By Trey Crosby III

Wow. Can we get a round of applause for that performance from both teams in an epic Game 6? Unbelievable, this game had everything you could ask for in a Finals elimination game.

The NBA should really think of using TNT’s slogan because they know drama better than anybody. You know you just watched one of the greatest games of all time when the topics range from headbands to fade away 3’s to take it into overtime.

So let’s get into the details shall we? On the surface Miami saved their season tonight with a 103-100 victory over San Antonio. This game really ended up being a tale of two halves. With Tim Duncan dominating the first half and LeBron dominating the 4^th in a way we haven’t seen domination before.

Duncan looked like a man among boys early as he worked the post against Bosh with his patented bank shot. The Heat then tried to put the “Birdman” on Tim and that only amounted to fouls and free throws for Duncan. By the end of the half, “Big Fundamental” had 25 points and the Spurs were up 10.

LeBron James on the other hand was a shell of himself, he shot 3-of-12 early and looked out of the game mentally. Side note, Chris Bosh said before the game that Danny Green would not be open to shoot in Game 6, and he was not as he finished with only 3 points for the night.

Then the 4^th happened. LBJ lost his headband on a dunk early in the quarter, and twitter went wild. LeBron also went wild prompting tweets that read “LeBron will have a cheat code in NBA 2K14 that makes LeBron lose his headband and play like a monster”. Yes, it was that serious. LeBron lost his headband and went on a mission. The defensive intensity stepped up and the Heat went on an amazing run.

LeBron put up 18 points in the 4^th and in overtime to lead his team to victory. He finished the game with a triple-double, 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. As soon as it looked as if San Antonio had let the game slip away for good, Tony Parker nailed a trey ball from the top of the key in LeBron’s face to tie it.

Moments later, San Antonio found themselves up 5 with 30 ticks to play. LeBron stepped back and hit a three. Kawhi Leonard then went to the free throw line and made only one from the stripe to put San Antonio up 3. Down the floor on the next possession LeBron missed a 3, Bosh got the board and quickly kicked the ball out to Ray Allen. Jesus Shuttlesworth delivered and tied the ball game to force overtime. In overtime with the Heat taking control, Chris Bosh made two huge blocks to send this series to an all but deciding Game 7.

In the grand scheme of things, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich blew this game for San Antonio. This was a collapse of epic proportions. The story of Game 6 was the fact that San Antonio gave this game away, and it all started with Pop.

From the start, Popovich did not begin the 4^th quarter with either Tim Duncan or Tony Parker. That started the run for Miami. Secondly, Pop decided to take Tim Duncan out of the contest as the game went down to the wire to matchup with the Heat’s shooting options on the floor.

Yes, Tim Duncan did run out of gas and did not score in the 4^th or overtime but, that had nothing to do with his rebounding capability. Duncan still had a game high 17 rebounds up to that point. Why was he not in the game? WHY WAS HE NOT IN THE GAME? WHY WAS HE NOT IN THE GAME? No Duncan, meant no rebounds and that allowed the Heat to get the second chance 3 balls by both James and Ray Allen late.

My third and final question is why, up by three points, Pop instructed his team not to foul anybody and force Miami to go to the line and avoid the eventual game tying 3 by Ray Allen? For these reasons Pop has to take at least 75% of the blame for this debacle. The other 25% goes to the absolutely horrid play of Manu Ginobili. This guy is clearly done, and has to go back into the dog house.

His biggest stat of the night was his eight turnovers, and some came at the most inopportune of times. Manu is a liability for San Antonio on the offensive side of the ball and has been a walking turnover all series long. How close was San Antonio to another World Championship? Glad you asked, with under 1 minute to play and Miami down 5, not only were fans headed for the exits but the crew inside the arena had already begun roping off the court in anticipation for the award ceremony after the Spurs win.

The platform that the ceremony is held on and the also the Larry O’ Brien trophy had already been wheeled out onto the arena in plain view of the players. The fact remains, San Antonio came within 2 rebounds and 1 made free throw from a world title. Shame.

Much respect must be given to LeBron for his late game heroics. When many, including myself were ready to slander his great name after his awful play early, LeBron showed us why he is the 4 time reigning NBA MVP. “The King” stepped up his game when it counted and left it all out on the floor.

The Finals are where legacies are made and LeBron added to his tonight. Of course all of his effort means nothing if Miami does not come up with a W on Thursday.  This leaves us waiting for Thursday night, when the final act of this great series will be played out.  

How can both teams top this instant classic that was Game 6? Will the Spurs be exhausted physically and mentally after choking on the biggest of stages and coming so close to winning a title? Who will be the hero of Game 7? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z. Sorry for the bad joke, but it was funny, right? Right? Seriously, the Spurs will try to do what no NBA team has done and win a Game 7 in the Finals on the road. That will be a formidable challenge, but the question we all are going to want answered and will be begging to find out before Game 7 is one of supreme importance. Will LeBron play without a headband? Man, I LOVE the NBA.