Heat, Spurs face a Game 7 for which they've long prepared

If each team could nominate one player with the cold-bloodedness to perform in the closing minutes of a Game 7, it would probably be Allen for Miami and

Heat, Spurs face a Game 7 for which they've long prepared

If each team could nominate one player with the cold-bloodedness to perform in the closing minutes of a Game 7, it would probably be Allen for Miami and Duncan for San Antonio. Duncan was 0 for 5 in the fourth quarter and OT of Game 6, but that had more to do with the Heat's intensified defense and his own fatigue at age 37 in the midst of generating 30 points and 17 rebounds in 44 minutes. The inbounds pass Duncan threw with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime across the court to lead Danny Green into the corner was the equivalent of Peyton Manning or Tom Brady finding a receiver in the end zone in the final seconds of a playoff game. Chris Bosh (who had promised that Green wouldn't be left open in Game 6) blocked that shot, but the pass was one that few players would have dared to attempt with such confidence.

The players who thrive in a Game 7 are those who are familiar with the demands. Look for Ginobili to make a strong recovery. And then, if the seventh game is tight into the final minutes, watch closely to see who looks most comfortable while others are losing their focus. You'll be looking at the next NBA champion.

Published Jun 19, 2013 | Modified Jun 19, 2013

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Ian Thomsen, who joined the magazine in 1998, is one of SI's top basketball scribes. Along with writing columns and features for SI, Thomsen is a frequent contributor to SI.com. Before joining SI, Thomsen spent six years in Europe as the sports columnist for the International Herald Tribune, the world's largest international English-language daily. While at the paper Thomsen wrote about an array of sports for a global audience, including the major world and European soccer tournaments, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Olympic Games, Ryder Cups, Grand Slam tennis events, Grand Prix auto races and, very rarely, cricket. Thomsen, who graduated from Northwestern with a journalism degree in 1983, was a feature writer for The National Sports Daily during its short, expensive run of 1990-91. His first job was with The Boston Globe, where he covered Doug Flutie's Boston College Eagles and all three of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals of the 1980s. Thomsen was a feature writer at SI before taking on the NBA beat fulltime in 2000. With Luis Fernando Llosa and Melissa Segura, Thomsen covered the 2001 scandal of overaged Little League pitcher Danny Almonte and wrote the first SI cover story on Kobe Bryant in 1998. Thomsen lives with his wife and two children near Boston.