San Antonio Spurs Defense Dominant Again in Win Over Miami Heat

81. 110. . 95. 29

The San Antonio SpursÂ kicked off their two-game Florida road trip with a win on Tuesday night, defeating the Miami Heat 95-81.

The Spurs struggled early, trailing by one at the end of the first quarter while only scoring 19. San Antonio couldn’t be contained forever, however, as the Spurs got hot shortly after, out-scoring the Heat 76-51 over the final three quarters.

Miami made a late 13-2 run in the fourth quarter to get back into the game but the deficit ultimately proved to be too much with the Heat only able to come within 10 of San Antonio.

Now that the game is over, let’s take a look at our studs and duds of the game, along with key statistics.

Studs of the Game

San Antonio Spurs

Kawhi Leonard almost recorded a double-double for a second straight game, coming awfully close with 22 points and nine rebounds. Leonard was flying all over the court, picking up three assists, four steals, and two blocks in addition to those solid scoring and rebounding numbers. When the 2014 NBA Finals MVP plays like the 2014 NBA Finals MVP, this team is tough to beat. That showed on Tuesday.

Miami Heat

Goran Dragic tried all he could do to rescue his team from the Spurs wrath on Tuesday, scoring 19 on 6-of-14 shooting along with recording three assists. That just was not enough as Miami still fell to San Antonio. Has Dragic played a little better defense on Tony Parker, 16 points and five assists, and cut down on turnovers, four for the game, the Heat could have played the Spurs a lot closer than they did.

Duds of the Game

San Antonio Spurs

Danny Green was only on the floor for about 15 minutes but it was about some of the most unproductive 15 minutes we have see from the former Tar Heel in a long time. Green just could not find any rhythm, sputtering to three points on 1-of-3 shooting. He also failed to record a block or a steal, something we have come to expect from Green each game.

Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade was a brick factory on Tuesday night against the Spurs. The former All-Star who now finds his team struggling to hold down one of the final two playoff spots did more harm than help, finishing 6-of-20 from the field with 15 points. To make matters worse, Wade had two of his shots blocked and more turnovers, three, than assists, one.

Key Numbers

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19:Â That’s the number of turnovers the Spurs committed against the Heat. Although San Antonio came away with the win, that number is completely unacceptable, especially against one of the weaker teams in the weaker conference. The Spurs were lucky those turnovers didn’t come back to haunt them and need to do a better job securing the ball,Â particularly when they play playoff teams from the West.

1:Â That’s the biggest lead the Heat had in this game. Once again, San Antonio did an excellent job of not allowing their opposition to gain any positive momentum. Sure Miami led by one at the end of the first but that was all they got. It was all Spurs after that point.

44.4:Â That’s San Antonio’s three-point percentage from the game. The Spurs connected on an impressive 8-of-18 shots from deep, giving them a plus-three advantage in points (Miami only made five threes). That isn’t a lot but every point counts, especially when you are holding off a fourth quarter rally and trying to overcome a littany of turnovers.

Next: Spurs at Heat: Prediction, Key Players, Injuries