SAN ANTONIO — Nabugbog man sa Game Three ng NBA Finals noong Miyerkules ay nangako naman si LeBron James na makakatabla ang Miami Heat kontra San Antonio Spurs sa Game Four ngayon.
Tinambakan ng Spurs ang nagdedepensang kampeong Heat, 113-77, sa Game Three para manguna sa kanilang best-of-seven series, 2-1.
Inamin naman ni James na may pagkukulang siya sa Game Three at sinabi niyang babawi siya ngayon.
“I’m putting all the pressure on my chest, on my shoulders to come through for our team,” aniya. “That’s the way it is.”
Hindi man ito ang game plan ni Heat coach Erik Spoelstra ay hindi pa rin niya maipagkakaila na kung hahantong sa krusyal na sitwasyon ang koponan ay aasa ito sa lider nilang si LeBron James.
“Look, we have great confidence from our guys and their ability to bounce back and respond in a big way,” sabi ni Spoelstra. “And that’s all our focus is the next 24 hours — how do we prepare ourselves to play our best game of the series tomorrow night. That’s the only thing that matters. LJ has proven himself enough in this league and on the biggest stage. He is going to … he’ll be better.”
Sa Game Three ay gumawa lamang ng 15 puntos si James mula sa masamang 7-of-21 (33%) field goal shooting.
Sa kasalukuyang Playoffs, si James ay may average na 24.7 puntos kada laro at may shooting percentage na 49.4%.
Sa Finals na ito, si James ay umiskor ng 18 puntos sa Game One at 17 puntos sa Game Two.
Tila nakaapekto kay James ang depensa ng Spurs sa kanya. Ilan sa mga bumabantay sa kanya ay sina Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili at kung minsan ay si Tony Parker.
“We’re not worried about LeBron,” sabi ni Heat guard Dwyane Wade. “He’s going to find his way. He’s going to get in a groove. As teammates you try to figure out a way to get him an easy basket in a breakout, try to get it back to him, get a layup, so he can see the ball go in. As a scorer you need to see it go in. Besides that, we’re not concerned about him at all.”
Ang Game Four ay nakatakda ngayong umaga sa San Antonio.
“It’s just something we’ve grown over the years, being able to bounce back in adverse situations,” sabi pa ni James. “And no matter the circumstances, this is going to be probably one of the toughest, because … we’re going against a team with championship DNA and championship pedigree on the floor and a must-win. We’re going to be ready for it. We’re going to accept the challenge and see what happens.”
Samantala, tila may isa pang magandang balita para sa mga Heat fans.
Sumailalim sa MRI ang court general ng Spurs na si Tony Parker at napag-alaman na may Grade 1 strain ito sa kanyang right hamstring.
Dahil dito ay ibinaba sa “day to day” ang estado ni Parker para sa Game Four.
“I was just hoping it was not a tear,” sabi ni Parker. “The good news is it’s not a tear or a defect. So that’s the good news. Now I just have to see how I feel tomorrow.”
Nakuha ni Parker ang naturang injury sa second half ng Game Three. Ipinahinga siya agad ni Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Mabuti na lamang at maganda ang ipinakita nina Green, Leonard at Gary Neal kaya hindi na pinaglaro pa ni Popovich si Parker sa fourth period.
“We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. We’ll talk with Pop (Popovich),” sabi ni Parker. “I know Pop is always going to prefer to take low risk.” — AP
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