dwyane wade

Miami guard Dwyane Wade said the Heat may have paid the price for their gruelling seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers as the San Antonio Spurs took advantage of late turnovers and missed opportunities to win game one of the Finals 92-88.

The Spurs took care of Memphis in four games in the Western Conference final, a full week before Miami’s game seven against the Pacers and while there is always a debate over ‘rust v rest’ as an advantage, Wade felt the Heat had tired.

“I thought that we were a little fatigued, honestly, in the fourth quarter, looking around,” Wade, who had 18 points, told reporters.

“We looked like a team that came off a seven-game series. I thought we got some shots we wanted but we were a little careless at times as well. We turned it over,” he said.

“We did a great job all game but having five turnovers in the fourth quarter isn’t going to win you a game, especially not in the Finals.

“We’ll be better prepared next time and hopefully make better decisions in the fourth quarter.”

The five Miami turnovers in the final quarter resulted in six points for the Spurs.

Reported by Simon Evans of Reuters