Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has revealed that he was pleased with the fitness levels of power forward LeBron James in his side's victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Heat tied the NBA Finals at 1-1 with their 98-96 win as the 29-year-old scored 35 points, days after being forced off in the series opener as he suffered from cramps when the air conditioning system inside the AT&T Center broke during the game.
Spoelstra told reporters: "I said I wouldn't initially let him go the 12 minutes. We would go from there. So I would take him out in the first quarter, take him out in the third quarter, give him an extra sub in the second quarter, if he needed it, and communicate through the course of the game.
"He was able to play 37-and-a-half minutes but you could tell he was getting enough rest. During the course of the game and with the timeouts he seemed fresh at the end."
The Heat and the Spurs face off in game three of the series.
