2016-07-13

SAN ANTONIO -- Early Sunday evening, LeBron James will gather his Miami Heat teammates around him and offer a few final words of wisdom before they try to extend their reign as NBA champions. James never rehearses the speech, but already knows what the gist will be. "It would be in the range of, Why not us?" James said Saturday. "Why not us? History is broken all the time. And obviously we know were against the greatest of odds." Against the greatest of odds, against maybe the greatest of San Antonio Spurs teams, too. Both are very much against the Heat now, and both are winning. The Spurs are a victory away from their fifth championship, and will go for it at home Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Spurs are the 32nd team in NBA history to hold a 3-1 lead in the finals. All 31 of the previous teams have won the title. "History is made to be broken, and why not me be a part of it? That would be great," James said. "That would be a great story line, right? But well see what happens. Ive got to live in the moment, though, before we even get to that point." The Spurs have the same way of thinking. They took command of the finals in stunning fashion by not just winning in Miami, but winning twice -- and winning big. San Antonio won Games 3 and 4 on the road by a combined 40 points, never trailing by more than two in either contest and running out to 25-point leads in each. "Weve got to act like were coming into it like its a road game," Spurs guard Danny Green said. "Its a mentality thing. We have to come up with the same mentality we do on the road and try to protect home court and play with desperation." There was no talk from the Spurs on Saturday about closing in on a title, or anything remotely close to that topic. They thought they had it wrapped up with 28 seconds left in Game 6 last season against Miami and saw it slip away -- so even with a 3-1 lead and being at home instead the road for this potential clinching situation, its pretty clear that San Antonio isnt willing to leave anything to chance. "Theyre going to come out and give us their best punch possible," Spurs star Tim Duncan said. "We know that theyre back-to-back champs and theyve been in this situation before and they have all the confidence in the world that they can win these games. So we have to do just the same. Come out there and say, hey, were going to take it little by little, quarter by quarter, and see what happens." That all sounds good, and he meant every word. Thing is, the Heat -- these Heat, anyway -- havent been in this situation before. Since James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up, the Heat have never trailed 3-1 in a series. Until now. "Were not so entitled or jaded that were above having to fight for it, and thats what it is right now," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Its competition. So weve got to find a way to fight and get this next game, and thats what its all about." Miami took a day off Friday. Mario Chalmers played with his son, James watched some film and rested at home, Udonis Haslem tried to relax with family. Wade, who missed nine of his first 10 shots -- raising questions about his health -- went a different way. He went into the gym, by himself, looking for answers. "I have very good reason that everything could change," Wade said. "As I continue to say throughout the season, its a game-to-game thing." Wade was down 2-0 in the 2006 finals, and trailed by 13 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of that series against Dallas. The Heat won that championship in six games. "You have to pull from your experiences," Wade said, "and know where you came from to know where youre trying to go." That also applies to the Spurs. Losing the last two games of the finals last year still stings San Antonio. That series was portrayed widely as the Spurs last hurrah -- an aging team with old stars, theres no way they could come back from something as devastating as letting the 2013 championship slip away, right? Wrong. The Spurs finished with the best record in the regular season, and are one win shy of just being the best team, period. "Whatever success anyone has is due to a lot of factors," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Some of it is not even your doing. Sometimes things just happen. So success is a pretty complicated thing." So are comebacks. But James is eager for the chance. "For me, its like you either dont make the playoffs or you win a championship," James said. "Theres no in-between." Brandon Thomas Jersey. -- Sam Lacey, a former NBA All-Star centre who spent most of his 13-year career with the Kansas City Kings, has died. Bradley Pinion 49ers Jersey.Nor for the Seahawks, Cardinals, Cowboys, Patriots and Broncos.Week 15 saw defending Super Bowl champion Seattle secure its passage to the playoffs with a 35-6 rout of Arizona on Sunday night. http://www.sf49ersteamshop.com/authentic-jimmie-ward-49ers-jersey/. -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Aaron Lynch 49ers Jersey. Whether its a sign of things to come remains to be seen, but that question will likely be answered within the next week. Nash is the biggest name in the NHL rumour mill heading toward the Feb. Jeff Driskel Jersey. Just two days after his third-round finish of Rua at UFC Fight Night 38 in Natal, Brazil, Henderson (30-11) tweeted at UFC president Dana White requesting a chance to replace injured middleweight champion Chris Weidman and face "The Dragon" at UFC 173 on May 24 in Las Vegas.MIAMI -- They got their rings before the game, then a challenge as it was winding down. The Miami Heat responded to both. Shane Battier went 4 for 4 from 3-point range, including a critical one from the right corner with 1:33 remaining, and the Heat wasted most of what was a 25-point lead before holding off Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 107-95 on Tuesday night in the season-opener for both teams. "You never know what to expect when youre trying to keep the main thing the main thing, and thats the game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But you cant deny the emotions and what a special moment it was for everybody in the organization because we know how difficult that was and how harrowing that was last season. So it was great to actually get the win after that to cap off a very good night for the Miami Heat." LeBron James had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Miami, which got its 2013 NBA championship rings and raised the franchises third banner in a pregame ceremony. The Heat trailed 9-2 early, then outscored Chicago 52-24 over the remainder of the first half. Rose finished with 12 points in 34 minutes in his first game since a serious knee injury in April 2012. Carlos Boozer had 31 points and seven rebounds for Chicago, which got within eight points in the final minutes. But Battiers right-corner 3 -- a staple for the Heat -- snuffed out the comeback, and Miami wasnt in trouble again. "Were not trying to pull close. There were a lot of corrections that we have to make," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It always comes back to the same thing -- our defence and our rebounding. And if we could have taken better care of the ball early on, we would have been in position to win down the stretch." Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Battier finished with 14 and Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each had 13 for Miami, which had seven players score in double figures. Ray Allen and Norris Cole each scored 11 for Miami. Rose shot 4 for 15 for the Bulls. "I think we had a lot to do with it," Allen said. Said Rose: "If anything, Im disappointed in the loss. My performance, I can easily change that by making shots and keep down the turnovers." By halftime, Miami was rolling, up 54-33 -- putting the game on pace for a 108-66 final, which wouldd have exactly matched the score of the game in 2006 when Chicago came into Miami and spoiled the Heat franchises first ring night.dddddddddddd Not this time, though the Bulls made it plenty interesting down the stretch. A layup by Butler with 5:34 left got the Bulls within 15, and after he missed the ensuing free throw, the rebound made its way to Kirk Hinrich -- who made a 3-pointer that cut Miamis lead to 91-79. Hinrich fouled out on the ensuing Miami possession. Wade scored seconds later, the Heat followed that with a stop, and James simply overpowered Luol Deng in the post on the next trip to restore the 16-point lead. But again, the Bulls werent done, cutting the lead to 95-87 on a drive by Boozer with 2:47 left. They would get no closer, and James raved about Miamis balance. "Its a team game," James said. "Thats what this team is put together for." Roses start was promising early, with two drives for impressive scores. The Bulls led 15-10 when Rose checked out for the first time with 3:36 left in the opening quarter. When he returned, the lead was gone for good. The Heat outscored the Bulls 13-3 in Roses first stint on the bench, turning a five-point lead into a five-point deficit, and by then the Heat were off and running. Over a 4-minute stretch of the second quarter, everything changed. Roses surgically repaired knee might be fine, but in the basketball vernacular, Cole broke the ankles of the 2011 NBA MVP -- starting a run that turned what was a tight game into a romp. Cole faked out Rose on the dribble, causing the Bulls star to tumble over, and the Heat reserve connected on an 18-foot jumper that sent the Miami bench leaping from its seats. "There was a lot of emotions going on," Cole said. That began the 17-0 run. The Bulls missed nine straight shots, Rose getting blocked by Bosh on one, and the Heat went to work. Miami shot 7 for 10 during the burst, which was capped by a driving layup by James with 4:23 left, and suddenly the Heat led 41-20. It was a runaway, and became a grind-it-out win. NOTES: Going back to last seasons Eastern Conference semifinals, Miami has won five straight games over the Bulls. ... James is 31 points shy of 25,000 for his career, if including regular-season and playoff games. He would be the 28th player in NBA history to reach that milestone. China Jerseys  Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '

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