The San Antonio Spurs burst away from the Miami Heat

San Antonio blitzed the Heat in the opening quarter at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami with Kawhi Leonard scoring 16 points, as the Spurs leapt out to a 41-25 lead at the first break.

The Spurs stretched their lead to 21 points by half-time and, although Miami reduced the visitors' advantage to 11 at the end of the third term, Leonard added seven points in the final quarter to thwart the Heat and lead San Antonio to a 19-point triumph.

The win sees San Antonio lead the series 2-1 ahead of Thursday's game four in Miami, as the Spurs attempt to get revenge on the Heat for last year's NBA Finals.

The Spurs led the 2013 NBA Finals 2-1 before Miami won three of the next four games to prevail 4-3 and claim their second consecutive championship.

Leonard top-scored for San Antonio on Tuesday with 29 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while Tony Parker and Danny Green added 15 each for the Spurs.

For Miami, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both notched 22 points.

Down 71-52 at half-time, the Heat responded with a 12-6 run to begin the third quarter and scored 10 of the last 15 points of the term to edge within touching distance of San Antonio.

But the home side got no closer than 10 points in the fourth stanza, as the Spurs bounced back from a tight defeat in game two to take the lead in the title-deciding series.