Air cooler, James amps up his game

Miami Heat forward LeBron James shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan during Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio. The Heat evened the best-of-7 series at 1-1 with a 98-96 victory.
Miami Heat forward LeBron James shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan during Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio. The Heat evened the best-of-7 series at 1-1 with a 98-96 victory.

SAN ANTONIO -- No cramps, no problems for LeBron James.

And with their superstar making it to the finish this time, the Miami Heat bounced back from a loss, just as they always seem to do in the playoffs.

"Obviously, having No. 6 in the game at the end was a plus for us," Dwyane Wade said.

James had 35 points and 10 rebounds in a powerful comeback from the cramps that knocked him out of the opener, as the Heat tied the NBA Finals with a 98-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 Sunday night.

Chris Bosh made the go-ahead three-pointer on a pass from James with 1:18 remaining for the Heat, who have won 13 consecutive after a loss in the postseason. Just like last year, they rebounded after losing Game 1 to the Spurs.

Bosh had 18 points for the Heat, who are headed home for Game 3 Tuesday night.

James played more than 37 minutes, making 14 of 22 shots. He was 1 for 4 with 3 turnovers in a shaky first quarter, then made 11 of his next 13.

Two days of enduring criticism for not finishing Game 1 and getting suggestions on how to avoid cramps made the topic a tired one for James.

"What happened on Thursday was Thursday," James said. "My whole focus was how I was going to try to help this team even this up and just try to make some plays."

He stripped the ball from Tony Parker down the stretch, playing as if he had something to prove offensively and defensively.

James had 11 points in the second quarter, helping Miami erase an 11-point deficit early in the period. The game was played within a margin of a few points from there, and the Spurs missed a chance to seize control in the fourth quarter when Parker and Tim Duncan missed four consecutive free throws when they had a two-point lead.

James then made a three-pointer and two free throws to put Miami in position to win.

Parker scored 21 points and Duncan had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs, who had won eight consecutive at home by at least 15 points. Manu Ginobili finished with 19 points for the Spurs.

"Down the end there they executed really well," Duncan said. "LeBron made some great passes and guys made open shots. We had the same result in the first game. They kind of flipped it in this one."

The game was played in comfortable conditions inside the AT&T Center, where an air conditioning failure in Game 1 sent temperatures soaring to about 90 degrees. The broken circuit breaker was fixed by Friday afternoon, and it was much cooler inside the arena.

James struggled with the heat Thursday, needing treatment midway through the fourth quarter before eventually having to leave for good. He had two days off between Games 1 and 2 to recover.

He changed only a little of his routine, taking an 8 a.m. yoga class Sunday morning and switching to a shorter pair of tights.

He scored eight points in less than a minute to erase a 62-56 San Antonio lead, and his 14 points in the third quarter had Miami down only 78-77 heading to the fourth.

"For me, once I get into a good groove, I feel like everything is going to go in," James said.

He switched to being a passer at the end, finding Bosh in the corner for the shot that made it 95-93.

Wade and Rashard Lewis each scored 14 points for the Heat, who also dropped Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City two years ago. They have won five consecutive series after dropping the opening game.

The Spurs were in good position, withstanding James' assault long enough to lead by one with under 2 minutes to play. But they were shut out from there until Ginobili's three-pointer as time expired.

"LeBron with the ball did a pretty good job at his end and we had to be really perfect at the other end and we didn't," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. "We didn't take advantage of things. We made bad decisions."

It didn't help the Spurs they had to deal with James at the end of this one, and they scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, half of what they did in the opener.

"We have a very competitive group and you have two days to commiserate how that game went down," Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was frustrating, painful going through that for two days and now we have to manage the other emotion."

Sports on 06/09/2014

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