The return of Manu Ginobili to the San Antonio starting lineup may not have been the biggest difference for the Spurs and their 114-104 win over the Heat Sunday.
But it may just be the spark the Spurs need to close out the defending Champs Tuesday night.
Coming off the bench in each of the first five games and only getting into double figures in scoring once (13 points, Game 1), Ginobili went off on the Heat in Game 6 scoring 24 points while dishing out 10 assists as the Heat have now been pushed to the brink of elimination.
“I just had a good game,” Ginobili said. “Playing with Tony (Parker) in the first few minutes helped me,” Ginobili said. “I tried to be aggressive. I haven’t been making shots lately, but I’ve been passing well. Today, I was just able to get it going.”
It wasn’t just Ginobili though as the Spurs got plenty of production from their starting five.
Tony Parker led the way with 26 points and 5 assists while Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Danny Green though, a second round pick who was cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers is looking like a guy that cannot be stopped from beyond the arc. Green scored 24 points which included six of those field goals coming from three-point land.
But Green’s performance wasn’t just another great performance… it was record setting.
When Green sunk that 4th three-pointer Sunday night he set and NBA Finals record with 25 total on 38 attempts, good for 66 percent.
The previous record holder? How about the guy on the other end of the court in Ray Allen who previously set the record (22) with the Boston Celtics back in 2008.
Meanwhile the Big Three for Miami were huge yet again as LeBron and D-Wade each had 25 points with Bosh scoring 16. Ray Allen had 21 points however much of Miami’s scoring output was concentrated within those four guys as Mike Miller was held scoreless and Mario Chalmers failed to get into double figures with 7 points.
The Heat now find themselves having to win the next two as the series shifts back to South Beach for Game 6 Tuesday night.
