Wow, I was wrong about Manu Ginobli. He finished with the most points he has scored in the entire season, not just the postseason, with 24. Popovich entered him into the starting lineup and I thought that was going to be a mistake, but I was wrong. Ginobli finished with 24 points and 10 assists to go along with 8-14 shooting. He still did not shoot well from three point range, but it did not seem to matter. This was only the second game of his career where he finished with 20+ points and 10+ assists. It was the best game I have seen him play in a very long time as he took over the distributing duties from Parker and let him play his game.
Tony Parker played very well in game five. He finished with 26 points on 10-14 shooting, but only had 5 assists. Ginobli took over the distributor role, which is why the assist numbers don't bother me too much. Tim Duncan avenged his game four performance with a solid 17 point 12 rebound performances. He was back to his dominant self inside and was good on the boards. Kawhi Leonard also played very well, finishing with 16 points on 6-8 shooting and 8 rebounds. He also played some good defense and he added 3 steals. Boris Diaw played an integral role off of the bench. He played 27 valuable minutes, holding his own against LeBron on the wing and not letting him get anything going in the post. He only had 1 point, but he did have 4 rebounds and 3 assists. However, his most valuable contributions will not show up in the box score.
Danny Green set an NBA Finals record with 25 three point makes in the series and it is only game five! He finished the game with 24 points and 6 three point makes, he was one of the main reasons why the Spurs came out with the win. He was left wide open on numerous occasions throughout the night and I have no idea why the Heat are bringing help defense off of him. He has the hot hand and the Spurs will continue to find ways to get him the ball in open space.
After a great game four, LeBron James faltered in game five. He finished with 25 points, but on 22 shots. He also had 8 assists and 6 boards to go along with four steals, but it seemed as if he was largely ineffective. The most concerning part of his performance was the fact that he was 1-7 from the field when Boris Diaw was guarding him. He should have been blowing by him when he was on him, but he played scared. Wade did not have quite the performance as he did in game four, but he did play well. He finished with Like LeBron he finished with 25 points on 22 shots, but was more efficient. He also added 10 assists and 2 blocks. He took over the point guard role from Chalmers and Nole because they were not effective. It will be interesting to see how the Heat use him in game five.
Chris Bosh was efficient from the field, but was abused on the boards. He needs to get a mean streak going inside or game six could be the end of the series. Ray Allen was a key piece off of the bench, scoring 19 points and nailing all four of his three point attempts. However, his defense leaves much to be desired. Mike Miller started again, but was ineffective. It is obvious he needs to be relegated back to his bench role because he has not found his niche as a starter.
This was a very interesting game, especially late in the third quarter when the Heat pulled within one, but the Spurs promptly went on a 12-1 run to end the quarter. Danny Green had an historic night by setting the Finals three point record, in only five games, with the old record holder on the other bench. The Spurs now lead the series 3-2 with the series heading back to Miami. I am sure the Heat Arena will be very loud, but I am not sure that San Antonio is affected much by visiting arenas.
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