Friday, June 21, 2013

LeBron leads Heat to second straight title

2013 NBA champions, Lebron James, Miami Heat, Miami Heat champions, MVP

LeBron James and the Miami Heat are once again the NBA Champions for the second straight year as the team repeated as they beat the San Antonio Spurs in a decisive Game 7 Thursday night.

James, 28, is the Finals MVP after he scored 37 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and took control of the game during the final minutes before ultimately prevailing over the Spurs in Miami, 95-88. James was the catalyst when it counted the most with the Heat clinging to a two point lead with 30 seconds left.

James nailed a jumper to make it 92-88 with 27.9 seconds left on the clock. Moments later he stole the ball and was fouled in the process. James, often dubbed King James, hit both foul shots to put Miami up six with 23.5 seconds remaining. The sea of Miami Heat fans, all dressed in white, began celebrating as the clock ticked down to zero.

The win capped off another stellar season in James' already storied career. He led Miami to a 66-18 regular season record and captured his fourth straight league MVP trophy. As fans and sports pundits continue to compare him with the all time greats like Michael Jordan, James is not listening to any of it.

The Heat became the NBA's first repeat champions since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009-10, and the first team to beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals.

Dwyane Wade scored 23 points and won his third NBA title. Shane Battier had 18 on six 3-pointers.

The series clinching game followed Tuesday night's wild Game 6, where the Heat rallied late to push the game into overtime and force a Game 7.

On Thursday night, the Spurs bounced back from coming so close to a championship in Game 6 and were led by star forward Tim Duncan, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Duncan, a four-time NBA champion, missed a shot and follow attempt right under the basket with about 50 seconds left and the Spurs trailing by two.

Kawhi Leonard hit a 25-foot three point jumper to bring the Spurs to within two, but that's as close they would get in the final two minutes of the game before Battier nailed a three and James took over from there.

Spurs player Tony Parker was just 3-for-12 with 10 points, four assists while Manu Ginobili had 18 points.

Check out this SITE for authentic Miami Heat sports memorabilia.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Miami Heat force Game Seven in overtime thriller 100-103

Miami Heat , NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs,

James powered Miami to a frantic fourth-quarter rally and overtime escape as the Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-100 on Tuesday night to extend the NBA Finals as far as they can go and keep their repeat chances alive.

Losing his headband but keeping his cool while playing the entire second half and overtime, James finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, making the go-ahead basket with 1:43 remaining in the extra period.

Tim Duncan scored 30 points for the Spurs, his most in an NBA Finals game since Game 1 in 2003, but was shut out after the third quarter. He added 17 rebounds.

Game 7 will be here Thursday, the NBA's first do-or-die game to determine its champion since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010.

The Spurs looked headed to a fifth title in five chances when they built a 13-point lead with under 4 minutes left in the third quarter, then grabbed a five-point edge late in regulation after blowing the lead.

But James hit a 3-pointer before Ray Allen tied it with another with 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Tony Parker had 19 points and eight assists, but shot just 6 of 23 from the field.

The Spurs had one final chance down 103-100, but Chris Bosh blocked Danny Green's 3-pointer from the corner as time expired.

Bosh had said Green wouldn't get open the way he has all series - and he didn't.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Manu Ginobili Lead Spurs to Game 5 win

Manu Ginobili broke out of a slump in a big way with 24 points and 10 assists in his first start of the season, and the Spurs beat the Miami Heat 114-104 to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.

Tony Parker scored 26 points, Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Ginobili had his highest-scoring game of the season as the Spurs became the first team to shoot 60 percent in a finals game in four years.

Danny Green smashed the NBA Finals record for 3-pointers, hitting six more and scoring 24 points. Kawhi Leonard finished with 16, but the stage was set when Ginobili trotted out with Duncan, Parker and the rest of starters in what could have been the last finals home game for a trio that's meant so much to San Antonio.

One more victory and the Spurs' Big Three, not Miami's, will be the one that rules the NBA.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 25 points for the Heat, who host Game 6 on Tuesday night. They need a victory to force the first Game 7 in the finals since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Big 3 help Heat even NBA Finals with Spurs

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh lead the Heat to even the series. James had 33 points and 11 rebounds after failing to break 20 points in any of the first three games of the series, and Wade scored 32 points, 11 more than his previous high this postseason.

Bosh matched his playoff high with 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, he and Wade supplying the baskets that finally put the Spurs away for good midway through the fourth quarter. Three players, 85 points.

Tim Duncan scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have one more game here on Sunday. They fell to 10-3 at home all-time in the finals, failing to back up their 113-77 victory in Game 3 that was the third-most lopsided score in the history of the championship series.

James insisted he would be better after shooting 7 of 21 from the field with no free throws in that game, saying he was the star and it was his job to lead his team. He was 15 of 25 on Thursday.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Spurs rout Heat 113-77 in Game 3 of NBA Finals

Danny Green and Gary Neal explodes and rain the Heat with three pointers. Green made seven of the Spurs' finals-record 16 3-pointers, Tim Duncan had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and the Spurs clobbered the Heat 113-77 on Tuesday night to take 2-1 lead in the series.

Green scored 27 points and Gary Neal made six 3-pointers while scoring 24 as San Antonio went 16 of 32 from behind the arc, rolling to the third-biggest victory in finals history.

"Those guys shot incredibly,'' Duncan said. ''Gave us the breathing room when we needed it."

Game 4 is Thursday here, where the Heat are 3-22 in the regular season and so far zero wins and one really bad beating in the postseason.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Heat beat Spurs in Game 2 to tie NBA Finals

Chalmers led the Heat, James broke out to finish it with a flurry and the Heat used a 33-5 run to rout the San Antonio Spurs 103-84 on Sunday night and even the series at one game apiece.

James missed 10 of 13 shots through three quarters and the Heat trailed by a point late in the period before unleashing the lethal brand of basketball that led them to a franchise-record 66 wins this season.

Chalmers finished with 19 points, and James had 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks - the best on Tiago Splitter's dunk attempt - while shooting only 7 of 17 from the field.

For two days following Game 1, the thought was that James needed to do more for his teammates. Turns out, it was Chalmers and the supporting cast who did something for James.

The Heat made 10 of 19 3-pointers and got 13 points from Ray Allen, and 12 points and 10 rebounds from the previously slumping Chris Bosh.

Danny Green made all six shots, including five 3-pointers, and scored 17 points for the Spurs. They host Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Tony Parker had 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting for the Spurs, who were so precise in their 92-88 victory in Game 1 but threw the ball all over the white-surrounded court Sunday, committing 17 turnovers that led to 19 Miami points.

Tim Duncan shot 3 of 13 and finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Spurs rally to stun Heat in Game 1 of NBA Finals

MIAMI (AP) -- The San Antonio Spurs still have that winning NBA Finals formula of good defense and a little luck on offense.

Tim Duncan overcame a slow start to finish with 20 points and 14 rebounds, Tony Parker banked in a desperation jumper on a broken play with 5.2 seconds left and the Spurs withstood LeBron James' triple-double to beat the Miami Heat 92-88 on Thursday night in a thrilling Game 1.

Parker ended up with 21 points after referees reviewed his shot to make sure it just beat the shot clock, giving San Antonio a four-point edge in the game that was close the whole way.

"We got a little bit lucky in Game 1," Parker said. "Sometimes that's what it takes to win games."
Playing for the championship for the first time since sweeping James' Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007 for their fourth title, the Spurs improved to 5-for-5 in Game 1s, hanging around for three quarters and then blowing by the defending champions midway through the fourth.

Manu Ginobili, the third member of San Antonio's Big Three that has combined for 99 postseason victories together, finished with 13 points, and Danny Green had 12.

"It doesn't matter how we're categorized - old, veterans, whatever you call us, we're in the mix," the 37-year-old Duncan said.

San Antonio turned up its defense in the fourth quarter, limiting Miami to seven points in the first 8 1/2 minutes in returning to the finals just the way it left - with a victory over James.

James had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in his second straight NBA Finals triple-double, but he shot only 7 of 16 against some good defense by Kawhi Leonard, and Miami's offense stalled in the fourth quarter.
''The Spurs are the Spurs,'' James said. ''They're going to put you in positions where you feel uncomfortable offensively and defensively, and every time you make a mistake, they're going to capitalize on it.''
Game 2 is Sunday night.

James became a champion on this floor last year in Game 5 against Oklahoma City, but he hasn't forgotten his first taste of the finals.

Dwyane Wade scored 17 points for the Heat but was shut out in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh had only two of his 13 in the final period.