# 2013 NBA playoffs The 2013 [NBA playoffs](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-playoffs) was the postseason tournament of the [National Basketball Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-basketball-association)'s 2012-13 season, won by the [Miami Heat](https://www.edgepedia.org/miami-heat), who defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-3 in the NBA Finals to repeat as league champions.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) LeBron James won Finals MVP after averaging 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game in the series.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) The postseason is remembered for Game 6 of the Finals, in which Ray Allen's 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left forced overtime and kept Miami's title hopes alive.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) | Key fact | Detail | |---|---| | League champion | Miami Heat, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 4-3 in the Finals[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) | | Finals MVP | LeBron James (25.3 points / 10.9 rebounds / 7.0 assists per game)[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) | | Playoff scoring leader | LeBron James, 596 total points; he also led in assists (152) and win shares (5.2)[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) | | Playoff rebounding leader | Tim Duncan, 214 total rebounds[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) | | Defining moment | Ray Allen's corner 3 with 5.2 seconds left in Finals Game 6 sent the game to overtime; Miami won in overtime and then took Game 7[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) | | Finals format | Last Finals played under the 2-3-2 schedule; the Board of Governors approved a 2-2-1-1-1 format on October 23, 2013, effective with the 2014 Finals[3](https://pr.nba.com/nba-finals-format-change-2014/) | ## The Finals [The Finals](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-finals) matched the Heat against the Spurs and ran seven games from June 6 to June 20, 2013. [San Antonio](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio) won the opener 92-88 in Miami, and Miami answered 103-84 in Game 2. The Spurs then took control with a 113-77 rout in Game 3 and a 114-104 win in Game 5, while Miami won Game 4 109-93.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) The winner of Games 2 through 5 won each of those games by ten or more points.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) **Game 6.** With the Spurs seconds away from a championship and leading by three with 20 seconds left, James missed a 3-pointer taken early in the shot clock. [Chris Bosh](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-bosh) grabbed the offensive rebound and passed to [Ray Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-allen), who made a corner 3 to tie the game. Miami won 103-100 in overtime on June 18, swinging the series momentum to the Heat.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) • [1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) Miami then survived Game 7 at home to capture its second consecutive championship.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) ## Road to the Finals **Eastern Conference.** Miami swept [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee) 4-0 in the first round, beat Chicago 4-1 in the semifinals, and met Indiana in a seven-game conference finals series, winning Game 7 to reach a third straight Finals.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) The other Eastern first-round series went to Chicago over Brooklyn 4-3, Indiana over Atlanta 4-2, and New York over Boston 4-2.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) **Western Conference.** San Antonio swept the [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-lakers) 4-0, beat Golden State 4-2 in the semifinals, and ousted Memphis in four quick games in the conference finals.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city), the defending Western Conference champion, lost All-Star point guard [Russell Westbrook](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-westbrook) to a torn right lateral meniscus in its first-round series against Houston. The Thunder won that series 4-2 but fell to Memphis 4-1 in the semifinals.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) Golden State upset Denver in six games, a series in which Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson brought the "Splash Brothers" into the national consciousness.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) ## Format change after the season The 2013 Finals was the last played under the 2-3-2 format, in which the team with home-court advantage hosted Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 and its opponent hosted Games 3, 4, and 5. On October 23, 2013, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved a shift to a 2-2-1-1-1 schedule beginning with the 2014 Finals, aligning the Finals with every other round of the playoffs and adding an extra day between Games 6 and 7. The league had previously used the 2-2-1-1-1 schedule from 1957 to 1984, except 1978.[3](https://pr.nba.com/nba-finals-format-change-2014/) ## Legacy NBA.com's season review ranks the 2013 Finals among the best in league history, despite the lopsided margins in Games 2 through 5, because of the Game 6 reversal.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) James led the postseason in points, assists, and win shares, and [Tim Duncan](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-duncan) led in rebounds.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) ## References 1. [2013 NBA Playoffs Summary, Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2013.html) 2. [Season Review: 2012-13, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-2012-13) 3. [NBA Board of Governors unanimously approves format change for The Finals, NBA Communications](https://pr.nba.com/nba-finals-format-change-2014/) --- *Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › NBA and WNBA (North American professional basketball) › NBA and WNBA seasons, champions, and records › NBA seasons and team seasons › NBA playoffs* *Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026* *Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.* License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license