SAN ANTONIO (Sporting Alert) — All-Star point guard Tony Parker will play for the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, despite picking up a minor injury Tuesday night in the Spurs’ Game 3 victory.
EVENT: NBA FINALS – GAME 4
DATE: Thu, Jun 13 9:00 PM ET
LIVE TV: ABC/WatchESPN
PLACE: AT&T Center
Parker was doubtful for the contest for the game of a slight right hamstring strain with head coach Gregg Popovich saying that he would wait until game time before making a decision on whether to play him our not.
However, the talented creator revealed “I’ll be ready to go” in Game 4 and Popovich told reporters Thursday morning that he expects the veteran player to feature in the game at AT&T Center.
San Antonio jumped all over the Mimai Heat in Game 3 and registered a one-sided 113-77 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the seven game series.
The home side will start slight favourites to go 3-1 up on Thursday night, but Parker has warned that the defending champions will respond to the Game 3 blowout.
“They’re going to play a lot better,” Parker said on Thursday. “They’re going to come out very aggressive, very physical.
“It’s a big game tonight. We’re going to have to be ready to match that.”
LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade are expected to respond for the Heat, just as Spurs’ star players Manu Ginobilli, Parker and Tim Duncan bounced back from the Game 2 hammering.
Meanwhile, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra could inject Mike Miller in his starting lineup at the expense of Udonis Haslem.
Miller has been in good for in the Finals so far and could be reward for his impressive shooting.
Danny Green, who scored 27 points and knocked down 7-of-9 from beyond the arc and Gary Neal, who finished with 24 points and hit 6-for-10 from three pointers off the bench will be hoping to deliver the same kind of performance in Game 4.
