FUCK

So close...so far.

Spurs should have won the game.  Duncan missed a lot of easy shots around the rim, including the backbreaker that would have tied it at 92 (with Battier on him, no less).  Parker was terrible, Green was 1-12 (apparently he left his shooting prowess at the airport in San Antonio), Neal was terrible, and Manu had a horrid turnover at the end that will likely overshadow what was a very solid game, 18 points on 12 shots (50% shooting) and 5 assists.  I have no idea why Popovich stuck with Green for so long; Danny has no off the dribble game, is allergic to 2 point makes, got repeatedly trapped in the corner, and was abused by a host of Miami players, including the generally awful Mario Chalmers.  In my opinion Diaw should have been given more run; there was a sequence early in the game when it was literally Duncan and 4 guards in, and the Heat got 3 or 4 offensive rebounds on a single play, eventually scoring.  When Green's shot is off, as it was tonight, the Spurs' best chance is Duncan at 5, Diaw at 4, Leonard at 3, Ginobili at 2, and Parker at 1.

The Spurs and their fans will be haunted this off-season, not only by tonight, but of course by the unbelievable loss in game 6.  I can only hope that 1) this loss will motivate the Spurs' players (namely Duncan and Manu) to come back next year (the latter is a free agent and hopefully he will accept a big salary cut), and 2) the Spurs will FINALLY upgrade their fucking bigs.  Tiago Splitter proved himself to be useless against Miami, as did Matt Bonner, and DeJuan Blair hasn't played a meaningful minute since 2010.  Popovich doesn't really trust Diaw, and they have no other bodies.

As for the Heat, what can you say about LeBron?  He is amazing.  The best player since Shaq.  He can guard all 5 positions and is almost always the fastest, strongest, and most athletic player on the court.  The Spurs let him shoot from his hot spot, the 3 point elbow, and he killed them from there.  He also nailed his long 2 pointers, which was really the difference in the game.  The Spurs didn't double enough.  Battier was a monster, filling in the Mike Miller role in the clincher in the Finals last year, when Miller hit 7 3s (Battier hit 6 tonight).  The Heat have so much veteran shooting that even when Miller and Allen struggle mightily (as they did tonight), the Heat can still turn to another proven flopper 3 point marksman.

All in all, a great season, a great playoff season (it is really a different entity entirely), and a wild, emotional, exhausting, and thrilling Finals.