miaowang123: the season. And he became the teams first rookie lin

the season. And he became the teams first rookie lin

20 Nov 2019 at 21:37

MIAMI -- For the entirety of the regular season, the supremacy of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference was brought into serious question by the Indiana Pacers. China Jerseys Wholesale . Then came the playoffs. And the question was answered -- emphatically. The Heat became the third franchise in NBA history to reach the title series in four consecutive seasons, a laugher of a conference-title finale getting them there again Friday night. LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 25 points, and Miami eliminated the Pacers for the third straight year with a 117-92 romp in Game 6 of the East championship series. "Im blessed. Very blessed. Very humbled," James said. "And we wont take this opportunity for granted. Its an unbelievable franchise, its an unbelievable group. And we know we still have work to do, but we wont take this for granted. Were going to four straight Finals and we will never take this for granted." Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each scored 13 points for Miami, which trailed 9-2 before ripping off 54 of the next 75 points to erase any doubt by halftime. The Heat set a franchise record with their 11th straight home post-season win, going back to the final two games of last seasons NBA Finals, leading by 37 at one point. "The group loves to compete and loves to compete at the highest level, and be pushed to new levels," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Indiana led the East for much of the regular season, one where the Pacers were fueled by the memory of losing Game 7 of the East finals in Miami a year ago. So they spent this season with a clear goal: Toppling Miami as kings of the East. The Pacers were two games better in the regular season. They were two games worse in the post-season. Game 7, this time, would have been in Indianapolis. The Pacers just had no shot of making it happen, not on this night. "Its bitterly disappointing to fall short of our goals," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Its bitterly disappointing to lose to this team three years in a row. But were competing against the Michael Jordan of our era, the Chicago Bulls of our era, and you have to tip your hats to them for the way they played this whole series." Paul George had 29 points for Indiana, David West scored 16 and Lance Stephenson -- booed all night -- finished with 11. "No regrets. All of us played hard. They were just the better team, and they won," Stephenson said. So now, the Celtics and Lakers have some company. Until Friday, they were the only teams in NBA history to reach the Finals in four straight years. The Heat have joined them, and their quest for a third straight title starts in either San Antonio or Oklahoma City on Thursday night. "Its all about 15 special men and what theyve been able to accomplish these last four years," said Heat managing general partner Micky Arison, who handed the East title trophy to Greg Oden. "Just a little bit more work to do, but Im really proud of the incredible job that these guys have done." The way they played in Game 6 made a prophet out of Bosh, who predicted Miami would play its best game of the season. The numbers suggested he was right, and then some. Miamis largest lead at any point this season, before Game 6, was 36 points. Indianas largest deficit of the season had been 35 points. After a layup by James with 3:39 left in the third, the margin in this one was a whopping 37 -- 86-49. James night ended not long afterward. "It was just one of those games that we want to play from beginning to end," Bosh said. "Here on our home court, we wanted to make a statement." There were the now-requisite Stephenson events, adding intrigue to the first half. The Indiana guard walked over to James and tapped him in the face in the opening minutes, stood over him after both got tangled under the basket, and got whistled for a flagrant foul for striking Norris Cole in the head in the second quarter. It was the end of a memorable series for Stephenson, none of which really had anything to do with basketball. His string of newsworthy moments from these East finals started when he talked about the health of Wades knees before the series and reached an apex in Game 5 when he blew into James ear and walked into a Heat huddle. When it was over, Stephenson went out and shook hands with plenty of Heat players, as did the rest of his teammates. "To work so hard and to get to where we are now really hurts," Stephenson said. The Heat were bothered by it all -- "angry," Spoelstra confessed -- but got the last laugh. Big Brother, again, reigned supreme in this rivalry. Vogel was using the big brother-little brother analogy earlier in the series, telling the tale of how at some point in every sibling rivalry the younger one has to make a stand. Indiana thought it would happen now. The Heat, obviously, had other ideas. "Theyve won championships," West said Friday when asked if the Pacers considered themselves Miamis equal. "No, were not equal." West said those words about eight hours before game time. They were in no dispute at nights end. NOTES: James appeared in what became his 100th playoff victory. ... The Pacers are now 7-12 against Miami in the last three postseasons, and 20-10 against everybody else. ... Wade and Udonis Haslem are going to the NBA Finals for the fifth time in nine seasons -- with a 15-67 season on their record during that stretch as well. ... Chris Andersen returned from a thigh injury, scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 13 minutes for Miami. China Jerseys Cheap . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted Monday morning that Callahan - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is now open to a six-year contract at less than $7 million per season. Fake China Jerseys . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Dareus had two sacks, rookie linebacker Kiko Alonso and converted safety Aaron Williams had two interceptions as part of a 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Dareus was pleased with the new-look defence that finally began playing up to its attacking style under new co-ordinator Mike Pettine. "It surprises people, but we controlled it the way we needed to," Dareus said. "We were not going to let them push us around." The Bills pushed back in limiting Baltimore to 15 first downs and 345 yards. It was a stifling performance that came a week after Buffalo gave up 513 yards in a 27-20 loss to the New York Jets. And the Bills (2-2) won despite an injury-thinned defensive backfield that opened the game missing three starters, and closed it minus Williams, who couldnt finish because of a sore back. "These guys have answered the bell, and they played their behinds off," defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. "It doesnt get any better than this." Alonso sealed the victory by making a diving catch to pick off Flacco for a fifth time with 57 seconds remaining. Facing third-and-8 at the Bills 48, Flacco forced a pass over the middle intended for tight end Dallas Clark. Clark and safety DaNorris Searcy both got their hands on the ball, and Alonso came up with the interception. Fred Jackson had 87 yards rushing, and scored on a 16-yard run for the Bills, who are off to a 2-2 start under rookie head coach Doug Marrone. C.J. Spiller added 77 yards rushing in helping Buffalo combine for 203 yards on the ground against a defence that had allowed just 224 in its first three games. The Ravens (2-2) took a big step back after an impressive 30-9 win over Houston last week. "A lot of that falls on me today and just throwing the ball to the wrong team," said Flacco. "If we dont do that, then this game probably looks a little different." What it resembled instead, was another lacklustre performance by a retooled offence still searching for an identity after several off-season changes to its group of receivers. Thhe Ravens are still a work in progress after trading Anquan Boldin to San Francisco, and with Jacoby Jones (hip) and tight end Dennis Pitta (hip) injured. China Jerseys Stitched. Torrey Smith had five catches for 166 yards and a touchdown, but Flacco had difficulty finding any chemistry with his other receivers. And the Ravens running attack struggled, even with Ray Rice returning after missing last weeks game with a hip injury. Rice finished with 17 yards rushing and backup Bernard Pierce managed just 7 against a Bills defence that gave up 182 to the Jets last week. "We wouldve liked to run the ball better. We wouldve liked to execute a lot better," Rice said. "You get behind, you cant pound the rock. You just cant do it." Trouble was, the Ravens couldnt get their offence on track even when the game was close in the first half. Baltimore managed just three first downs and 45 yards offence on its first seven possessions. Flacco finished 25 of 50 for 347 yards and two touchdowns, including a 10-yarder to Marlon Brown. But he has five touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. The five interceptions were the most by the Bills defence since it had six in a 16-13 overtime win over the New York Jets on Oct. 18, 2009. "It feels great to win," said safety Jim Leonhard, who also had an interception. "Obviously, weve had our share of adversity, and I think weve proven through four weeks that we a room full of guys on the back end that will fight." The Bills face a short turnaround. They travel to play at Cleveland on Thursday. NOTES: Alonso, a second-round pick out of Oregon, has four interceptions on the season. And he became the teams first rookie linebacker to have an interception in three consecutive games. ... Marrone said he expects CB Aaron Williams to be healthy to play this week. ... Jackson (knee) and Spiller (left ankle) both returned after missing parts of the third quarter. ... Ravens WR Deonte Thompson sustained a concussion after being hit along the sideline by safety Jim Leonhard. ... Ravens coach John Harbaugh said both Brown and starting CB Lardarius Webb hurt their thighs and are still having their injuries evaluated. ' ' '



Share

Add comment

Guests are not allowed to Add blog comments. Please sign in.

Rate

Your rate: 0
Total: 0 (0 votes)

Tags

No Tags