MIAMI -- The San Antonio Spurs are always about the basics, and never has that trait served them better than right now.

The team that doesn't beat itself just beat itself while on the verge of a championship. Missed free throws and turnovers and failure to secure rebounds gave the Miami Heat new life and brought on this seventh game. So the Spurs have retreated further into their fortress of simplicity, trying to frame this Game 7 not as a punishment for their mistakes but as a reward for their work: a single shot at a championship, a proposition that any team in the league would accept.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan embrace the challenge of Thursday's Game 7. Derick E. Hingle/USA TODAY Sports

They certainly aren't concerned with all of the statements they could make, perceptions they could alter or historical standing they could garner.

That stuff is the province of the Heat, who always seem fully cognizant that their reputations are on the line. The Heat aren't just battling for a championship, they're fighting for the very concept of them, the notion that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh could assemble, mix in a few pieces and win multiple championships.

They are thinking beyond.

"I want to go down as one of the greatest," James said. "I want our team to go down as one of the greatest teams. And we have an opportunity to do that."

All of that's in play for Tim Duncan and the Spurs, they just don't seem so interested in it, even though this would rank as the greatest of the franchise's potential five championships. The Spurs have never trailed in a Finals series, and this road Game 7 against the NBA's best team in the regular season qualifies as their most perilous predicament.

"It's not about the situation or what has led up to it," Duncan said. "It's a great story for everybody else, but we're here for one reason. One reason only: It's to try to win this game [Thursday]."

It would be even more remarkable if they could prevail 48 hours after that wrenching defeat of Game 6, when a five-point lead evaporated in less than half a minute of game time.

"It's tough for any team," Danny Green said. "But we have a veteran group. I'm assuming and I'm hoping that we'll get over it."