happen.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
The Mets won Game seven, forever framing Buckner as a
goat the negative version of that word. The Heat would
approach Game seven with a goat of their own. You
know which version of that word.
Speaker 9 (06:47):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Lebron James may have needed Ray Allen to extend the series,
but he wasn't going to rely on anyone else to
win it. It was the most statistically odd game of
the series. Game sevens traditionally are, and following the emotional
roller coaster of Game six, you could almost predict this
game would be a strange one.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
One game on our home floor to bring home another championship. Man,
This is everything that we worked for all season long,
all the sacrifices we'd made to each other, Dog every
single day, Dog, every single minute. They say hard work payoff, man,
So let's make that statement become true.
Speaker 9 (07:21):
All right, and here we go in seven of the finals.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
In fact, the game six hero wouldn't score a point
in Game seven, but Alan had already seen what his
Game six shot did for his teammates, and based on
their reactions, he had a strong feeling they'd complete the deal.
Speaker 10 (07:39):
There was something wrong with me. I think it was
my finger, Like my finger like I don't know, like
I've broke an attendon. So it like kind of it
went limp. So I had to get this splint on it.
So for longest time, I couldn't. I couldn't pick my
finger up. It was it looked like it just the nerve.
I don't know what happened to me. So I was
(07:59):
in the training room before practicing. You know, this was
going to the game seven. We will walk in. I
was in the front training room. All the guys were
in the in the locker room, I walk in and
Mike Miller goes there he is, and you know, everybody
was in there, and it was like the ultimate sign
of respects, you know. And later on he says he
(08:22):
I was like, I told him, I said, Bro, you
hit a shot with your shoe off. He goes, Bro,
if you didn't hit that shot, we wouldn't be here today.
Speaker 9 (08:29):
And I just.
Speaker 10 (08:30):
Remember just feeling, you know, such a great feeling to
know that you did your job when your team needed
you to do your job, you know, to do something
and and it's more than your job. It's going to
love beyond hit and doing something that you know, put
your team in the situation to win a game where
you you you gain the most, the utmost of respect
from all your peers. That that is one of the
(08:53):
greatest feelings and one of the reasons that you play
this game to be able to be relied upon, to
be you know, buy your team, you know, buy the organization.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Game seven was a win for the organization, but Lebron
James would have to do most of the heavy lifting.
That's because Allen wasn't the only scoreless Heat player. Mike
Miller started and didn't score in nineteen minutes. Chris Bosh
played twenty eight scoreless minutes and was in some early
foul trouble. Even ultra confident Mario Chalmers was one of
(09:23):
seven from three point range in the game. There were
three constants in this one, however, Dwayne Wade's mid range
jumper was on. He hit eleven field goals for his
twenty three points.
Speaker 9 (09:34):
Age seven is tied.
Speaker 11 (09:35):
James kicks it out, Wig fags across the lads, flicks.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
It up, it in.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So was Lebron's jumper. He hit five threes in that game.
Speaker 9 (09:45):
James, We'll try another three. Puts it in.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Lebron James four to three pointer up the game. James again,
Look how far off they're playing.
Speaker 9 (09:54):
He'll try it again.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Jis come Labron, James Murting.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The Spurs play and there was one bench contributor. After
not scoring in double figures in his first six games,
Shane Battier exploded for six three pointers and eight tries
for eighteen critical points.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
James opened up top Chalmers Battier for three.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
The only other points off the bench were three from
Chris Anderson. Here's Chalmers on how rewarding the finish was
for Battier.
Speaker 7 (10:25):
I felt great for shake. You know, Shane's a great guy,
great dude, great person, and it was just to see him,
you know, get beat up by David Wes, get beat
up by Roy Heiro, get beat up by Kendrick Perkins
and KG. It was just like, like, you basically helped
us get to where we are just by taking blows
and getting beat up. Just putting your body on the
line six right from that in a closeout game after
(10:48):
what you just went through.
Speaker 12 (10:51):
It just shows like.
Speaker 7 (10:53):
The grown upness he had about It's just like, yeah.
Speaker 13 (10:56):
You can't.
Speaker 7 (10:57):
You can keep beating me up, keep beating me up,
but you're not gonna get me down. And I'm still
gonna be here if.
Speaker 9 (11:00):
You need me.
Speaker 11 (11:02):
James kicks it out in the corner. Battier puts it
in five for five.
Speaker 7 (11:08):
Yeah, it was like we were in the NBA for
a reason. No matter if you're a defender or whatever
your role is, you're still a basketball player at the
end of the day. And Shane showed day like, I'm
one of the greatest defenders to play this game. But
I can also shoot, and I can also make big buckets,
and you can also count me in those.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Moments among the most memorable images of that game seven
were the fist pumps from Battier after his fifth and
six threes of the game, both of them crucial in
a contest where neither team had the energy to pull away.
Speaker 9 (11:38):
Yeah the floor, Lebron step through the Battier course three,
got up, Battier dropped down down.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Neither team would score more than eighteen points in the
first quarter. Neither team would lead by more than six
in the second half. Here's Battier.
Speaker 12 (11:54):
It's a weird game. And if I watch up you know,
obviously I've watched it multiple times and it was one
of those games where it's like it just crap happens
and the ball just didn't find CB, and you know,
Lebron obviously was stounding at d you wit had twenty something,
But it was never a point where it's like, cbe
(12:14):
we need more from you. Like we knew CB was
battling Tim Duncan. We knew he was. He was unbelievable
the pick and roll, you know, blocking shots, and so
it was never like, oh, CV, come out, pick up
your game. No, he was awesome that game. He just
didn't score, which is which is bizarre. But he played
like an awesome game for someone who went scoreless.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
In a late timeout, with the Spurs summoning every last
ounce of energy, Greg Popovich reminded his team how close
they still were to a title.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
Nice, it's the last game of the year. The last
two teams standard right everything out there. They got talent.
We got to beat him with all of us.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
In the final minute, with the Heat leading by just
two points, the Spurs scrambled to secure rebound off of
Battier missed three In the caaotic transition back to the
Spurs end, Battier found himself defending Duncan near the rim.
With Battier on his back, Duncan took a dribble and
swept across the lane for a short hook shot he's
(13:11):
hit thousands of times. He missed the hook shot, then
gently tipped the rebound that he easily reached over Battier.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
He missed that also.
Speaker 9 (13:21):
Under a minute relating.
Speaker 11 (13:24):
Dream nearly lost it back to Jagley inside Duncan across
the lane, Duncan misses the.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Techno god in pass rebound, he clinging to it.
Speaker 14 (13:36):
Two point lyad and a point blank missed by Duncan,
and then.
Speaker 9 (13:41):
The follow time out, mining.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Duncan slammed the floor as the Heat dribbled the ball
up the court and called the time out. Six years
earlier in the finals, Duncan was all smiles, thanking Lebron
in a not so private moment afterward for allowing him
to have that championship before James inevitably took over the league.
Speaker 8 (14:04):
Job la, I love how you're fifteen this n say.
Speaker 15 (14:07):
That with my stay that what you're drive these guys
as It's gonna be your league in a little while too.
But I appreciate you giving.
Speaker 13 (14:13):
My sister.
Speaker 9 (14:17):
Back.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
In those two thousand and seven finals, Popovich took advantage
of Lebron's unreliable outside shooting and swept the Cavaliers. Fast
forward back to this Game seven, with the Heat leading
by just two and a chance to seal a second
consecutive championship, effectively doing as Duncan predicted in two thousand
and seven, with less than forty seconds remaining, Lebron James
(14:39):
took the inbound pass and faced the defense of Kawhi Leonard.
The Spurs weren't switching defenders on Lebron, so Kawhi would
have to work through any screens to stick to him.
James used a Chalmers screen and got barely enough space
to square up from nineteen feet just beyond the right
edge of the free throw line, with Leonard trying desperately
to contest the attempt. After initially playing James for the drive,
(15:03):
as was the game plan the entire series, James rose
up for a championship level dagger that was yet another
example of his growth. It was the exact shot Greg
Popovich had been giving Lebron for a decade plus.
Speaker 11 (15:17):
James pulls up, puts it ahead flow point ly.
Speaker 9 (15:23):
Time out Santa Telio.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Lebron snatched his second steal of the game in the
ensuing possession, forcing the Spurs to foul and sending the
crowd into something of a controlled frenzy. Remember, the Heat
had just come back in stunning fashion in Game six,
so there was a respectful fear. Not even the gold
ropes meant as much as they used to. But the
clock would eventually tick down to zero's with the Heat
(15:47):
still leading, and a second Larry O'Brien Trophy would now
be re routed in the Heat's direction.
Speaker 9 (15:54):
It never gets old. Having up Parade for the third
time down Miss.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Stain Lebron would win his second straight Finals MVP trophy,
leading the Heat in minutes by almost seventy game and
leading them in points, rebounds, assists, and steals also by
fairly wide margins.
Speaker 11 (16:15):
The twenty thirteen Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
for the second straight Finals.
Speaker 9 (16:22):
Lebron James.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Miami was getting used to this feeling too, And in
this moment in time, everything that was promised and that
Rockstar celebration was reaching fulfillment. It was as good as
they'll ever feel on a basketball court together.
Speaker 16 (16:41):
We had to give everything we had and we did it.
Iin't got none left.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
James, Wade and Bosh were repeat champions.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
It was the overcome of all the challenges that we had,
all the hallwork that we put into at all the sacrifices,
all the blusswa and tears toward the whole season. Man,
And this is the way you want to be rewarded.
Speaker 16 (17:01):
Lebron's missed to do whatever it takes, and his knack
now for making big plays and big shots in big games.
Can't nobody say nothing about it. He scored thirty seven points,
He grabs twelve rebounds, he dished all seven says he
guards Tony Parker, he is today's greatest player.
Speaker 13 (17:19):
For us.
Speaker 16 (17:19):
You know, it's about doing what we came together do
and that is to win championships. And we've been able
to do that and now we are part of history.
Speaker 13 (17:28):
Man. Champagne was cold burned, but it's just a sweet
feeling back in that position again. It was like deja vu.
Everybody was just hugging, telling everybody we love him man,
And you know, that's what it's about.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
For the role players like Mario Chalmers and Youdonnis Haslam,
their names will always be linked to winning at this level. Also,
it's not just superstars who create legacies in this association
that's been around for more than seventy five years.
Speaker 7 (17:56):
The way we want it. It was definitely one of
those like, okay, this is this solidify us as a team,
you know, because we did this together as a team
to come back. It wasn't Broad hitting this shot, It
wasn't d Wade doing this. It was she Begett the rebound,
Ray hit a shot. I had twenty points that game,
Like everybody did their part for us to win, and
(18:17):
I think that just showed us, like, you know, as
a team one of the best teams ever do this.
Speaker 17 (18:22):
Like, at the end of the day, the respect that
I have in this league and around here is because
I won. It's not because I'm a nice guy. It's
not because I'm the oldest guy in the league. It
has nothing to do with that. As much as these
people in this organization loved me, as much as the
people in this city loved me. If I didn't win,
I would not be here. If I didn't win, I
(18:42):
would not have the respect. If I didn't win, I
would not have the keys to the city of Miami
and to.
Speaker 12 (18:48):
Be able to do and move and influence and impact.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
It's all built off winning.
Speaker 9 (19:00):
Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Let's raise the two thirteen NBA championship manner.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
By the time the twenty thirteen to fourteen season began,
the Heat had effectively squeezed the fight out of the
NBA's Eastern Conference. With the exception of the Pacers, who
were a bit more dynamic thanks to the continued emergence
of Paul George and the development of a former mister
Basketball in New York, Lance Stevenson, there wasn't a ton
of competition on their side of the standings. It was
(19:35):
the West that looked like it would cook up a
true rival for the two time defending champs. The Western
Conference had seven fifty win teams that regular season, compared
to just two Miami and Indiana in the East. Kevin
Durant would win the MVP Award for the fifty nine
win thunder Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge had the Trailblazers rolling,
(19:57):
The Clippers had Chris Paul Blake, Griffin, Andre Jordan and
were now coached by Doc Rivers. And the Warriors won
fifty one games and were one year away from taking
over the league for their own stretch. Then there were
those darn San Antonio Spurs, who dominated the regular season
to the tune of sixty two wins each win, both
(20:19):
chipping away at the pain of the previous finals and
sharpening their edge for a potential finals rematch with the Heat.
Speaker 11 (20:26):
San Antonio's won thirteen in a row, Spurs fifteenth consecutive win,
and the Spurs with eighteen straight wins San Antonio, They're
ten deep, and they play a system and play with
the discipline that is just remarkable.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Miami, on the other hand, still had the game's most
feared weapons somehow finding ways to improve his game, but
the Heat weren't playing the game on the same razor's
edge that the Spurs were this entire season. Here's Battier.
Speaker 12 (20:56):
Look for that team. It was three years of just
so much tensity. Every single game on the road, every
single game at home.
Speaker 9 (21:03):
It was an event.
Speaker 12 (21:05):
And I sense that that last year just we weren't
willing to do everything it took to stay at that level.
And he just can't cheat the championship, right, And so
it wasn't like anything malicious, but just like you know,
maybe running back on defense or diving for a loose ball.
Things we would have done, you know, one more pass
on offense, things we would have done without thinking the
(21:28):
previous couple of years. We just didn't do it. And
we had enough of those plays where that's the difference
in a little bit of slippage, you know, answering the equation,
and that was a difference. That was a difference.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Unlike in twenty eleven when the team added Battier, or
in twenty twelve when Ray Allen joined Miami, there wasn't
a big name addition to the thirteen to fourteen roster
sharpshooter Rishard Lewis would join the team at thirty four
years old. Michael Beasley would have another run with the
Heat after he was one of the pieces traded away
when Miami acquired James and Boss. There was even a
(22:01):
heartwarming reclamation project and former number one pick Greg Odin,
as the search for competent big men continued to be.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
A constant subplot for this Heat team.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Odin's NBA return from a devastating knee condition only lasted
twenty three games with Miami, and the only real youth
on the roster was at point guard with Chalmers and
his backup Norris Cole. Brian Windhorst of ESPN regularly had
his attention fixed on Lebron James, and he recognized this
was a Heat team that would rely on James more
(22:34):
than any of the previous The free agency.
Speaker 18 (22:36):
They did sign and bring in were much older, and
so they just they didn't have a freshness to the
roster that you kind of need. You know, the game
isn't designed for the same team to go to the
finals four years in a row. Your team kind of
breaks down, and so the Heat were right at that stage.
Dwayne Wade's knee had been bothering him throughout the entire season.
(22:58):
It was being held together other with you know, therapy, tape, stretching,
and some sort of painkillers he can get through. He
was not at his best, and so they were really
in a state where they could be taken advantage of.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Lebron certainly wasn't breaking down. He set a career high
in field goal percentage for the second straight season and
shot a career best sixty two percent from two point range.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
His rookie year, Lebron shot forty four percent from inside
the arc.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
In a March third game in Miami against the Charlotte Hornets,
despite playing with a mask on to protect a broken nose,
Lebron would show just how dominant he could be, scoring
a career best sixty one points, which included eight three pointers, the.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
First sixty point game in mini heat history.
Speaker 9 (23:50):
You know, Lebron very.
Speaker 14 (23:51):
Rarely is satisfying, but right now with a top coming off,
he's he knows he's turned off.
Speaker 9 (23:57):
He's getting alove.
Speaker 14 (24:01):
Of Irock and turned the two thirty years off heat
basketal to the highest score a game in franchise history.
Speaker 9 (24:09):
Would was sixty one with mud Chester.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
By the time the season ended, however, it would appear
obvious Lebron would have to carry this group even more
than he had the previous postseason, even though James was
at a stage in his career where he didn't need
that much assistance. Wade and Bosch would both average their
fewest points since their rookie seasons. The Heat's depth would
be headlined by Battier Anderson, Allen and Lewis, who ranged
(24:44):
from age thirty four to thirty eight. Despite all of that,
the playoff run to the finals might have been the
easiest for the Heat, as that beat down Eastern Conference
didn't nearly have as much fight left. A first round
sweep of the Bobcats followed by a five game win
over the sixth seeded Brooklyn Nets left Miami and Indiana
(25:05):
facing off in a second straight conference finals. The Pacers
did the same as the previous postseason, splitting the first
two games in Miami and taking home court advantage back
to Indianapolis, but the drama wouldn't really last in this series.
The most made for TV moment came when Lance Stevenson,
who played a somewhat reckless style and had already attempted
(25:28):
to irritate by getting involved in the Heat huddle decided
to try a softer approach to bothering Lebron during a
stoppage and play. In Game five, with Lebron next to him,
hands on knees, Stevenson leaned over and softly blue into
Lebron's left ear. After a moment to comprehend what had
just happened, Lebron smiled with a look of slight disbelief
(25:51):
blowing in the.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Ear of Lebron James as James reaction, he can't believe it.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
The Heat eventually disposed of the Pacers in six games
to advance to their fourth straight NBA Finals.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Well the fourth consecutive year, the Miami Heat are heading
to the NBA Finals, the first team of twenty seven
years to accomplish defeat.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
And there were signs of growth happening around this team
as well. Coverage of the Heat had calmed down a
few levels from the insane fervor of the first two seasons.
Lebron James had done enough to prove he was indeed
one of the best players to ever play the sport,
making criticizing him to the level that many did seem
a bit silly. In retrospect, there was probably no better
(26:38):
example of how different the conversations were around Lebron in
the Heat than that Game five against the Pacers. It'll
be remembered for Stevenson being an irritant and for the
Pacers staving off elimination for one game with twenty four
year old Paul George dropping thirty seven points. But does
anyone remember Lebron also scored his playoff career low of
(26:59):
seven points in that game. He was in foul trouble
most of the game, playing only twenty four minutes and
going two for ten from the field in a closeout game.
If he had that exact same game two years earlier,
it would have been an indictment of his ability to
perform in difficult settings. Instead, it's merely a footnote, and
Lebron has reached double figures in scoring in every playoff
(27:22):
game he's played since, one hundred and thirty of them
and probably counting the next series. However, wouldn't allow for
that kind of less than stellar play from James. In fact,
the Heat would have to be sharper than ever if
they were to defeat a Spurs team That would prove
to be Miami's ultimate rivals in this four year stretch.
Speaker 9 (27:43):
Oh God, let's go. Le's get this party started. Go
course call, Let's go baby, Let's beat the Heat. Let's go. Wow,
it's a finals rematch.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
You're in twenty fourteen with the Miami Heat and looking
to become the first to three peat since the Kobe
shack Lakers.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
If you thought the Heat were determined the season after
their loss to the Mavericks in the finals, what Miami
did to the Spurs in twenty thirteen was so devastating
it might have created the most determined team in NBA history. That,
of course, sounds like hyperbole for a measurement that can
never actually be taken, but it's hard to argue with
(28:23):
the result, and as far as the Heat concerned, it
didn't feel like an exaggeration. These Spurs were so ready
for the rematch after sixty two wins and playoff series
wins over the Mavericks, Blazers, and Thunder that Mario Chalmers
joked there might have been a spygate situation happening in
this series.
Speaker 7 (28:42):
I'll say this, San Antonio looked like they spin every
day into that moment. Watching Game six and watching the
whole final series, like everything that we planned on doing,
they knew what we were going to do. They it
was a step ahead. So I take my hand off
to them, and it was like they had to bug
our practice or something. They had to be and practice
(29:03):
with us.
Speaker 9 (29:03):
It's like who was doing.
Speaker 7 (29:04):
It's just the way they played us and the way
they was on all of our adjustments on everything that
we did. It was just like kind of like we
didn't switch our game plan. We thought the same game
plan that from the previous year. It worked the next year.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
In truth, there probably wasn't a game plan that could
have slowed these Spurs. Unlike the twenty eleven finals, where
you could argue Eric Spolster got out coached by Rick Carlisle,
or that the Heat would have won if Lebron had
just played anything like his normal self, there wasn't much
more either could have.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
Done to counter san Antonio. This time.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
The two time defending champs were still living the dream.
The Spurs were fueled by nightmares. Here's Matt Bonner.
Speaker 6 (29:45):
It felt like one of those things that would haunt
your dreams forever unless we came back and won it
the next year. It was like everybody used that as motivation.
Like you always hear these sports movies and books and stories,
you got to overcome adversity. That's all we all knew.
(30:06):
We all knew that. We knew like, all right, this
is adversity. This is going to make us stronger. We
just need to use it in the right way. And
I think if you ask anybody on that team from
twenty thirteen who was on the team the following year
in twenty fourteen, it was like it was like the
Blues Brothers. We were on a mission from God, like
we are we are going to get back there, and
(30:29):
we are going to make this right so that the
rest of our life we don't have to have that
feeling in our gut every time the twenty thirteen finals
comes up in conversation.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Jackie McMullin spent time with the Spurs following the twenty
thirteen fourteen season and wrote a story for ESPN documenting
their journey from one finals experience against Miami to the next.
Players describe the pain they felt the twenty thirteen finals
and how it affected them.
Speaker 8 (31:03):
I think they were all just like what in fact,
well after the fact. I remember Monogolobi tell me, it
was the worst summer of my life after they lost
set series. In fact, it was the only summer he
didn't play for the Argentinian national team. He's like, I
got to go home and get myself right and come
back and fix this because it's my fault. You know,
everybody like great players, that's what they always say, It's
(31:24):
my fault. What can I do to make sure this
never happens again.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
The Spurs, perhaps taking a page from the Heats book,
held their training camp at an Air Force academy similar
to Miami in twenty ten. It was the academy where
Spurs coach Greg Popovich played basketball and it earned his degree.
But what Spurs forward Boris Diao remembers more vividly was
a meeting more effective than the setting of that training camp.
(31:48):
It was the film session that occurred right before they
left for the Air Force Academy.
Speaker 15 (31:53):
We thought we were going to get killed in that
Air Force base pre season, but I actually know it
was actually a good atmosphere and everything. And the main
thing that I remember is the first day that we
started training camp and we actually in San Antonio. Before
going to the base, we go back to the film
room and we watched the game. We watched the game
(32:16):
six and the game seven, and I think we watched
the whole second half probably if I remember correctly, so
not just the last second of the game. And the
idea was attention to details that if we could avoid
many mistakes, so not just the last second of the game,
it wouldn't have go that far the game, it wouldn't
(32:38):
have got to the last second, and to the possibility
of Miami making a three at the last second. So
we based this whole season twenty fourteen thirteen fourteen of
taking care of details and be paying attention and try
to make as the least mistake as possible.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Well, the Spurs were encouraging their aging veterans to play
such refined basketball that it approached perfection. The Miami Heat
were perfectly satisfied, relying on Lebron James. Here's battier.
Speaker 12 (33:10):
We got to the Spurs. We just for a tired
team was tired, just tired. I was tired of each other,
tired of the grind. And when we lost, we knew
that they were so hungry. We couldn't match. We couldn't
match their hunger. They were so hurt, so hungry from
the year before that we could not match their edge,
but we put.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
Ourselves in a position of the people where we want
to get them, and we're here now, so make it count.
Speaker 9 (33:35):
So every game is the game seven.
Speaker 12 (33:36):
It treated that way, so it's meg a statement.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
James was still driven by the bigger picture, hoping he
can carry this group past that fatigue built up over
four straight seasons as one of the last two teams standing,
the Spurs had a plan for James as well. It
wasn't a secret that the Heat were older and relying
more and more on the wrong so on top of
the usual plan that included encouraging him to take long
(34:04):
jump shots, the Spurs also made sure their ball movement
would tire Lebron. Statistically, there were signs of fatigue already.
While Lebron was still ridiculously efficient in the twenty fourteen playoffs,
including shooting forty one percent from three, he also posted
averages that are still playoff career lows to this day,
(34:25):
with under five assists and just over seven rebounds.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Here's Jackie McMullen.
Speaker 8 (34:30):
Movie movie moving the ball, Recover, Recover, Recover, and for
a Heat team that was kind of sneaky, sneakily getting older.
That was a lot to ask, especially for a big
body like Lebron, who had to defend. If you ask
him to defend like that, in the mixer, recover, recover,
move hedge, hedge, hedge, and handle the scoring load. They
(34:53):
figured their best chance at beating the Miami Heat was
to wear Lebron down.
Speaker 9 (34:59):
And how do you do that?
Speaker 4 (35:00):
You put them in the mixer, You shoot threes.
Speaker 8 (35:02):
They were, do you remember this Israel shooting pull up
three pointers?
Speaker 4 (35:06):
Pull up three pointers?
Speaker 8 (35:08):
Because that was going to keep Miami moving out of
their comfort zone. Make Lebron work so much harder than
anyone had ever.
Speaker 12 (35:17):
Made it work.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
And just to make sure Lebron's extra tired, maybe put
that mixer in an oven. That's kind of what game
one of the twenty fourteen Finals in San Antonio felt like.
I was sitting atop the lower bowl of the AT
and T Center in a row with other media members.
As a South Floridian, heat and humidity are practically my relatives,
(35:39):
so much so you don't even notice when they're around sometimes.
But by the third quarter of this game, even I
had to shed a layer and wonder why it was
so warm in this building. As folks around me also
started to lose clothing and drip sweat, it became obvious
there was something wrong with the air conditioning. Some had
noticed before the second half, including Lebron James.
Speaker 9 (36:02):
I'm gonna some cold of water.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
Now they're trying to smoke us out of here.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
In the third quarter, the Spurs announced the air conditioning
failure to the crowd.
Speaker 8 (36:09):
An electrical failure for the power that runs the AC
unit is.
Speaker 11 (36:14):
Malfunctioning at at and T centers, to say the least,
hot and steamid.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
The game was still very much up for grabs as
the teams traded the lead throughout the period, which ended
with Miami leading by two. For the heat, it felt
like a sweaty race against the clock. The team knew
Lebron had cramping issues. It happened in a perfectly cool
American Airlines Arena during the twenty twelve finals, so this
(36:40):
felt like an inevitability.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
Here's Chalmers.
Speaker 7 (36:44):
You can definitely see that comment, just because you knew
he cramped up before. I don't know how he cramped up,
but it's just one of those things like no matter
what you do, no matter how much potassiti you take
or whatever things you do to prevent cramps. It was
bat hot and nangimn have you not really prepared, You're
going to cramp? And I just think that that's what
happened to him, and he went down at the crucial moment.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Lebron first left the game at the seven thirty one
mark of the fourth quarter with Miami hanging on to
a two point lead.
Speaker 11 (37:11):
James crossover move drive torrem and finishes.
Speaker 9 (37:15):
And hobble up. He's cramping up again, Mike. He is
looking over at the training staff and saying he can't move.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Reading his lips, he said, he can't move, and so
they're literally going to carry Lebron James over to the
Miami bench.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
As he was getting treatment and drinking fluids. It only
got hotter in the building. Shane Battier recalls having to
escape the halftime locker room just for relief. He also
joked with the Spurs shooting coach Chip England about the
Spurs being better prepared for the situation.
Speaker 12 (37:44):
It was the hottest, the hottest room ever. It was
a hot yoga hot and like the arena is hot.
We go into the locker room and there was they
had no fans for us, and I know the Spurs
had fans in there in there, so I'm close. I'm
close to Chip England. That's my guy said, guys could
have given us a fan. Man, that's messed up. So
that's messed up. So like, it was so hot you
(38:04):
couldn't even be in the locker room, so you actually
had to go back to the hot arena just to
escape the heat of the locker room.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Boris Dial often wears an engaging smile, and he certainly
had one on his face when discussing this heated contest.
Speaker 15 (38:18):
It was a hot day, start sweating a lot, and
you get dehydrated and you just feel the heat. But
also maybe maybe it was an advantage for us against
that team because a lot of guys play internationally, and
internationally we don't have ac We play in the summer,
so summer basketball and European Championship and World Cup, and
(38:42):
we played so many games with no ACiE every summer basically,
and we just you know, get used to. So a
few players you know in our team knew or were
used to that.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
Matt Bonner was not one of those players.
Speaker 9 (38:56):
You know, I'm not a big heat. Guy.
Speaker 6 (38:58):
I'm from New Hampshire.
Speaker 9 (39:01):
I know.
Speaker 6 (39:02):
Yeah, I went to University of Florida and I've been
in San Antonio, but I just don't operate well when
it's hot. And it wasn't just hot, it was humid too.
People forget that about San Antonio. They think, oh, that
dry heat like Vegas or Phoenix. It's like, no, it's
not like that. It's muggy hot down here. And it
was muggy hot in the arena, and I remember just
(39:24):
sitting on the bench sweating, thinking like, oh my god,
Like if Coach Pop puts me in the game, I
might not be able to get up and down the
court three times before I like pass out. How are
these guys playing forty minutes in these conditions? It was
(39:44):
just from a physical standpoint, I was amazed by all
the guys who played like significant minutes in that game
with their ability to endure that. You know, the one
thing I will say, it was the same conditions for
both teams.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Lebron would attempt to play one more time, coming into
the game at the four p thirty three mark, with
the Heat now trailing by four. He'd hit a layup
after driving past Boris Diao on the very first possession,
but he wouldn't even be able to walk back in
bounds without asking for a substitution.
Speaker 4 (40:15):
He eventually slowly limped his way back to the bench.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
And he Kim barely can't even make it down the floor.
It's a five on four. Eric Sposer asking him of
the foul.
Speaker 11 (40:24):
Patty Mills struggling with it, and there's the foul.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
James couldn't even make it down the floor.
Speaker 9 (40:29):
Man, James is gonna have to be helped over.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
We've seen him again crap up before in playoff situations,
but it never seemed to be this severe. And again
you wonder how much the lack of air conditioning and
the heat of this building is coming into play with
this and everything else. Oh, there's no doubt that this
has had a huge impact.
Speaker 9 (40:47):
On this game.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
There were thermometers in the building that had temperatures in
the nineties in the AT and T Center. Add in
the natural anxiety of a finals game with everyone watching
to see if and when Lebron would come back, and
there was no recovering from this. That meant the heat
couldn't recover either. The Spurs flipped their magical switch to
finish that game despite the climate, on a sixteen to
(41:11):
four run, with twelve of those points coming off three
pointers that were the results of beautiful ball movement.
Speaker 4 (41:18):
It was a sign of things to come.
Speaker 11 (41:20):
Thirty to nine runs San Antonio since trailing.
Speaker 9 (41:23):
Eighty six seventy nine.
Speaker 11 (41:25):
It's green again, Daddy Green from downtown. The San Antonio
Spurs take Game one of the twenty fourteen NBA Finals.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
For the Heat, it was just another game one loss
in the Finals. They're third straight. Miami would recover and
win the previous two championships, so there wasn't much about
Game one that had the team scared. Miami had the
built in excuse of the temperature, causing Lebron to effectively
miss the final seven minutes of what was a close game.
Lebron in the Heat hadn't lost back to back playoff
(41:58):
games since the twenty two of Eastern Conference Finals, and
we all remember how Lebron responded to that in a
Game six. This would be a Game two, but Lebron
still had the motivation to recover from the cramp game,
a situation he was still heavily.
Speaker 4 (42:16):
Mocked for on social media.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Despite articles being written about how debilitating cramps can be.
Speaker 5 (42:22):
Let's when thought them out.
Speaker 9 (42:25):
Whatever it take to win.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
And a motivated James in a fully air conditioned arena
was still a scary proposition.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
Not much kicks it out Lewis James on the attackles
to the rim. Lebron James wanted a foul as well.
Impressive move take that dop the first half, most of
what was in the paint now starting to go.
Speaker 9 (42:46):
From the perimeter and other three. That's good Lebron James.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Four straight juppers toover from downtown and the Heat back
up by two.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
James also had some help from Bosh and Wade to
seal the deal.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Bosh shot blocked down eight, Bosh gonna go to the
rim inside.
Speaker 9 (43:02):
Way lay up with God, what a comeback by the Heat.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
By the final buzzer, it was another game two finals
recovery for Miami and another stellar performance from a fully
recovered Lebron thirty five points three of three from three,
ten rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a two
point Heat win.
Speaker 9 (43:23):
And that's the ball game the Miami Heat, even the series.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
A three peat still felt very much doable. Home court
advantage was Miami's now and In this new two two
one one one finals format, the Heat wouldn't have to
win three straight home games to maintain it. They'd only
have to win two before heading back to San Antonio.
And after the Spurs lost Game two with Lebron's early
(43:48):
exit helping them win Game one, the Spurs were a
bit concerned their PTSD from the previous season would start
to bubble up.
Speaker 19 (43:57):
We were up one with a one minute and a
half to go, and we just couldn't make the shot
to go to come up and top. You know, we
had a great opportunity.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
But Greg Popovich would make one adjustment that would make
this Spurs Game two loss feel like a tiny stumble
instead of a monumental missed opportunity. That adjustment would come
in the form of course DA Through the first two
games of the series, Spurs starting point guard Tony Parker
seemed to be playing just fine, averaging twenty points and
(44:29):
seven and a half assists, but Popovich still found a
way to get the team's offense flowing even more by
giving Parker another point guard.
Speaker 15 (44:38):
The split game kind of put us on ourls, you know,
being at home and giving one away and now going
into Miami basically we didn't have a choice, and he
became you know, must win game. And so the Game three,
the motivation was there. I think Bob put me in
the in the starting five in that game to move
(45:01):
to move the ball, you know, one of the things
that Miami was doing, they were really pressing Tony and
focusing on Tony double team, try to get the ball
out of his hand. So I was just you know,
acting as a release for him, as you know, almost
like a second point guard, because Tony was like double
team and trapped on the side and trying to make
(45:23):
the decision on the other side. And so that that
gave us some freedom to actually move the ball and
accelerate the ball behind pick and rolls.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
The move was supposed to unlock the best version of
the Spurs, the perfect basketball, Diel said the team was
attempting to achieve all season. Would be required for San
Antonio to overcome the heat. If the Spurs were going
to reveal the beautiful game and finally overthrow the champs, However,
they'd have to start the process at the scene of
(45:53):
their most stunning trauma. Bonner and his determined team were
headed back to Miami like to this day.
Speaker 6 (46:01):
When I hear the baseline for Seven Nation Army, it
takes me right back to their arena in the finals
in thirteen and fourteen. That was like their anthem. It
was just such an electric atmosphere to be a part
of it was awesome.
Speaker 4 (46:17):
On the final episode of Four Years at Heat, and.
Speaker 6 (46:20):
Then we came out that Game four is really the
game where we ripped our hearts out.
Speaker 12 (46:25):
I probably should have retired after his sixth series in
game seven year before, looking back at Chicaga just walked off.
Speaker 7 (46:33):
They ran out of villains, Like it was originally the
media and the noise, and then it was losing the
Dallas and then you know, how were we going to
get past this? How we're going to get past that?
Speaker 4 (46:42):
Once they got past everything, they ran out of things
to hate.
Speaker 8 (46:45):
Without that Miami experience, Lebron James would be a completely
different player, a completely different human.
Speaker 4 (46:51):
That team would have been a historic underachiever. If not
for that shot, one title would not have been enough.
Four Years of Heat is a production of iHeartRadio and
the MBA
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