MIAMI, (Reuters) – The Miami Heat produced an extraordinary comeback to beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-100 in overtime early on Wednesday to force a decisive seventh game in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.
Needing a win to keep their title defence alive, Miami clawed back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter before Ray Allen drained a three-pointer with five seconds remaining that tied the game at 95-95 and forced overtime.
Miami then won a nerve-jangling extra five-minute period to tie the championship series at 3-3 and set up a winner-takes-all decider at Miami on Thursday.
LeBron James, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in four of the past five seasons, had a game-high 32 points for the Heat, including 21 in the second half, while Mario Chalmers had 20, featuring 4-of-5 three-pointers.
Tim Duncan had 30 points for the Spurs, who led 71-58 in the third quarter, but found themselves behind in the last quarter before going on a 8-0 run in the last two minutes to regain the lead.
They still led by five points with 28 seconds to go when Miami pulled off a miraculous comeback.