MIAMI — Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 29 points Tuesday night and the San Antonio Spurs made an NBA finals-record 75.8 percent of their shots in the first half in a 111-92 victory against the Miami Heat that gave them a 2-1 lead.
The Spurs made 19 of their first 21 shots and finished 25 of 33 in the first half, bettering the 75 percent shooting by Orlando against the Lakers in the 2009 finals.
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Leonard finished 10 of 13 after two quiet games in San Antonio. Danny Green and Tony Parker each had 15 points and Tim Duncan scored 14.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had 22 points for the Heat, who host Game 4 on Thursday.
The previous best half in the NBA finals was by the Orlando Magic, who went 24 of 32 (75 percent) while playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009.
Returning to the arena where they were oh-so-close to winning a fifth championship last year, the Spurs came out playing like they were trying to build a lead that was impossible to blow.
They shot 13 of 15 in building a 41-25 lead after one, then hit their first six shots in front of a stunned crowd in Miami while going ahead by as much as 25.
Leonard scored only 18 points in the first two games, looking frustrated while getting into foul trouble trying to defend James in Game 2. But he had his outside shot working early, and the effect on the Spurs’ offense was obvious.
The NBA finals were back along the shores of Biscayne Bay for the fourth straight year, as much a part of the late-spring scene in Miami as beaches and boats. The last three NBA seasons ended right in this building, the last two followed by championship parades.
The local fans were forced to watch a clinic by the Spurs, who closed the first half with a 9-2 burst after Miami tried to get back into it by closing to a 14-point deficit.
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