SAN ANTONIO (Sporting Alert) — The Miami Heat begin their quest for a third successive NBA Championship when they take on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the finals at the AT&T Center in Texas.

The Finals are Live on ABC and WatchESPN.com: at 9 p.m. ET

Miami v Spurs is also a repeat of last year’s championship game, which the Heat won and clinched back-to-back tittles.

San Antonio (62-20) knocked off Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals last week in six games to move into the deciding series.

When the series starts Thursday night, veterans, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker will be seeking to win their 4th NBA title together and they will start the quest with home court advantage.

Defending champions Miami (54-28), slight favorites to lift the title again this season, eliminated the Indiana Pacers for the third successive year after winning the East Championship series in six games.

Last year’s final went all the way through to Game 7, with the Miami Heat winning the last two games of the series to lift the tile and pundits are again predicting yet another challenging battle between the defensive powerhouses.

Parker is expected to play Thursday night, despite being bothered by an ankle injury that forced him to sit out the entire second half and overtime in Game 6 against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals on Saturday.