LeBron James may have been the only casualty but the sauna-like conditions in Game 1 of the NBA Finals caused a lot of pain, frustration and dehydration.
Even the fans were not spared from the steamy conditions when an electrical outage caused the air conditioning to fail Thursday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
James, the MVP of the Finals the last two seasons, was forced from the game in the fourth quarter with leg cramps with his Miami Heat trailing by two. With the world's best player on the sideline, the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 110-95 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
"I could tell at mid-court with seven minutes left in the first quarter that it was very, very warm," said Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of basketball operations.
"The people sitting around me said they thought it was warmer certainly than normal.
"Once the game starts, it's in the hands of the referees. I was sitting in the second row at midcourt -- were it such that the game shouldn't be continued, then they would have come over and said something to me.
"Never did, I never said anything to them regarding the fact that the game should be canceled."
Temperatures reached as high as 90 degrees at courtside. While the players wilted, the 18,000 fans grabbed anything they could find to fan themselves.
HAPPY TO REST
"It was probably tough on both teams," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "Players were pretty dead. So we tried to get guys in and out a little bit more than we usually do.
"Kind of [messes] up the rhythm a little bit but it was mighty hot out there."
James was thankful for the two days' rest until Game 2 on Sunday night [ABC at 8] ET, saying: "I need it, I need it, I need it."
When he left the game with the Heat trailing 94-92, James said: "The best option for me to do was not to move.
"I tried and any little step or nudge, it would get worse. It would lock up worse and my muscles spasmed 10 out of 10. Best thing for me to do was just not to move, and, you know, it was frustrating."
Spurs All-Star power forward Tim Duncan said it was "pretty close" to being the most uncomfortable he's ever been on a basketball court.
"I don't think I've ever played in anything like this," he said. "It was pretty bad out there."
The NBA's Thorn said he feels "very strongly that the condition will be taken care of, and we'll be able to play on Sunday without any problem."
Perhaps the only player who didn't mind the heat was Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
"Me personally it didn't bother me, felt like Europe," said Parker, who grew up in France. "Felt like I was playing in the European Championship. We never have AC in Europe, so it didn't bother me at all."
Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He hit nine of 10 field-goal attempts. Parker added 19 points and eight assists. Manu Ginobili contributed 16 points and 11 assists off the bench.
James topped the Heat with a game-high 25 points.
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