NBA finals game 5 recap

Manu Ginobili was clearly last night’s hero, along with the rest of the San Antonio Spurs, for playing arguably the best game of this series through aggressive execution on both sides of the floor. The Spurs won 114-104, but almost gave up a 19-point lead late in the fourth to make this one even more interesting.

But the Spurs took this one, and now lead the series 3-2 going to Miami for the Game 6 and 7, if necessary. My guess is that Game 7 will be a game that basketball fans will talk about for ages, but we’re not there yet, so let’s talk about last night’s performances.

Danny Green: the X-factor, Ray Allen’s doppelganger, the swish machine, the marksman, the sniper that Morgan Freeman hired to be killed at the end of Wanted but couldn’t because DG is just that good. Those are a few ways to describe the owner of the “most three pointers in a NBA finals series ever” record, after beating Ray Allen’s record of 22, Danny hit his 25^th last night, making him the best from long range.

DG from UNC dropped 24 points by going 8-15 shooting, and 6-10 from three. The Spurs came out playing more aggressive than their competitors, always willing to push the tempo and attack the basket, something they were reluctant to do in Game 4. They outscored their opponents 50-40 in the paint last night, as opposed to the 38-50 point margin in Game 4. That was due to the exceptional play of the Spurs big three.

Tim Duncan: 17 points, 12 rebs, 3 blks, 1 turnover, shooting 7-10

Tony Parker: 26 points, 5 asts, 3 turnovers, shooting 10-14

Manu Ginobili: 24 points, 10 asts, 3 turnovrs, shooting 8-14, but 7-8 from the stripe

If Pop omits the 19 team turnovers committed, I think he’s proud of the way his team competed last night. My only criticism of the Spurs is the disappointing play of Tiago Splitter. After being moved out of the starting lineup, the power forward saw 10 minutes of action and turned the ball over 3 times. He comes in the game and plays aggressively, but somehow manages to do more bad than good.

The Miami Heat have played great defense on role players like Splitter, Diaw, and Neal, shutting them down as much as possible in order to keep hope alive. However, the 24 personal foul calls, and poor shooting from LeBron prevented the Heat from taking a nearly clinching series win. LeBron went 8-22 last night, but found a way to score 25 points. Wade also scored 25, Bosh had 16, and Ray had 21. The guys who needed to step up stepped up. It just wasn’t enough. Playing on the road in the finals can cause a few shots and plays to not go your way, and possibly end up as unanswered points for the other team. That’s what happened tonight.

When LeBron and Wade were complaining about no-calls, and refusing to run back on defense, Danny Green was making his way toward the corner ready to fire off a surely made three. The Spurs scored more fast break points than the Heat, something I didn’t think was possible considering how much the Heat love to run, but the referees made this game as much a mental performance as it was a physical. The Spurs kept their composure, and I think Will Ferrell would even agree with me on that.