Miami Heat superstar unable to finish the game as the Spurs surge.
The aptly named Miami Heat were made to swelter in the AT&T arena in the first game of the NBA finals against the San Antonio Spurs after an electrical fault left the arena without air conditioning.
Down by single figure margins in the fourth quarter, LeBron James looked to life his side to an important win on the road.
However, he needed to be helped from the court after motioning to the bench twice, as the temperature inside the arena reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Heat after the game confirmed James was suffering from cramp was on an IV drip to replace the fluids.
However, the Miami superstar had a different slant on the difficult conditions and could be heard during the game saying to his teammates “they’re trying to smoke us out of here.”
Miami forward Chris Bosh was asked after the game if they were the toughest conditions he had played in, to which he replied; “I’m from Dallas”.
Ray Allen did admit the team “let go of the rope” when James left the court, with San Antonio Spurs veteran Tim Duncan saying the Heat players were not the only ones finding playing difficult.
“Don’t know what happened to LeBron,” Duncan said. “But I think all of us were feeling the heat and all of us are a little dehydrated.”
“In this situation I wasn’t worried about it,” Duncan said. “I was trying to get that lead, trying to get that win.”
The AT&T Arena issued a statement after the game saying they apolgised for “any inconvenience” and were working on the issue ahead of Game 2, on
James finished with 25 points in 33 minutes of game time before being taken from the court.
After the game he left with a notable limp and was walking slowly.
LeBron James walks out slowly after a Game 1 loss. #NBAFinals https://t.co/AzKBhFiESb
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 6, 2014
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