The San Antonio Spurs dominated Game 3 of the NBA Finals, besting the Miami Heat 113-77 to take a 2-1 series lead. While the Spurs' defensive work on LeBron James has become the overarching development of this series, this particular game belonged to shooters Danny Green and Gary Neal. As a duo, they combined for 13 of 19 shooting from beyond the arc for 51 total points. Those are stats we typically associate with stars, not role players who once struggled to find spots on any NBA roster.
Of course, role players have shined on the NBA Finals stage many times in the past. What made this performance special is how Green and Neal carried the Spurs to a record-breaking night. With 16 3-pointers — the others belonged to Kawhi Leonard (two) and Tony Parker (one) — the Spurs broke a single-game NBA Finals record previously held by three teams with 14 apiece. (Those three teams? The 1994-95 Houston Rockets, the '94-'95 Orlando Magic and last year's Heat.) In other words, Green and Neal were just one triple off the record by themselves. You can watch a clip of all 16 3-pointers above.
Looking forward, we can safely assume that San Antonio won't match this mark again. On the other hand, there's reason to think they can get close. While Heat reserve Ray Allen holds the record for most 3-pointers in a full NBA Finals with 22, Green has already made 16, which is the record for most makes in a five-game series (held by Heat reserve Rashard Lewis, coincidentally). It's likely that Green will cool down to some degree, but he's statistically one of the better shooters in the league.
Plus, even if the Spurs' mark of 16-for-32 shooting looks irreproducible at first glance, they also made half their long-range shots (10 for 20) in their Game 1 win. On some level, this is one of the ways that the Spurs win games. It's no mirage.
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