Hot Miami Heat fuel their way to Back-to-Back titles

The Miami Heat made the shots they needed to.  The Spurs didn't.

That's why the city of Miami is celebrating their second straight title after their Game 7 win over the San Antonio Spurs 95-88.

LeBron James had 37 of those 95 points, shooting 12/23 from the field, going 5/10 from downtown and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line.  Dwayne Wade offered 23 points and Shane Battier brought in 18 points off the bench.

LeBron was named the MVP for the second straight year, as for the series, James scored 25.2 points per game, and gathered in 10.8 rebounds a game.

Date	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
6/20	12	23	52	5	10	50	8	8	100	12	4	2	2	0	2	37
6/18	11	26	42	1	5	20	9	12	75	10	11	6	3	1	3	32
6/16	8	22	36	2	4	50	7	9	78	6	8	3	4	0	1	25
6/13	15	25	60	1	2	50	2	4	50	11	4	1	2	2	2	33
6/11	7	21	33	1	5	20	0	0	N/A	11	5	2	2	0	0	15
6/9	7	17	41	1	3	33	2	2	100	8	7	2	3	3	2	17
6/6	7	16	44	1	5	20	3	4	75	18	10	2	0	0	0	18
	67	150		12	34		31	39		76	49	18	16	6	10	177
	FG			3P			FT			10.86	7.00	2.57	2.29	0.86	1.43	25.29

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 24 points as the Spurs made a contest throughout, but towards the end of the game, found it hard to find the bottom of the basket.

And now the debate can continue regarding LeBron's legacy, the Miami Heat and their dynasty standing, lasting up until the teams hit the courts again towards the end of October.

San Antonio spurs their way to Game 3 win

When the Miami Heat went into the half only down by 6, you had to think they were in prime shape for a comeback.  When the gap widened to 15 at the end of the 3rd quarter, you had to wonder what LeBron James had anything up his sleeves.

Midday Recap teaser

THE KING HAS IT HIS WAY

Miami Herald

Jim Rassol | Sun Sentinel via Florida Times-Union

At the end of the first quarter, it looked like it would be a close and tight game.

By the end of the third quarter, it became apparent that LeBron James and company will play again this month as they jumped out to a 76-55 lead.  They would go on to win 99-76.

Turnovers became a big issue for the Pacers, turning the ball over 21 times, most of them coming in the first half.  And although many of those turnovers didn't equate to points for the Heat, it prevented the Pacers from keeping pace with the Heat, who started taking control of the game in the 2nd quarter

Paul George, Game 6's hero, could only muster 7 points on two-for-nine shooting before fouling out of the game.  George Hill didn't fare much better, going 1 for 7 inside the arch and 3 for 7 behind the line for a combined 4 for 14.  He finished with 13 points.  Roy Hibbert was the top player for the Pacers, scoring 18 points on 7/11 shooting, grabbing 8 rebounds.

James went 15/16 from the line on his way to 32 points for the game, and Dwayne Wade backed him up with 21 points.

After winning their fourth conference title since 2006 [Miami Herald], the Heat now advance to face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 set for Thursday night, 8PM (10ABC, WTEN).  [NBA Finals Schedule]

SIX FOR SIX
It was an amazing day on the local diamonds yesterday as State Regionals were held throughout the state.  Six Section 2 teams took to the field with the hopes of making it to the state finals this weekend in Binghamton (Baseball) and Queensbury (Softball).

All 6 teams won.  We'll offer a brief recap, but if you want to know more about the games yesterday, we'll link you to the articles written by those who were there.

BASEBALL
Class A: Queensbury 12, Massena 0 - The Queensbury Spartans started quick, then blew the game open with a 6 run fifth inning as they defeated Massena to set up today's meeting with Cortland at 4PM at the Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany.  [The Post-Star's Greg Brownell Recap]

Class B: Schalmont 10, Beekmantown 3 - A four-hitter from Greg Musk propels Schalmont to the next round, where they face Ogdensburgh Free Academy at Bleecker Stadium today at 4PM.  [Daily Gazette, need log-in for full article]

Class C: Voorheesville 6, Norwood-Norfolk 1 - The Voorheesville Blackbirds advance as they now face Ticonderoga this afternoon at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam.  [The Press-Republican (Plattsburgh) with a preview of today's game - editor's note: Can't seem to locate recap of yesterday's game]

SOFTBALL
Class A: Troy 6, Jamesville-DeWitt 1 - In a game that Troy Record's sportswriter Laura Amato said was "one of their most fundamentally-sound games" this season, the Troy Flying Horses made it one step closer to Queensbury with their 6-1 win over Jamesville-DeWitt.  They'll play Malone tomorrow at SUNY Potsdam. [The Troy Record's Laura Amato article w/video]

Class B: Chatham 12, Canton 0 - Chatham rolls past Canton at SUNY Plattsburgh to set up today's match with Saranac tomorrow at the SUNY Plattsburgh Fieldhouse Complex. [no recap found]

Class C: Greenwich 4, Ticonderoga 1 - The Greenwich Witches are one win away from the State Final Four after Mariah Linnett and Sarah Heimbach shut down Ticonderoga.  They'll play Wednesday against St. Lawrence at SUNY Potsdam [Pete Tobey's recap for The Post-Star]

BRUIN...
The Boston Bruins have taken away the home advantage for the Pittsburgh Penguins with a dominating 6-1 win on Monday.

Brad Marchand silenced the Pittsburgh crowd quickly as his 3rd of the playoffs came 28 seconds after the opening faceoff.  He would bookend the period, scoring the 4th Boston goal with 9 seconds left in the period to bring about a quiet 1st intermission for the Penguins.

The Bruins would tack on two more in the 3rd Period as they take a 2-0 series lead home to Boston, where Game 3 will be on Wednesday night.

TRIBED
Andy Pettitte, fresh back from being on the Disabled List, lasted only 4 2/3rd innings as the Cleveland Indians put up 3 runs in the 5th to tie their game against the New York Yankees.

But the Indians were unable to take the lead, and the bullpen shut down their batters as the Yankees would score 2 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th to beat the Indians 7-4.  Shawn Kelley would get the win for the Yankees, and Mariano Rivera would gain his 20th save of the season.

Mark Teixeira made his presence felt, hitting a grand slam in the 3rd inning to finish with four RBIs.

HARPER-LESS
The New York Mets begin a three-game series with the Washington Nations this evening.  The Mets will be trying to erase the memories from their series against the Miami Marlins.

The Nationals will be trying to keep pace with the Atlanta Braves, but will have to do so without Bryce Harper, who landed on the 15-day DL.  They also may be without Stephen Strasburg, who suffered a Grade 1 lat strain in the game against the Atlanta Braves Friday night.  He's slated to pitch Thursday opposite Shaun Marcum.

Tonight, the Mets send Jeremy Hefner, who earned his first win of the season against the Yankees last week, giving up 9 hits in six innings pitched.  Jordan Zimmerman struck out four in 5 innings pitched the last time he faced the Mets, but got rocked for 7 earned runs and 10 hits against the Baltimore Orioles his last time out.

Radio Coverage: 1230 FOX Sports Radio, 6:30PM

Midday Recap: "See You In Pittsburgh"

If you blinked, you missed it.

Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean was very brief in his post-game conference following the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-3 victory in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Semifinals.

He stated at the podium, which his conference lasted all of 13 seconds, that 7-3 was enough said, and "See you in Pittsburgh", where he vowed his team would come to play.

The Ottawa Senators led at the end of the first period 2-1, but then Pittsburgh bounced back with what would become 6 unanswered goals as they take a 3-1 series lead back to Pittsburgh.

FIRESTARTER
LeBron James and the Miami Heat are up 1-0 in their best of 7 series against the Indiana Pacers after their overtime win 103-102.  LeBron James caught the inbound pass with 2.2 seconds left in overtime, attacked the basket, and layed the ball in for the game-winner.

He finished the game with a triple-double, scoring 30, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing for 10 assists.  Dwayne Wade contributed with 19 points before fouling out, and Chris Bosh scored 17.

Paul George, who was responsible for tying the game to send it to overtime for the Indiana Pacers, scored 27 points as he went 10/11 from the charity stripe.  David West contributed with 26 points and Roy Hibbert scored 19.

Game 2 is Friday (8PM, TNT).

IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME...
The Mets would love to rewind the clock and play the bottom of the 8th inning over again.  Tied 4-4 with the Cincinnati Reds.  Given the gift of Zack Cozart's throwing error, the Mets had Marlon Byrd at 1st with 1 out.  Ike Davis patiently earned a walk, setting up 1st and 2nd, and the chance for John Buck to bring home the go-ahead run.

John Buck, who has had offensive woes of late, grounded into a double play, ending the inning.

In the top of the 9th, Bobby Parnell gave up the first runs he has allowed in May, as he gave up a lead-off double to Shin-Soo Choo.  Then he intentionally walked to Joey Votto, hoping to set up a double play.

Brandon Phillips, who already made the Mets pay earlier, did it again as his double brought home the go-ahead run.  Another intentional walk loaded the bases, which came back to haunt Parnell and the Mets when Todd Frazier brought home Votto and Phillips.

Finally, Parnell got his double-play ball, as Jack Hannahan ended the Reds 9th with the damage already done.

Juan Lagares ended the game when he struck out swinging.

Matt Harvey saw his ERA jump up to 1.93 as he allowed 4 runs, all earned in 6 1/3rds innings.  Harvey, who lost an appeal earlier in the day hoping to have one of the earned runs taken off his ledger from the past game in Chicago, struck out 6 and gave up 9 hits.  Thanks to Daniel Murphy and Rick Ankiel, the Mets were able to save Harvey from his first loss of the season with their hits in the 7th inning.

Bobby Parnell took the loss for the Mets.


HERO
Jose Bautista played the hero role well for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.  He homered in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, then in the 10th inning, his single brought home Colby Rasmus for the walk-off.

The win helps back a decent Mark Buehrle start.  Buehrle, who has been roughed up for 5 or more runs in 6 of his 10 starts this season, pitched 7 innings, giving up only two runs on 4 hits.  He struck out 6.  Aaron Loup earned the win for the Blue Jays.


HISTORY IN THE MAKING
A state High School record could be set today when the Queensbury Spartans take on the Amsterdam Rugged Rams at Queensbury High, as Charlie Peltz looks to be the first pitcher to throw four consecutive no-hitters in known New York State High School Baseball history.

He hurled no-hitters against the Glens Falls Indians, the South Glens Falls Bulldogs, and, most recently, the Hudson Falls Tigers.

The last pitcher to go 3 straight games without allowing a hit was Ryan Dunford, who in 2003 pulled that feat (including a perfect game) for Bishop Timon-St. Jude.  In his fourth start, Dunford went 6 2/3rd innings, allowing a hit prior to the final out.

First pitch is scheduled for 4PM at Queensbury High School, weather permitting.

Midday Recap: No lead is safe

What a difference an hour makes...

Free Hockey all around... except at MSG.

Robert Sabo | New York Daily News

NO FREE HOCKEY IN THE GARDEN
Three of the four games last night went to overtime.  The only one that didn't was the Capitals/Rangers game, where the Rangers took advantage of a Jason Chimera Interference call at the end of the 2nd Period with Dan Girardi's power play goal 59 seconds into the 3rd that broke a 2-2 tie.  Derek Stepan would give the Rangers insurance 5 minutes later.  It was much-needed insurance as the Caps would close the gap to 1 with Mathieu Perreault's goal with 12:29 left to play.  Unlike the game on Monday where the Rangers had to survive a power play plus pulled goalie, the final minute was less-stressful as the Rangers would hold on for the 4-3 win that evens their series.

ENDING IT WITH A HATTIE
North of the border, the Boston Bruins spotted the Maple Leafs a two-goal lead, but came back with three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead in the 2nd Period, capped with David Krejci's power play goal.  Clarke MacArthure would tie the game, and after a scoreless 3rd Period, the two teams would play extra hockey.

After quality chances by both the Bruins and Maple Leafs, Krejci ends the game with his 3rd goal of the game, beating James Reimer as the Bruins take a 3-1 series lead back to Boston.

KING ME
After the first two games, it was looking like the Los Angeles Kings were going to end their cup defense in the 1st round.  Down 2-0, the Kings looked forward to a return to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.  After winning both games to even the series, the Kings saw Game 5 as a chance to step in front of the Blues.

The Kings struck early in the 2nd and 3rd Periods, netting goals from Jeff Carter less than a minute into the periods.  But the Blues had answers for both of them, including Alex Pietrangelo, who scored off the faceoff with less than a minute to play.  In overtime, Slava Voynov netted the game-winner for the Kings, as they take a 3-2 lead back to Los Angeles for Game 6.

In over in Anaheim, the Ducks take a 3-2 lead back to Detroit after Nick Bonino fired into a mostly-open net to win their game over the Red Wings in overtime.

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
It's quickly looking like the Chicago/Miami series in the NBA Playoffs is going to be the NBA's equivalent to the Montreal/Ottawa series in the NHL Playoffs.  9 Technical Fouls were handed out in Game 2 on Wednesday, with the first recipient being Dwayne Wade, who didn't like the shove he got from a Bulls guard, so he threw the basketball.  That was only the beginning, as by the end of the game, Lebron James, Mario Chalmers of the Heat joined Wade on that list, and so too did Taj Gibson (twice), Joakim Noah (twice), Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague of the Bulls.

As far as the game went, the Heat ran away with the game in the 2nd half as the Heat outscored the Bulls 60-37 as they evened the series with the 115-78 win.  Ray Allen led the Heat with 21 points, and James followed it up with 19.

INSTANT DOUBLE

Bob Melvin disputes the call | Mark Duncan - AP

Instant Replay didn't help Skipper Bob Melvin of the Oakland A's.  In the top of the 9th inning, with his team down by 1, Adam Rosales hit a ball deep that bounced back onto the playing field and he was credited with a double.  Upon further review, it appeared that the ball hit a railing that was just above the yellow line that indicates a home run.  However, umpires saw differently and after a replay, ruled a double.  That sent Melvin out to argue, and he and the Oakland A's were unable to bring Rosales home.

Not a lot of room today to talk about the Mets, who lost to the Chicago White Sox 6-3.  Jeremy Hefner's now 0-4 this season, and wasn't thrilled with his start after Alejandro De Aza took him deep on the fourth pitch of the game.  The Mets will try to bounce back as they start a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight. Radio Coverage: 6:30PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Danger Averted

Rangers celebrate after a goal: The Journal News | Getty Images
Red Wings celebrate Brunner's OT winner: Tanya Moutaliaz | M Live
Los Angeles skates with the puck en route to 4-3 victory: AP

For  three teams, a victory on Monday keeps them from the brink of elimination.  For two of these three teams, a victory evens the series and ensures it will go at least 6 games.  The other team was trying to prevent an 0-3 hole.

That team was the Rangers, who needed the energy of playing in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd to help them find the back of the net, which was a real issue in the first two games.  After scoring the 4th from Derek Stepan, the Rangers needed every ounce of the crowd's cheer to help them through the final 1:54 of the game, which they had to face shorthanded, plus the pulled Branden Holtby made a 6-on-4 situation for the Capitals.  When the final horn sounded, the Caps had failed to find the back of the net, and the Rangers would prevail 4-3 to cut the Caps series lead to 2-1.

The Red Wings needed a Pavel Datsyuk shot that hit the water bottle and bounced out of the net to tie their game against the Anaheim Ducks.  Datsyuk's goal came right after a review was needed to verify that a previous Red Wing shot didn't cross the goal line.  The goal tied the game 2-2, and brought overtime.  After some good Anaheim chances, Gustav Nyquist was able to dance around Anaheim defenders on a pass, and was able to fling it towards Jonas Hiller.  He was able to block the first shot, but the rebound ended up right on Damien Brunner, who was able to shoot it into a mostly-open net for the game-winner that evened their series at 2 games a piece.

Over in Los Angeles, the Kings rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game heading into the 1st intermission.  After T.J. Oshie regained the lead for the Blues in the 2nd Period, the Kings used back-to-back goals in 76 seconds span to take a 4-3 lead, which they were able to hold onto for the win.  Anze Kopitar scored the first of those two goals, and Justin Williams netted the game-winning goal at 8:30 in the 3rd Period.

In the other game in the NHL last night, the Boston Bruins took a 2-1 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first game that Toronto has hosted in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2004.  The Bruins won 5-2.

FIREWORKS TONIGHT?

The game of the night tonight has to be the Montreal Canadiens at the Ottawa Senators.  After Sunday's game left the benches bare and players ejected left and right, it'll be interesting to see what hostilities remain.  But for the Montreal Canadiens, there's the extra pressure of keeping the series under control, and even though Game 5 is in Montreal, the Canadiens don't want to give the Senators the possibility of clinching the series on their ice.  They'd rather do the opposite and clinch in Game 6 at Ottawa.  

For both of these storylines, the first 10 minutes will be most critical.  Who will make the first move?  Will the Canadiens immediately start with their fists or will they try to gather some goals first?  Will Ottawa use the home crowd to its advantage?  TV Coverage: 7:00, CNBC

In addition to this, the Islanders need to extend their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who with a win tonight will have the possibility of clinching the series on home ice in Game 5.  (TV Coverage: 7:00, NBC Sports Network, MSG+)  Chicago is looking to take a 3-1 series lead back to home ice against the Minnesota Wild tonight (TV Coverage: 9:30, NBC Sports Network), and the San Jose Sharks can be the first team admitted to the 2nd Round if they can sweep the Vancouver Canucks on home ice. (TV Coverage: 10:00, CNBC)

RANGER HARVEY

Matt Harvey was among the attended crowd at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and will be at Citi Field tonight as he pitches against the Chicago White Sox.  The White Sox come to town after rallying to beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 in 11 innings, blowing a save chance from Greg Holland.  The two game series against the Chicago White Sox will be a first for the White Sox, as they have never played a game against the Mets in Queens.  The last time these two teams met was in July, 2002, when the White Sox won two of the three games in that series.

The Mets will look to rebound from its loss to the Braves on Sunday, blowing a chance to earn a rare sweep in Atlanta.  The White Sox have had a tough season of their own, and will look to Hector Santiago tonight.  Santiago struck out 6 en route to a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on May 2nd, pitching 5 1/3rds.  Radio Coverage: 6:30PM, 1230 FOX Sports R adio

BULL-IED

Is it really a surprise that the Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals?  After all the Bulls were the team responsible for ending the Heat's long 27 game win streak.  Then the Bulls brought an end to the Knicks win streak, at 13 games.   Nate Robinson scored 27 points and dished it 9 times for the Bulls, and Jimmy Butler added 21 points.  The NBA's MVP, Lebron James, scored 24 points, assisting 7 times and gathering 8 rebounds.  But James did not earn a lot of support from the rest of the Heat, as Dwayne Wade was the only other player in double-figures, scoring 14.

Emanuel Ginobili's three with 1.2 seconds left in the 2nd overtime gave the San Antonio Spurs the 129-127 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals.  Tony Parker scored 28 for the Spurs, and Tim Duncan and Gary Neal both had double-doubles.  Stephen Curry scored 44 for the Warriors, and led all players with just under 58 minutes of on-court time.

SPORTS ON THE RADIO

Tonight - Chicago White Sox at New York Mets - 7:10PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio

Tomorrow - Chicago White Sox at New York Mets - 7:10 PM, 1230 FOX Sports Radio