by ldh2013 » Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:36 am
MIAMI -- Here they are again, back on the brink of a championship. . It slipped away from the San Antonio Spurs last year, but it would take something special -- historic, actually -- to stop them now. The Miami Heat would have to make the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history. "Theyre the two-time champs, theyre a great team, and there is still one more game," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "We have to win one more game." Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Spurs routed the Heat again, winning 107-86 on Thursday night to open a commanding 3-1 lead. The Spurs can win their fifth NBA championship with a victory at home in Game 5 on Sunday and avenge their seven-game loss to Miami last year. They have three chances, and the way theyre dominating the Heat, they might need just one. "Im pleased that they performed as well as they did while weve been in Miami, and thats about as far as it goes," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Now weve got to go back home and play as well or better." LeBron James had 28 points and eight rebounds, but Dwyane Wade was just 1 of 10 through three quarters and finished with 10 points. "They smashed us," James said. "Two straight home games got off to awful starts. They came in and were much better than us in these last two games. Its just that simple." No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals, and the way the Heat were outclassed twice on their home floor makes it hard to imagine the two-time champions being the first. "We put ourselves in a position where it is about making history," James added. Parker added 19 points, and Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 57 per cent from the field and are hitting 54 per cent in the series. The Spurs lost twice in Miami to end last years finals, their only defeat in the championship round. They won their two games in South Florida this time by a combined 40 points. San Antonios surprising dominance has Miami on its heels, and unless Miami can figure things out quickly, the Heats two-year championship reign will come to an abrupt end. If this was the last home game of the season in Miami, it looked and sounded nothing like the ones to end the last two years, which featured confetti falling and trophies raised. This one had the unfamiliar sound of boos late in the first half and a chant of "Go Spurs Go!" with under 3 minutes left from the San Antonio fans who remained long after many of Miamis had bolted. A Heat win Sunday would force a Game 6 in Miami Tuesday. The Heat had followed their last 13 post-season losses with a victory, but now at the end of a fourth straight season that has gone the distance, they might be out of gas. Miami seemed to lack the energy -- or maybe effort -- to defend San Antonios precision ball movement for the full 24 seconds, and time after time the Spurs ended up with a shot from somebody who didnt have a defender nearby. Not quite as sharp as when they shot a finals-record 75.8 per cent in the first half Tuesday night, the Spurs were still plenty good enough to open another huge lead by halftime, and they withstood every attempt Miami made to make a run. "We were expecting a reaction from them but we were ready for it, so we just did the same thing," Spurs forward Boris Diaw said. The Spurs knew their defence had to be better, realizing their once-in-a-lifetime, 19-for-21 start in Tuesdays 111-92 Game 3 victory covered the fact that they allowed Miami to make more than 50 per cent in the game. They held Miami to 35 per cent in the first half. "They played great and I can honestly say I dont think any of us were expecting this type of performance," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. San Antonio blew the game open late in the second quarter with seven straight points, capped by Leonards soaring follow dunk that made it 55-33. James, who battled cramps in Game 1, left the court and briefly returned to the locker room midway through the first quarter Thursday. But he had 10 quick points in the third quarter to bring Miami within 13, but San Antonio pushed it to 81-57 after three and never looked back. Notes: Under Popovich, the Spurs have won 15 of the 18 best-of-seven series in which they led 2-1. ... The Heat hadnt lost back-to-back games in the playoffs since dropping three straight against the Boston Celtics in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. . Koufax, whose blazing fastball dominated baseball in the mid-1960s, removed the protective goggles from his eyes and rested his arms on Kershaws broad shoulders. . The Indians are 3 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot after Oakland, Kansas City and Seattle all lost ahead of them earlier in the day. The start of the game was delayed for more than two hours because of rain. .C. -- Lewis Ratcliffe scored twice -- including the winner in overtime -- and added five assists to lift the Vancouver Stealth over the Colorado Mammoth 14-13 in National Lacrosse League action on Friday.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Outfielder Justin Maxwell and the Kansas City Royals agreed to a one-year contract worth $1,325,000, leaving closer Greg Holland and reliever Aaron Crow as their only unsigned players in arbitration. Maxwell gets a substantial raise from the $492,500 he made last year. He was asking for $1.7 million and the Royals had offered $1,075,000. Kansas City previously agreed to one-year contracts with first basemaan Eric Hosmer, infielder Emilio Bonifacio, catcher Brett Hayes and relief pitchers Tim Collins and Luke Hochevar. . . Holland, coming off his first All-Star appearance, asked for $5.2 million and the Royals offered $4.1 million. He made $539,000 last year, when he was 2-1 with a 1.21 ERA and 47 saves. Crow asked for $1.7 million. The Royals offered the same $1.28 million he made last year. ' ' '
