LeBron James and the Miami Heat try to even the series Sunday night against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Tipoff is 8 p.m. ET. You tune in to ABC or watch the live stream HERE.
Tony Parker's amazing jumper with 5.2 seconds left in regulation pushed San Antonio ahead to 92-88. Their defense held on Miami's next possession, and the Spurs left American Airlines on Thursday with a win.
"Playoffs ain't fun, man. I'm sorry to bust anyone on the outside's bubble," Heat guard Dwyane Wade told reporters. "As a player in the playoffs, you have no joy until it's over and you won. If you don't win, you have no joy for a while."
San Antonio's veteran core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, however, are having fun. They realize this could be their last trip to the Finals together, and they're basking in every second of it, the Associated Press reports.
"We definitely are having fun," Parker told reporters. "I think we appreciate every moment. We don't take anything for granted, because it's a long time. It's been six years. Felt like forever. After the Memphis series, there was a lot of emotion."
Heat veteran Shane Battier is cautious to believe the Spurs are a jovial group.
"Don't believe them, first of all," he told reporters. "They are extreme competitors and they have a level of self-deprecation I think that is part of them, but don't buy it for one second. Those guys are killers. They're cut-throat and they will stomp on you if need be, and we're the same way."
Battier also agreed with his teammate's assessment of the Finals not being fun.
"No, they're not," he said. "They're stimulating. You feel alive. I wouldn't say fun, but there's no other place I'd rather be. It's kind of a misery you enjoy. You're cranky, especially after a loss. You don't like the other team. You're just a general grouch, but it's the time you feel most alive as a basketball player and there's nothing like it. Once you taste it, you don't want to live without it."
Expectations are high for the Heat; anything less than another championship is a wasted season. With Wade struggling with a nagging knee injury and center Chris Bosh seemingly lost in the offense, the burden to score has fallen almost entirely on James.
Spurs swingman Kawhi Leonard kept James, who earned a triple-double in Game 1, to only 7-of-16 shooting from the field, including only six points during the fourth quarter. The pressure is on Miami to even the series before heading to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4.
"We're not a team that really says too much this is a must-win game, but this is a must-win game for us," Wade said. "We have to win this game at home."
