SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili ran onto the floor as fans stood and screamed.
He went to the bench, and they chanted his name.
The sights and sounds of so many San Antonio spring nights were back Sunday — and the real party might be just a few days away.
Ginobili broke out of a slump in a big way with 24 points and 10 assists in his first start of the season, and the Spurs beat the Miami Heat 114-104 to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.
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.
“He’s such a huge part of what we do and how far we’ve come. You can see it tonight in how we played and the results of the game,” Duncan said. “We’re always confident in him. … we know he has it in him. We hope he can bring it forward for one more win.”
Danny Green smashed the NBA Finals record for 3-pointers, hitting six more and scoring 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.
One more victory and the Spurs’ Big Three, not Miami’s, will be the one that rules the NBA.
And a big reason was Ginobili, as he’s been for so long — just not during what had been a miserable series for the former Sixth Man of the Year.
“I was angry, disappointed,” Ginobili said. “We are playing in the NBA Finals, we were 2-2, and I felt I still wasn’t really helping the team that much. And that was the frustrating part.”
On Sunday, it was all forgotten.
“He’s obviously very popular. He’s been here a long time. He’s helped us have a lot of success over the years,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 25 points for the Heat, who host Game 6 on Tuesday night. They need a victory to force the first Game 7 in the finals since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010.
Miami’s Big Three formed a few weeks after that game, with predictions of multiple titles to follow. Now they’re a loss away from going just 1-for-3 in finals to start their partnership, while the Spurs could run their perfect record to 5-for-5.
“This is the position we’re in, and the most important game is Game 6,” James said. “We can’t worry about a Game 7; we have to worry about Game 6.”
Duncan won his first title in 1999, and Parker and Ginobili were with him for three championships since. They have been the perfect partnership, keeping the Spurs in the hunt virtually every year while teams like the Lakers, Mavericks and Suns have all risen and fallen in the Western Conference during that time.
They remained unbeaten in Game 5s, including two previous victories when the series was tied at 2-2. Of the 27 times the finals have been tied at 2-2, the Game 5 winner has won 20 of them.
Miami was the most recent loser, falling to Dallas in Game 5 in 2011 before being eliminated at home the next game.
“We’re going to see if we’re a better ballclub and if we’re better prepared for this moment,” Wade said.
San Antonio shot 42 of 70, right at 60 percent. The last team to make 60 percent of its shots in the finals was Orlando, which hit 62.5 in Game 3 against the Lakers in 2009, according to STATS.
“They just absolutely outplayed us,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “At times they were just picking one guy out at a time and going at us mano-a-mano. That’s got to change.”
Ray Allen scored 21 points on the night for the Heat as he watched Green shatter his finals 3-point record. Green has 25 3s in the series. Allen made 22 3-pointers in six games in 2008 finals for Boston.
Chris Bosh scored 16 for Miami, Wade had 10 assists, and James had eight assists and six rebounds, but it was their defense that let the Heat down in this one.
The Heat were within one with 3:05 left in the third before Green hit yet another 3-pointer and Ginobili followed with the stretch that turned the game into the fourth straight blowout of the finals.
The crafty lefty plays with a flair developed on the courts of Argentina and perfected in Europe before coming to the NBA. He sees angles other players can’t and takes risks few others would, but his style has been the perfect fit alongside Duncan and Parker.
He converted a three-point play, tossed in a floater with his left hand as he drifted right, and found Tiago Splitter under the hoop with a pass to make it 85-74. He flipped in another runner with 2.9 seconds to go, sending the Spurs to the fourth with an 87-75 lead as fans chanted “Manu! Manu!” during the break between the third and fourth quarters.
Ginobili had been averaging just 7.5 points on 34.5 percent shooting in the series, making only three of his 16 3-point attempts. But Popovich made the finals’ second lineup change in two games, after the Heat inserted Mike Miller to start Game 4.
Ginobili didn’t make a start this season and certainly hadn’t been playing like someone who belonged with the first five. But in the Spurs’ biggest game of the season, they remained confident he would break out, and they were right.
“I knew that I was not scoring much and I felt it in the air. But I tried not to care about it. I know I’m critical enough of myself to be worrying about what other people say,” Ginobili said.
It was the first time he scored 24 or more points since having 34 on June 4, 2012, against Oklahoma City, according to STATS.
Spurs 114, Heat 104
MIAMI (104)
James 8-22 7-9 25, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Bosh 7-11 2-2 16, Chalmers 2-10 1-2 7, Wade 10-22 5-6 25, Cole 0-1 0-0 0, Haslem 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 7-10 3-3 21, Battier 2-6 1-1 7, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 1-1 0-0 3, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-86 19-23 104.
SAN ANTONIO (114)
Leonard 6-8 2-2 16, Ginobili 8-14 7-8 24, Duncan 7-10 3-4 17, Parker 10-14 6-8 26, Green 8-15 2-2 24, Diaw 0-1 1-2 1, Neal 1-4 0-0 2, Splitter 2-4 0-0 4, Bonner 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph 0-0 0-0 0, De Colo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-70 21-26 114.
Miami 19 33 23 29 — 104
San Antonio 32 29 26 27 — 114
3-Point Goals—Miami 11-23 (Allen 4-4, James 2-4, Chalmers 2-6, Battier 2-6, Jones 1-1, Miller 0-1, Cole 0-1), San Antonio 9-22 (Green 6-10, Leonard 2-4, Ginobili 1-4, Parker 0-1, Diaw 0-1, Neal 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 42 (James, Bosh 6), San Antonio 44 (Duncan 12). Assists—Miami 25 (Wade 10), San Antonio 21 (Ginobili 10). Total Fouls—Miami 24, San Antonio 21. A—18,581 (18,797).
