The Miami Heat have to defeat the Spurs tonight or they risk being out of the series sooner than anyone expected. Tonight, from Miami, they get their chance to tie the series at one game apiece.

Down 1-0 after a record regular season that goes for naught without another title, the Heat can turn their moods around with a victory over San Antonio on Sunday night in Game 2.

Back in the finals for a third straight year, the Heat have lost some of the ability to enjoy the ride. With exorbitant expectations, all that matters is the destination.

But San Antonio, absent from this stage for six years, is soaking up what could be its last shot for Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

After all, Duncan is pretty ancient -- at least, according to those wise-cracking Spurs.

"Older than dirt," coach Gregg Popovich called him this week.

Parker listed him at age 50 -- Duncan is actually 37 -- and the repeated ribbing appears almost out of character for a franchise that was often considered the definition of basketball blandness.

Despite the notion they're old, the Spurs are actually the younger, less-experienced team in these finals. Miami has nine players in their 30s to the six on the Spurs, and their Big Three and Bonner are the only Spurs to have played in the NBA Finals.

That makes it easier for the Spurs to enjoy this trip more than when they were the team expected to be here every year.

"We definitely are having fun," Parker said. "I think we appreciate every moment. We don't take anything for granted, because it's been a long time. It's been six years. Felt like forever. After the Memphis series, there was a lot of emotion."

Heat veteran Shane Battier wasn't exactly sold on the notion of this Spurs transformation into a happy-go-lucky group.

"Don't believe them, first of all," he said. "They are extreme competitors and they have a level of self-deprecation I think that is part of them, but don't buy it for one second. Those guys are killers. They're cut-throat and they will stomp on you if need be, and we're the same way.

"We appreciate the opportunity to play in the finals. Difficult to get here. Hardest thing you'll do in this game is to try and win a championship, so we appreciate the opportunity and we want to make the most of it," he said.

The game will be broadcasted live on ABC Television Network but fans can listen in their local ESPN affiliate.