Immediately after Game 6 of the NBA finals last night, the reporters interviewed Miami Heat superstar LeBron James. For anyone who didn’t seen the game and just woke up to the box score, that would probably make sense. LeBron posted his usual triple double with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. However, it wasn’t LeBron that was Game 6’s most valuable player, but Heat center Chris Bosh.
Bosh only finished the game with 10 points. However, he also finished with 11 rebounds and two blocks. It was those two blocks and one of those rebounds that helped save the Heat’s season—and most likely prevented a whole host of bashing on LeBron’s legacy, at least for a day.
James led the comeback late in the fourth quarter, taking off his head band which seemed to have the same effect as Popeye’s spinach. However, he made a few key turnovers late and the Heat were left in a bit of a bind. With less than 24 seconds left, James redeemed himself and hit a three to close the Heat’s deficit to the San Antonio Spurs to two, 94-92.
After young Spurs forward Khawai Leonard hit one of the two free throws, James got off another look and missed. Chris Bosh was able to grab the rebound, find arguable the best three point shooter in NBA history in Ray Allen and watch Allen knock down possibly the biggest three of his Hall-of-Fame career.
Bosh’s heroics continued in overtime, as he caught a long pass from James and put in the lay-up for the three-point play opportunity after being fouled by Spurs guard Manu Ginobli.
Then, came his two blocks—two pretty big blocks. Spurs star point guard Tony parker went off a screen from future Hall of Fame forward Tim Duncan which set up a one-on-one with Bosh and Parker. Bosh, playing some great defense, being able to recover from a stepback dribble from Parker and block his shot, with a little over 30 seconds to go to keep the Heat lead at 101-100.
His final block came as Danny Green caught the ball, the Heat up by three 103-100, and Bosh rejected Green’s three point attempt from the corner as time expired to hold the lead.
While LeBron led the charge, if it wasn’t for some clutch plays on both sides of the ball by Bosh, the Spurs would be planning a parade and sports analysts would be discussing how the legacy of LeBron James is damaged.
Take a look at Bosh's plays courtesy of the NBA YouTube account:
