So much for the LeBron “cramp” jokes, right? Well, at least now we get the “finally took his Midol” or similar style jokes. Miami bounced back in impressive fashion, led by LeBron’s performance, as they win in San Antonio to steal home court and even up the Finals at 1 victory for each team. What was most impressive about the Heat last night? The obvious choice goes to LeBron (35 pts, 10 reb) during his second-half onslaught, who looked like a hybrid of MJ and Kobe for various stretches, hitting shots that ranged from very tough to damn near impossible. I still think we’re going to look at his performance against the Celtics from two years ago or even the one against the Pistons as his all-time greatest playoff performance but during last night’s game, he was even greater than those two nights. After much scrutiny following game 1’s ending, #6 on the Heat wasn’t impressive out of the gate. James’ performance was very pedestrian in the first half but after halftime, something changed and the best basketball player on the planet played like it. But let’s remember that while LeBron’s brilliance will steal the headlines, the players around him stepped it up big time last night. From Wade to Bosh to Birdman and so on. Team basketball was critical and last night, the Heat were just a bit better than San Antonio. What worked best for Miami, aside from LeBron? Their defense during crunch time. Miami’s ability to pressure the Spurs offense into playing Heat-style basketball was the biggest factor down the stretch. Tony Parker was limited in play-making down the stretch because LeBron was guarding him and the rest of the San Antonio cast wasn’t able to produce efficient offense when it needed it the most. It also doesn’t help the Spurs when, a very critical point in the game, something like a four missed free throws in a row happens. But like Miami, I expect San Antonio to bounce back tomorrow night.

Can the Spurs re-steal home court advantage? It’s impossible to predict anything in this series. If I had one bold prediction to make about this series it’s that we’re just going to see both teams trading blows. One after the other, just like a premier heavyweight title bout. Because these teams are so good, it’s very hard to imagine either of them winning two games in a row. The players and the coaching are at too high of a level for either team to gain a distinct advantage. So the only advantage left is LeBron James and last night proved just that. Can he continue to carry the Heat? Or are we going to see San Antonio force Miami into their style? Those are just a few reason why this series could be an all-time great Finals clash. The adjustments, the big plays, the critical moments, the questionable calls and finally, the potential for another arena malfunction. The story lines are endless but unfortunately for us, the series has to end at some point. All we hope for is that, as they have done so far, both teams leave it all out on the court. But is it a bit too much to ask for another game 7? The people of Miami and San Antonio certainly hope that their respective team finishes the series sooner than that. We’re getting at least a 5th game but this series feels like it almost has to go at least 6 games. It’s too good for quick and quiet ending. It’s been great early and things look like they’re going up from here. The drama continues tomorrow night (9 ET on ABC) so stayed tuned.