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Scorching defense powering Heat

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:23 AM Miami (2-2) at San Antonio (1-3) 8:00 p.m. EST

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- If defense truly wins championships, the Miami Heat are headed for the NBA Finals.

After a smothering performance in their last game, the Heat look to shut down the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

Rookie Mario Chalmers set a franchise record with nine steals as Miami had a season-high 18 during a 106-83 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Those steals allowed the Heat to run the floor throughout the game, finishing with a 21-8 advantage in fast-break points. They also scored 32 points off turnovers.

Miami leads the league, averaging 11.8 steals per game and is forcing an NBA-high 22 turnovers a contest.

The Heat haven't won back-to-back games yet and may have a hard time against the Spurs, who are 20-1 at home all-time against Miami. San Antonio has won 10 straight games against the Heat dating to a 90-79 loss on December 23, 1996.

Tony Parker scored 55 points and added 10 assists to lead the Spurs to their first win, a 129-125 double-overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Parker joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only other player to record at least 55 points and reach double digits in assists during a single game.