San Antonio Spurs

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. -Winston Churchill's commencement speech at Harrow School, 1941 There are so many things I could say at this point, but I thought I'd yield the floor to you folks who have written so powerfully and eloquently in the comments after Tuesday night's Game 6 loss. You've done a much better job of handling this situation than I could have. Manu does, what Manu does. For years we have loved him for that and now he's the enemy? I think not! Question is: Who do you replace him with? Gary Neal? With the Heat defense playing even tighter, would a shorter player make sense? You gotta go with the 5 you think match up and can produce. Should Pop do what he thinks the fans want or trust his proven Soldiers? Did Parker catch fire in the last 2 minutes? Did Duncan? How about OT? Sometimes, you just have to tip the hat to the other guys and say, ‘get you next time'. If I'm the coach, I lose on my terms, with my guys, my Big 3, my vets! I wouldn't second guess in the middle of chaos. You get low and push forward...you keep Pounding The Rock!! Has Manu looked like Manu of old? Nope, but I would rather lose with him than some other bench guy. This new found hate for Pop decisions and Manu is sickening. I get the frustration the game can give you, but Spurs fans are better than this non-stop whining. This organizations is blessed from top to bottom. All of a sudden, we are some spoiled divas? Hell no, we are not. Spurs and their fans should take losses like a champ, because we have been dishing out losses to others without prejudice! The thing to remember is that there is still one game on the schedule. With one game left in the season, I feel comfortable knowing that my team is the Spurs. Pounding the Rock is what they do. Go Spurs! -TrooperJoe73 Stop saying bad things about Kawhi. He has been utterly amazing this entire season, this entire Playoffs, this entire Finals. Offensively, and defensively. He has performed greater than most people could have imagined, and sad to say, you seem to have missed all that. He’s also still just a kid. And human. And he went 1/2 from the line there. That happens about 50% of the time a decent FT shooter goes to the line. They make both once, they make 1/2 the next time, that’s 75%. Happens constantly. You want to talk about bad missed FT’s, you’d have an argument in Manu. No idea what’s going on with him at the line. He’s been there so many times, no excuse. But Kawhi missing one free throw? After everything he’s given us? Please just be quiet. - M3D1T8R No. No excuses. We didn't rebound when we should've, missed timely FTs, and they hit some incredible shots. We had the game. We were in control. We should've won, but didn't. On to Game 7. - Dark Black Yes, there were some tough calls. Bad ones, even. Yes, we missed some FTs. Part of the game. Yes, Ray Allen hit a dagger. SO THE WHAT?!? Champions are stronger than any circumstance that comes their way. They're going to come back harder. And sharper. And even better. We took a backdoor sweep last year and bounced back from it. We got beat by the Grizzlies two years ago and repaid them with interest. These men are basketball legends, forged in fire - and if age and injury and playoff heartbreak couldn't stop them from returning to the Finals, if The Greatest Team EVAR needed a home win just to force a game seven, I'll be damned to think that one tough loss is going to stop them now. You can wallow in the loss if you choose; just know that your team will not. - SRJ34 - verde 2005. 2-2 split.Spurs win game 5Spurs lose game 6Spurs win in 7. I'm over this one. We WILL win game 7. There are too many champion hearts on

Full Disclosure: I'm a Spurs fan, devastated at the game's outcome, of course. But putting that aside, it was VERY clear to me that both teams' athletes left everything on the floor last night. It's one of the finest NBA games I've ever watched. Just wish we'd'a won ... That said, I am stunned at the refereeing ineptitude in that final play in OT (other plays, too, both ways). I've always believed that the best refereeing happens when it assures the game is about the players and about the game, not about them. Not so last night. Bosh clobbered Green across the 3-point line, and I figure it's the rare partisan observer who'd argue the point. Not calling that foul put the refereeing squarely front-and-center affecting the outcome. Had the foul been rightly called, the arena would have erupted in condemnation of the ref making the call -- no question. However, the outcome of the game would have hinged on the player (Green) going to the line to shoot three foul shots that would either tie the game (another OT) or he'd miss one or more and the game would go to Miami. The result would be specifically determined by the athletes involved, not as a result of a call or a bad no-call. It created a bitter taste and (if that's possible), reduced the credibility of NBA refs even more. From my observations, they're a joke parading around as impartial arbiters of the action (whether the calls or no-calls go for or against the Spurs ... it's still poor). Final comment on NBA refs: some observers/talking heads have "excused" bad calls by refs by citing the "bang-bang" speed of the action. My observations of NFL refs shows "bang-bang" action each and every game, and guess what ... the video replays almost always validate the refs' calls on the field -- much unlike the NBA replays. Or, they say that the calls "even out" over the course of the game ... right ... Oh -- and no one is allowed to criticize NBA refs' consistent ineptitude ... or the NBA spanks them with fines. Now THERE's a credibility builder! Ultimately, the only value I see in the NBA's refs is refereeing fights on court and awarding technical fouls when someone laughs at their calls.

It is fitting the internationally-flavored Spurs find themselves under a global television lens watched by viewers in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages.

Beyond all of the bleating about LeBron James' heart, guts or reproductive glands, no one can deny that he has impeccable individual numbers in elimination games. Heading into Game 6 between the Heat and Spurs on Tuesday, he'd averaged 31-10-6 in 11-career elimination games; the scoring is said to be the highest figure in NBA history. On Tuesday he racked up 32-10-11. So much for LeChoke, LeBum or whatever other nonsense the dismissal crew scribbled down in the back of their heads. When the pressure is the highest, he performs. What's interesting to consider is how he does it, the style of his performance. Game 6 began like the rest of the series for LeBron: the Spurs paid extra attention to his every move, and with or without the ball, he struggled to get to the rim. San Antonio defenders played softly off of him, and his shot wasn't dead-eye off of the dribble. There wasn't a ton of regular ball movement because the Spurs were hitting so many shots, preventing Miami from getting into the frontcourt with some pace. It was all pretty surgical for Miami, and though the Heat remained in the lead or within a possession or two of San Antonio until the late third, LeBron and his teammates couldn't really do much to show off their power. More: Some Heat fans leave early Questioning Pop Full Game 6 coverage All series, LeBron and Dwyane Wade -- two of the best attackers of this era, maybe ever -- have attacked the Spurs defense pretty softly. There have been a lot of jab steps, a lot of lateral dribbles, a lot of patience and a lot of short or mid-range jumpers. There have been relatively few dunks and lay-ups. When Miami's been at its best, the two wings attack hard enough to get by Defender No. 1, suck in the defense and find an open shooter or, less frequently, a big man at the rim. But again, most of the attacks have been fairly soft, almost conscientious: neither wants to get his shot blocked, or boot the ball out of bounds, or beg the refs for a bailout foul. But with Wade on the bench in the fourth, LeBron changed totally. The Heat trailed by as many as 13 in the late third and ten in the fourth before James attacked hard. He drove for the rim. Not to break down the Spurs defense and get an open look for a teammate, not to find San Antonio's weak points and exploit them. He stuck his foot on the pedal and went at the Spurs. And it was wonderful. Miami erased its deficit and built a small lead by the time Wade re-entered the game. LeBron ended up with 16 in the quarter on 7-11 shooting. He took 12 of the 20 Miami shots (including trips to the line) in the quarter, had three of the team's four turnovers and two of the five assists. With the season -- the championship -- on the line, LeBron was aggresssive. Desperate. An inspiring, agonizing, amazing Game 6 Paul Flannery reports from Miami, where the Heat and Spurs gave us a game we'll never forget.See the full story But with a small lead and Wade back on the court, LeBron went back into careful mode. He had two more aggressive plays (a transition play broken up by Danny Green, a dribble-drive that ended in a turnover). But otherwise, in the final minutes, LeBron's aggression and desperation dissipated. It could have been exhaustion. The guy guarded Tony Parker much of the game, had to cover the glass, is playing insane minutes and almost single-handedly carried his team back from the brink in the fourth. But the way LeBron moves and attacks at certain moments makes it all look so much more ... institutional. LeBron knows he can't win alone, that pulling the hyperaggressive act all game, every game won't work. It didn't work in Cleveland. He knows that relying on very good teammates to help does work -- he has the 2012 championship to prove it. And he has very good teammates, though Wade isn't exactly in top shape. So he focuses more on quality of his attacks than quantity. And it has worked! Miami has the best record in the NBA over the past three seas

The San Antonio Spurs were moments away from capturing title No. 5 for the franchise versus the Miami Heat in Miami in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, holding on to a 5-point lead. Then a three pointer by Ray Allen, missed free throws by the Spurs, and a few rebounds that did not go San Antonio's way and the Spurs saw their lead evaporate and lost in overtime, 100-103. After the game, Manu Ginobili spoke to the press and needless to say, he was distraught over this loss. From words such as "tough moment," "we let it go," "devastated," to "it hurts," Manu clearly seems let down by the loss. Manu is clearly upset over the loss, however, I am hoping he shakes it off very fast because the Spurs need him to be of clear mind in Game 7. In Game 6 the team was a -21 with Manu was a -21 on the court, and he finished with 9 points (2-5, 40%), and 8 huge turnovers. If the Spurs hope to win Game 7, they need the Manu that played in Game 6. What do you have to say Spurs fans about Manu's reaction to the Game 6 loss?

(Update: Now with video.) With the Miami Heat trailing 94-89 in a potentially decisive Game 6 of the NBA Finals, many Heat fans at AmericanAirlines Arena decided they'd head out early. You know, beat the traffic -- no need to stick around to watch the last 30 seconds of a game that had already proven to be one of the most incredible Finals games in recent memory, right? TV cameras captured them, and Bomani Jones snapped a pic: (The only person not at fault here: dude in the Ray Allen Bucks jersey. I'm cool with him.) Of course, LeBron James missed a three, and off a rebound, hit a three; after Kawhi Leonard missed a free throw, a James miss again rebounded by the Heat ended up in Allen's hands ... and Jesus Shuttlesworth came through to tie the game with another three. The Heat eventually won 103-100 in overtime, a game that immediately earned entry into the pantheon of great NBA Finals games. And these fans -- "fans" -- didn't get to see it. It'd be nice to just mock the fans dumb enough to leave over and over and over and over and over again in our heads, but it turns out the scenario actually turned pretty ugly. Miami sports anchor Victor Oquendo was setting up for his post-game live shot and witnessed the scene: Now I'm watching horrible, drunk, quitting fans desperately trying to get back in. This is madness. — Victor Oquendo (@VictorOquendo) June 19, 2013 None of them deserve to be let in. They are pounding the glass doors. I'm all for gender equality but I'm only seeing female guards.... — Victor Oquendo (@VictorOquendo) June 19, 2013 Might need to call the big dogs in soon. Just sayin' — Victor Oquendo (@VictorOquendo) June 19, 2013 Cops finally here. Fans still pounding on the doors begging to be let in. — Victor Oquendo (@VictorOquendo) June 19, 2013 There are a lot of stereotypes about Miami Heat fans, and we'd like to thank these guys for coming through. The only disappointing thing is they're probably just going to tell everybody that they were at the game and how crazy and awesome it was and leave out the whole "we left without seeing the insanely dramatic finale where the team we supposedly support came back against all odds because I didn't believe they were actually going to come back" thing. Update: NBC Miami got footage of disappointed fans leaving, and interviewed actual Miami fans depressed that their team did not rise to the occasion because they were unaware the Heat had actually won the game. It's as amazing as it sounds. View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com. More from SB Nation: • Flannery: The inspiring, agonizing, amazing story of Game 6 • LeBron's Headband Game | Second-guessing Gregg Popovich • Like a Bosh: Chris saves game with block at buzzer • SB Nation's blogger mock draft • NBA mock draft: Best-case scenarios | Scouting reports | Big Board

MIAMI -- Ray Allen was talking about shooting, a skill that he has mastered arguably better than anyone who has ever played the game. Once you get Allen engaged on this topic he offers a fascinating insight into a thought process that has taken years to develop and hone through countless hours of repetition and practice. The curious thing about Allen's approach is that he doesn't actually shoot at anything. "There's no target," he told me earlier in the series. "I don't aim. If I'm aiming that's when I'm missing. The way I look at it is just get the ball in the air. You do it over and over again you should never have a target." So, when the ball found his hands with the Heat's season, if not the entire legacy of one of the boldest experiments ever launched in American sports, on the line, Allen did what he always does; he trusted his process and he trusted himself. More: Bosh's game-saving block Ray's game-tying shot On Popovich "Once the ball came off the rim, I just knew to get to the three-point line," Allen said. "We needed a three. Two points isn't going to cut it. So my mental checklist is really to have my legs ready and underneath me so when the ball comes, if it comes, I was ready to go in the air." Allen's shot was true and it sent this incredibly thrilling game into overtime where the Heat were able to pull off a 103-100 victory and send this series to a seventh game. "It's going to be a shot that I'm going to remember for a long time," Allen said. Someone asked if it was the shot that would define his career and he answered honestly, "I don't think that's up to me to decide." He's right. It won't be up to him, just like it won't be up to LeBron James to define his legacy or Tim Duncan, for that matter. It will be up to us, the chroniclers of history, to narrate these matters. It's a tremendous responsibility that shouldn't be reduced to a simple game of heroes and goats, especially not after something like this. That's not to say that there isn't room for honest analysis and dissection. Had things turned out differently, we'd all be wondering why the Heat turned the offense over to Dwyane Wade late in the fourth quarter after LeBron had carried them back from the brink. In the end, Popovich has a process, no different than Allen's, and his players trust his decisions. We can debate for hours whether Gregg Popovich should have fouled with a three-point lead even though he has never done so in that situation over the years. Or whether he should have had Tim Duncan on the court in the final seconds to grab the rebound that ultimately went to Chris Bosh, even though his strategy has always been to have smaller players on the floor who were capable of switching in that situation. In the end, Popovich has a process, no different than Allen's, and his players trust his decisions. "It's what we've done all year," Duncan said. "In a situation where we were going to switch a lot of things, and just unfortunate the way it happened. We got a stop, and we got a bad bounce, and right out to Ray Allen for a three. Just situational. But there's no questions there. It's the plays we've been making all season long." Added Tony Parker, "Personally, I trust Pop." And why wouldn't they? Up to that moment, Popovich had been arguably the true MVP of the series, designing a defense to slow down LeBron and making key calls such as putting Manu Ginobili into the starting lineup before Game 5 when Manu went all Manu and gave the Spurs a chance to close out the series. Pop trusted Ginobili again and he responded with one of the worst games of his career. It's basketball, a strange and bewildering sport that flows to the rhythm of its own beat regardless of pre-packaged narratives. It's a game that was played at the highest level most of us can remember in such a pressure-packed situation and it was beautiful and agonizing and awesome and crushingly sad on Tuesday night. "I have no clue how we're going to be re-ener

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will be in the Hall of Fame one day, but following his team's 103-100 Game 6 loss in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, and some questionable decision-making down the stretch, he may get a fair share of criticism over the next two days. More: Spurs fans can find more at Pounding the Rock Heat fans should check out Hot Hot Hoops Manu Ginobili found himself in the rare position of needing to defend his head coach for sitting Tim Duncan at the end of regulation and Tony Parker at the end of overtime, and did so vehemently as soon as he was asked about the late-game substitutions. "We were so close to winning it," Manu Ginobili said in the media room following the game. "It's one of the many things I'll be thinking [Tuesday night]. We've got a great coaching staff, great coach. If he did those subs, I'm very sure he thought about it and had many great reasons to do it. He wanted size on the defensive end." The criticism will keep coming over the next 48 hours, but in Popovich's defense, San Antonio turned the ball over late, made costly defensive errors on rotations and failed to match the Heat's energy at the end of the game. It wasn't his fault alone. Coaches get a lot of blame when things go wrong, and it's easy to make the right decisions with the ability of hindsight. At some point, the players have to take responsibility to close the game out. The numbers tell more of the story. San Antonio shot a dismal 35 percent in the fourth quarter while Tim Duncan, who single-handedly dissected the Heat defense through three quarters, didn't register a field goal in the final 12 minutes. The Spurs went just 1-of-6 from the three-point line and appeared to run out of steam as the quarter wore on. The Heat shot 65 percent from the field and scored 14 points to the Spurs' 12 in the paint after the San Antonio dominated the game in that area in the first half, 32-12 The Spurs had all of the momentum and missed 1-of-2 free throws twice in the final minute of the game to give the Heat life and open the door for an improbable comeback. But Pop will get all of the criticism. That's how life as an NBA head coach goes sometimes. But for this coach in this situation, it's unprecedented. Going into the Game 6, San Antonio was 14-2 in elimination games. The letdown from losing the way they did is likely immeasurable. How does a coach possibly get his team ready for a Game 7 after having the championship slip from their grasp? "I get 'em on the bus. It arrives at the ramp over here. We get off the bus. We go on the court and we play. That's how we get ready," Popovich said poignantly when asked the same question. "I'm devastated," Ginobili added. "There's no Game 8. We're gonna have to play our best game. Shoot better, less turnovers in my case. There's no secret recipe for bouncing back." As bad as things look for the Spurs after a devastating loss, they'll still have a chance at redemption in a Game 7. How they respond is anyone's guess. But as good as the Game 6 was, there's nothing like a Game 7. "It was by far the best game that I've ever been a part of," LeBron James said. (Quotes via NBA Live Streaming) More from SB Nation: • Miami rallies to force OT, survives with 103-100 win • Like a Bosh: Chris saves game with block at buzzer • GIFs: Shoeless Mike Miller | Ray Allen forces OT • Chris Paul OK without Doc in LA • SB Nation's blogger mock draft • NBA mock draft: Best-case scenarios | Scouting reports | Big Board