Spurs Push Cavs to the Brink

Tim Duncan had 14 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

CLEVELAND - It wasn't pretty, but the Spurs are one win away from a sweep and their third title in five years after a 75-72 road victory over the Cavs in Game 3 of The Finals on Tuesday.

Tony Parker, who is a strong candidate for Finals MVP, scored a team-high 17 points and gave the Spurs a five-point lead with a minute to play on a 3-pointer.

Sasha Pavlovic answered with a 3-pointer of his own to bring the Cavs within two and Cleveland later had a chance to tie the game or go ahead.

LeBron James passed to Anderson Vareajao, who missed an off-balance shot in the lane with 13.9 ticks remaining.

Manu Ginobili hit 3-of-4 from the line the rest of the way for San Antonio and James missed a long 3-point attempt in the closing seconds.

The late scoring spree allowed the teams to avoid the distinction of setting the record for the lowest-scoring game in Finals history. The total of 147 is tied for second lowest.

James finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden added double-doubles.

Tim Duncan had 14 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio, while Bruce Bowen helped make up for Ginobili's three-point night with 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Spurs can wrap up the title in Thursday's Game 4 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC

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