Two of the top teams in the NBA will go at it Thursday night at Texas' AT&T Center in a rematch of a classic 2012-2013 NBA Finals that stretched to the maximum seven games. The Miami Heat (43-15, 19-11 away) already got the better of last season's Western Conference champion San Antonio once this season -- thanks to a 113-101 win on Jan. 26 -- but the two-time defending National Basketball Association champs know premier showdowns such as the upcoming one against the Spurs (44-16, 21-8 home) will go a long way in prepping the Heat for a third-straight title.
Fully aware that the San Antonio Spurs still possess loads of talent despite the increased ages of superstars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, four-time league MVP LeBron James says he never doubted the Spurs from a talent perspective, especially since the four-time NBA Champions have done a solid job in defeating Miami in Texas. The Spurs took Games 3 (113-77) and 5 (114-104) at the AT&T Center in last season's final but this time around, James and company hope to create a positive memory in a place that hasn't been overly kind in recent time.
“There's memories," James said. "I mean, of course, we just played them in the Finals and obviously just going there is always a place of horrors. I haven't had a lot of success there in my career, but it's always fun going against a very, very well-coached, very well-machined organization and team, with so many great players. I've always been asked about the ages of their team. I bought into the Celtics team with Ray Allen and K.G. and all those guys, they were talking about they were too old and they were in the Finals again, so I never bought into it.”
Collecting 83 points in his last two contests -- including 61 in a recent victory over the Charlotte Bobcats -- LeBron James hopes to help Miami bounce back from a 103-101 loss to Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets. Currently trailing Eastern Conference-leading Indiana by two games, the Heat will surely be looking to use the upcoming San Antonio clash as a launching pad for what they hope is a strong finish to the 2013-2014 season.
San Antonio -- 1 ½ games behind Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West -- will be looking to do the same, especially since showdowns with Chicago (33-27), Portland (41-19), Golden State (37-24), the Oklahoma City Thunder (46-15) and Indiana (46-14) remaining on their schedule.
Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Thursday, March 6
TIME: 8 p.m., ET
TV COVERAGE: TNT
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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