MIAMI - The San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat and the sweltering heat at the AT&T Center in a bizarre first game of the NBA Finals that saw LeBron James leave with cramp.

Due to an air conditioning failure, it was an uncomfortable evening for the players and fans, and James couldn’t last the course as he was benched for the final few minutes.

Instead, it was San Antonio who finished the stronger on a 31-9 run to record a 110-95 victory in game one of the NBA Finals rematch from last season.

The Spurs, helped by 21 points and 10 rebounds from Tim Duncan, outscored Miami 36-17 in the fourth quarter to pull away.

James, who finished with 25 points, said: ‘After I came out of the game, they kind of took off. It was frustrating sitting out and not be able to help our team.’

Spurs point guard Tony Parker started the game despite injury fears, and he scored 19 points with eight assists.

Manu Ginobili once again led San Antonio’s impressive bench output, scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds.

‘It was tough on both teams,’ Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ‘They were pretty dead. We tried to get guys in and out... it was really hot out there.’ Game two takes place in San Antonio on Sunday.