Patty Mills and his red-hot San Antonio Spurs have taken the upper hand in the NBA Finals, trouncing the Miami Heat with one of the best shooting displays in playoff history.
The Spurs won 111-92 on Miami's home court to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The damage was done in the first two quarters, with the Spurs shooting a playoff-record 75.8 per cent from the floor and taking a 71-50 lead into the halftime break.
"I don't think we will ever shoot 76 per cent in a half ever again," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said.
Mills received rave reviews for his performance, but it wasn't just for his solid five points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal.
Mills scrapped hard when that was what the Spurs needed and provided shots of energy when the Heat attempted to claw back the lead in the second half.
In the fourth quarter he dived on the floor for a loose ball and flicked it to team-mate Manu Ginobili who raced away for a dunk.
The Spurs had 11 players who scored, with forward Kawhi Leonard leading all with 29 points and guards Danny Green and Tony Parker each adding 15.
"Patty Mills did a great job," Green said.
The Spurs' other Australian Aron Baynes, who has spent most of the finals on the bench, scored a basket at the end of the game.
After dominating game two in Sunday's victory with 35 points and 10 rebounds, the Heat's LeBron James was relatively tepid with 22 points and five rebounds.
The Spurs cooled off in the second half, but they still ended the game shooting 59.4 per cent.
"They came out at a different gear to what we were playing at," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Game four will be played in Miami on Thursday (Friday AEST).
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