Spurs defeat Heat, take control of series

SAN ANTONIO - With the old Manu Ginobili back, the San Antonio Spurs looked like champs again.

Ginobili broke out of a slump in a big way with 24 points and 10 assists in a surprise start to spark San Antonio to a 114-104 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, giving the Spurs a 3-2 lead in the series and pushing them one victory away from their fifth championship.

One more victory and the Spurs’ Big Three, not Miami’s, will be the one that rules the NBA.

Tony Parker scored 26 points, Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Ginobili had his highest-scoring game of the season as the Spurs became the first team to shoot 60 percent in a finals game in four years.

Danny Green smashed the NBA Finals record for 3-pointers with six more and scored 24 points. Kawhi Leonard finished with 16, but the stage was set when Ginobili trotted out with Duncan, Parker and the rest of starters in what could have been the last finals home game for a trio that’s meant so much to San Antonio.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 25 points for the Heat, who host Game 6 on Tuesday. They need a victory to force the first Game 7 in the finals since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010.

AP