The San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat will begin their 2014 NBA Finals series on Thursday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Spurs are looking for pay back after letting the title slip away from their hands last season, blowing a 3-2 series lead, marked by a late-game collapse in game six of that series.
The Spurs were on the verge of dethroning the Heat in game six last year, but Ray Allen sank a huge three-pointer, which eventually led to an overtime win for Miami to force a decider.
Tim Duncan, who missed two crucial shots down the stretch that could have given the Spurs their fifth NBA championship, said that the painful memory of their loss is still haunting him.
"It lasts. I have a very good memory, especially for my misses and losses. You keep those, you learn from them and you hope to change them next time," Duncan said. "That stuck with me and obviously it's always in the back of my mind, and every time I see anything to do with that, it pops right back in."
The Heat, on the other hand, are looking to prove that their win last year was no fluke,
Heat superstar LeBron James admitted that they felt slighted when fans and analysts said that they were lucky to win the title last season, and they are determined to silence their critics this year.
"We feel slighted," James said. "I can't sit here and lie to you, we do. ... It went seven [games], it wasn't like it was 3-0 and they had us in Game 4 and we took it and won four straight. If you look at the numbers, look at the numbers, the lead changes, the ties and the points in that series, it's almost even."
This year's series will be a bit different, though, because the Spurs will have homecourt advantage. The Heat benefited from their homecourt advantage last year, winning the last two games at home to clinch the title.
But like last year, Heat superstar guard Dwyane Wade is expecting a close series.
"Last year was an unbelievable series and it went down to the very end," Wade said. "We won the series by a total of five points, you know? That's how close it was. But it was a very even series. I think this year it could be another great series."
Game 1 will start at 9 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted live on ABC with live stream available via WatchESPN.
