NBA: Once a cast-off, Danny Green shoots way into record books

San Antonio • Danny Green once wasn't good enough to be on the same team as LeBron James.

Now he's an NBA Finals record-holder, and a big reason why the MVP's chances of a second consecutive championship are in serious trouble.

Setting a Finals mark with 25 3-pointers, Green finished with 24 points and went 6 of 10 from long range in Game 5 against the Miami Heat, helping lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 114-104 victory Sunday night.

Deemed too raw and unpolished to remain on the roster with James and Cleveland three years ago, Green is the most prolific 3-point shooter on the NBA's biggest stage.

"It seems everything is going right for me. I feel truly blessed," Green said. "The basketball gods are in our favor right now."

Green is 25 for 38 from long range in the Finals — 66 percent — having hit at least four 3-pointers in every game against Miami except one.

Green set the mark playing against Heat guard Ray Allen, who set the record when he hit 22 3-pointers while helping Boston win its most recent title in 2008.

Yet even Allen — the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers — didn't shoot with this kind of precision in the Finals. Allen, who has 11 3s against the Spurs, shot 52 percent in that six-game win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's an honor to be even playing on the same floor as some of these guys. Growing up, I watched him play all the time," Green said of Allen. "To think I broke a record of his is surreal."

Green still has at least one game left to add to his total, starting with Game 6 on Tuesday night in Miami.

Spurs forward Tim Duncan said he hopes Green doesn't cool off anytime soon.

"He's been unbelievable. Especially on this stage," Duncan said. "He's been shooting the ball so well. We're asking him to defend Dwyane Wade and LeBron and all these guys. He's got a lot on his shoulders and he's stepped up and answered the bell."

The Spurs are one win away from a fifth championship in the Duncan era.