The NBA Finals TV schedule picks up on Sunday night and the Game 5 matchup between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs and the game is streaming online with a live stream from ABC on the WatchESPN website and that will be at the AT&T Center in Texas starting up at 8 pm ET as LeBron James tries to stay alive while down 3-1 in the series.
Miami has very long odds to come back to win this series and they snapped a streak of nearly 50 games without losing back to back matchups in the playoffs and now they are down two games in the series. LeBron James has had to do too much on his own and the Spurs are shooting extremely well and that is one reason why they are dominating in this series. Kawhi Leonard had a fantastic performance in Game 4 and his play sealed things for the Spurs and now they have Miami right where they want them, as the next matchup is in San Antonio with the new playoff format.
Last year the Spurs won Game 1 and 3 before the Heat bounced back and won Game 4 to tie the series, but that format was 2-3-2 with Miami having home court advantage and this year it's the Spurs and the format is 2-2-1-1-1 and that favors San Antonio. The Heat obviously can make the comeback, but winning two games on the road right now seems insurmountable with the way they are playing and both James and Dwyane Wade are looking tired out after four straight runs to the finals.
The Game 6 match up if necessary would be on Tuesday back in Miami and if the Heat can win the game on Sunday, all they have to do is win ONE matchup to get it to a game 7. The team has won its only game in San Antonio and it was a surprise that Miami lost back to back home games, as they had not lost at home heading into the two games at home and now they have to find a way to rebound. Game 7 is on the schedule for Friday, June 20 if necessary and it is very unlikely that the game will be played, but it would be at 9 pm ET on ESPN.
James had 28 points and eight rebounds in the game and now he has to find another gear to get things back on track. Mario Chalmers has struggled in the series, while the Spurs bench has been fantastic and they are very deep and that is one reason why they are up. Players like Leonard, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter have contributed along with the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and Duncan is looking to win his fifth title.