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If the seemingly never ending references to last years' Finals wasn't nauseating enough for you, then the way the Heat handled the injury-depleted Spurs surely was.
San Antonio started out slow, getting down 8-0 early, but they were able to claw their way back into the game to keep it interesting. The Heat finished the quarter shooting 72.2%, but some easy buckets in the paint by the Spurs kept them within six at the end of the 1st, 34-28.
It was the surprising lineup of Mills, Ginobili, Jeffers, Ayres, and Bonner that closed the gap in the second quarter, and it was a clumsy Jeff Ayres layup that tied the game at 38. Still, the Heat were able to separate themselves as they finished the quarter, and headed into the locker room up 58-50.
It wasn't until the third quarter that the game became out of reach for the Spurs. The Heat were up 66-62 with 8:43 left to go in the quarter, but a bad pass by Marco Belinelli led to a fast-break dunk by LeBron which began a crippling run by Miami. This ultimately proved to be the difference. The Heat went on a 29-5 run to close out the quarter, and headed into the fourth leading 91-71.
By then, it was pretty much over. The starters were on the bench for much of the 4th, and the Spurs left Miami with a 113-101 loss to the Heat. Tim Duncan lead the team with 23 points and Diaw chipped in 15.
With the loss, the Spurs move to 33-11 on the season.
