How Chris Bosh capitalized on the Spurs' defensive breakdowns

Miami Heat forward LeBron James may have captured the spotlight with his 35-point, 10-rebound performance, but the unsung hero of Game 2 was undoubtedly forward Chris Bosh.

Being robbed of the limelight is nothing new for Bosh. Since joining forces with Dwyane Wade and James in Miami, Bosh has found himself more often on the butt-end of jokes, rather than being perched on praise.

Bosh's unique combination of shooting, size, quickness, length and instinct renders him indispensable to Miami's success. Just ask his coach Erik Spoelstra:

"[With] how the league has changed and how many bigs can do what he can do, you can count them on one hand. I think he’s the most dynamic, versatile forward in the NBA."

His brilliance was on full display late in the fourth quarter Sunday, as he capitalized on two rare mistakes from the San Antonio Spurs to even the Finals at 1-1.

A premium stretch-four, at his best

With the Heat trailing 93-92 with less than two minutes left, the Heat put the ball into James' hands. 

Miami threw a curveball at the Spurs by having point guard Mario Chalmers set the ball-screen. The move was strange, as point guards usually handle the ball rather than set the screen - but it worked to great effect.

On his first attempt at a screen, Chalmers completely whiffs, and James simply rejects it. Chalmers then resets and gets it right the second time around. Spurs guard Tony Parker, perhaps because he rarely ever defends the screener on pick-and-rolls, gets trapped on the wrong side of Chalmers, which actually serves to screen his teammate Kawhi Leonard.

The result? James works his way into the middle, Tim Duncan has to rotate, and Bosh is left wide open from deep:

Although the play was initiated by a blunder by the Spurs, it was made possible by Bosh's ability to hit the three - a skill he has worked tirelessly to develop since last season. Whatever he did is working; Bosh is shooting 43.3 percent from deep so far in the postseason.

The mobility and basketball sense of a playmaker

Bosh's triple gave the Heat a two-point lead, and James stretched it to three with less than 30 seconds to go.

The Spurs opted to not foul, which made sense given the situation. Instead, they pressured and forced the ball out of James' hands as Wade's defender, Boris Diaw, rushed out to the perimeter to trap James.

The swing pass found its way to Bosh, who was camped out at the three-point line. Bosh patiently assessed the situation, and used his craftiness and ability to break down the Spurs once again.

Duncan made a rare misstep on defense, hedging out way too far on Bosh. The recency of Bosh's three made closing out a viscerally obvious choice. However, the extra step on the perimeter allowed Bosh to use his quickness to drive past Duncan.

Once he got into the paint, the Spurs were toast. Diaw was forced to step up and contain Bosh's drive. This left Wade wide open under the basket, and Bosh made no mistake in dropping the dime:

The shot ended up as the game-winner, as the Heat won 98-96.