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Spurs Blow Out The Heat, Take 2-1 Lead In NBA Finals

The San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili (left) congratulates teammate Gary Neal on his three-pointer during Tuesday night's game.
Al Diaz / Miami Herald
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MCT / Landov
The San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili (left) congratulates teammate Gary Neal on his three-pointer during Tuesday night's game.

The Spurs were red hot Tuesday night, not the Heat.

San Antonio blew out Miami in Game 3 of the NBA finals, winning 113-77 and taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Led by Danny Green and Gary Neal, the Spurs went on a tear — hitting a Finals record 16 shots from beyond the three-point arc. As NPR's Tom Goldman said on Morning Edition, "Miami melted into the hardwood like the wicked witch of the west" as San Antonio hit shot after shot.

As often happens, though, the winners do have something to worry about. Point guard Tony Parker, who drives San Antonio's offense, has a right hamstring injury. He's due to be examined Wednesday. USA Today Sports thinks that if Parker can't play in upcoming games, "there's simply no way the Spurs can finish this job and win their fifth title."

Game 4 is set for Thursday in San Antonio. Game time: 9 p.m. ET. ABC-TV is the broadcaster.

For some background on what to watch for in the finals, see our earlier post:

3 Things You Need To Know About The NBA Finals

Also:

-- Our post about the Heat's win in Game 2.

-- Our post about the Spurs' win in Game 1.

By the way, the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup finals get started Wednesday night in Chicago when the Blackhawks host the Boston Bruins.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.