Bewerbungen » Thursday, while Edmonton visits the B.C.

MIAMI -- LeBron James saved a championship reign, cancelled a celebration. The toughest part now might be topping this performance in Game 7. "Its by far the best game Ive ever been a part of," James said. He wouldnt let the Miami Heat lose it -- or their NBA title. If the San Antonio Spurs want that, theyll have to fight just a little harder to get it. One last game, winner take all. James powered Miami to a frantic fourth-quarter rally and overtime escape as the Heat beat the Spurs 103-100 on Tuesday night to extend the NBA Finals as far as they can go and keep Miamis 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. So close to being eliminated that they noticed officials bringing yellow tape out to block off the court for the Spurs trophy presentation, the Heat hit a couple of big 3-pointers, got some defensive stops, and did everything else that makes great teams champions. "We seen the championship board already out there, the yellow tape. And you know, thats why you play the game to the final buzzer," James said. "And thats what we did tonight. We gave it everything that we had and more." 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 NBAs first do-or-die matchup to determine its champion since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010. "Theyre the best two words in sports: Game 7," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. And two the Spurs were oh-so-close to avoiding. They 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 with 28 seconds left in regulation after blowing the lead. But James hit a 3-pointer and Ray Allen tied it with another. Just 5.2 seconds remained in regulation. The Heat were that close to the edge. "Its a tough moment. We were a few seconds away from winning the championship and we let it go," Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili said. "A couple rebounds we didnt catch, a tough 3 by Ray and a couple missed free throws. Its a very tough moment." James was just 3 of 12 after three quarters, the Heat trailing by 10 and frustration apparent among the players and panic setting in among the fans. Nothing to worry about. Not with James playing like this. He finished 11 of 26, even making a steal after his basket had given Miami a 101-100 edge in the OT. Somewhere in there, early in the fourth quarter, James lost his familiar headband. He couldnt remember exactly when or how. Nor was it particularly important to him. Losing the game would have been far worse. "I guess the headband was the least of my worries at that point," James said. Before that, he had been 12 minutes from hearing the familiar criticisms about not being able to get it done, from having to watch a team celebrate on his home floor again. Then he changed the game and erased that story. The Heat, who havent lost consecutive games since Jan. 8 and 10, had too much defence and way too much James for the Spurs in the final 17 minutes. They are trying to become fourth team to win the final two games at home since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the finals in 1985. James came in averaging 31.5 points in elimination games, highest in NBA history, according to a stat provided through the NBA by the Elias Sports Bureau. This wasnt quite the 45-point performance in Game 6 of last years Eastern Conference finals in Boston, but given the higher stakes may go down as more important -- if the Heat follow it with another victory Thursday. The Heat were in the same place as they were in 2011 at the end of their Big Threes first season together, coming home from Texas facing a 3-2 deficit in the finals. This is a different team. And oh, what a different James. "He just plays with great force," Allen said. The Heat said they welcomed this challenge, a chance to show they how much mentally tougher they were than the team the Dallas Mavericks easily handled in Game 6 that night. James made sure they did, looking nothing like the player who was so bad in the fourth quarters during that series. He was simply unstoppable down the stretch of this one. "He just made plays. I dont think theres any two ways to put it," Duncan said. "We were in the right position to close it out and he found a way to put his team over the top and we just didnt make enough plays to do that." 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 Greens 3-pointer from the corner as time expired. Bosh had said Green wouldnt get open the way he has all series -- and he didnt. Green finished 1 of 5 from behind the arc after going 25 of 38 on 3-pointers (65.8 per cent) in the first five games. The Heat, the NBAs 66-win powerhouse during the regular season, will be playing a seventh game for the second straight round, having needed to go the distance to beat the Indiana Pacers in the East finals. "See you in Game 7!" the public address announcer hollered as some Heat fans tossed their white T-shirts -- the ones that hang on chairs in the arena. These read "First to 16 Wins," meaning the number of victories it takes to win the championship. The race will go down to a final day. The Heat are 13-0 after losses over the last five months, though this was nothing like the previous 12 that had come by an average of nearly 20 points. Nor was it like the previous four games of this series, which had all been blowouts after the Spurs pulled out a four-point victory in Game 1. San Antonio had an 11-0 run in the first half, then a 13-3 burst in the third quarter for a 71-58 lead, and a final flurry late in regulation that seemed to have them ready to walk off with another title. Parkers 3-pointer over James tied it at 89 with 1:27 left. He then came up with a steal, spinning into the lane for a 91-89 lead with 58 seconds to go. Miami coughed it up again and Ginobili made two free throws, and he hit another after a third straight Miami turnover to put the Spurs ahead 94-89. But James nailed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left, and the Heat had one more chance after Leonard made just one foul shot to give the Spurs a 95-92 edge. James missed but Bosh got the rebound out to Allen, the leagues career leader in 3-pointers, who made another one from the corner to even it up. The Spurs went ahead by three again in overtime, but James found a cutting Allen for a basket, then scored himself to put the Heat on top. They clinched it when Bosh blocked San Antonios final two shot attempts. Bosh finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Mario Chalmers scored 20 points and Dwyane Wade had 14. After shooting 60 per cent in Game 5, the Spurs hadnt cooled off when they traded Texas heat for the South Florida sun, making nine of their first 12 shots to open a 20-16 lead. Duncan made all six shots in the first quarter, but consecutive 3-pointers by Shane Battier and Chalmers late in the period rallied Miami to a 27-25 advantage. Duncan made his first eight shots, scoring 13 straight San Antonio points over nearly 8 minutes in the second quarter. Boris Diaw finally stopped that stretch with a little scoop shot in the lane and Leonard tipped in a miss with 1.3 seconds left, capping the Spurs 11-0 run to end the second quarter. It was 50-44 at the break. With Duncan 37 and Ginobili nearly 36, the Spurs know they may never get another shot like this one. Duncan knew how tough it would be to get back to the top six years ago, when the Spurs swept James Cleveland Cavaliers for their most recent title. San Antonios leader told James afterward that the league would someday belong to him. And on Tuesday, James refused to let it go. Notes: James had his 11th post-season triple-double and second of this series. ... Allen moved two behind Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher (48) for second place in finals 3-pointers. Robert Horry, a former champion with the Spurs, made 56 3-pointers in the finals. Horry held the Spurs record for 3s in a finals with 15 in 2005 that Green has broken with his finals-record 26. ... Duncan and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich appeared in their 210th playoff game together, moving 30 ahead of Phil Jackson and Bryant for most all-time. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Stitched Stars Jerseys . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Stars Jerseys China . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Dallas Stars Shirts . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Eskimos lost the game, and possibly a big part of their offence on Friday night. Craig Newmans 57-yard interception return for a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped a late rally as the Saskatchewan Roughriders scored a 31-24 come-from-behind victory over Edmonton in CFL pre-season play. After Riders quarterback Tino Sunseri hit DeDe Dorsey for a TD on third and goal from the Eskimos one-yard line to tie the game 24-24 with 54 seconds left, Newman picked off a deflected pass by Edmonton pivot Jonathan Crompton on the ensuing drive and raced in for the decisive points. The focus for the Eskimos afterwards wasnt the last-second loss, but rather the status of quarterback Matt Nichols. The 26-year-old, who has been in a dead heat for the starting job with Mike Reilly through training camp, went down in the end zone when he was hit by Riders defensive end Kenny Rowe while trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception late in the first quarter. Nichols, who suffered a gruesome injury to his left ankle in last seasons East Division semifinal loss to the Toronto Argonauts, left the game with a right knee injury and was seen leaving the stadium on crutches. His immediate prognosis was not known and doctors will take a more in-depth look on the weekend. "I just went down and felt a little twist," Nichols said. "The doctors have looked at it and it looks like there are decent signs. We wont know anything until we get a picture of it. All I can do right now is hope for the best. "Im optimistic. My ankle injury last year, that was the first time I have ever been hurt. This is a new feeling for me, so it is hard to have an idea on my own how bad it is. Im just hoping for the best right now." Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed was also hopeful, saying it would be a shame if Nichols was out long term after putting in the hard work to compete for the starting job. "Were going to see how it settles tonight and assess it tomorrow," he said. "Hopefully it is not serious. Sometimes it looks worse than it is. I am very hopeful that it is not something catastrophic and season-ending. Matt has worked exceptionally hard to come back from his injury in the playoffs and I would be very disappointed for that young man if this is a serious injury." Nichols said there is nothing he can do but wait. "Its obviously a tough situation," he said. "It is part of this game, though. Its not something that is going to hold me back. Im going to do whatever I can to get healthy as soon as possible, whatever the situation is." As for the game itself, Saskatchewan head coach Corey Chamblin was pleased with the overall effort in the comeback win. "There was a lot to learn from that game," he said. "We had some penalties and some stuff we need to clean up. But as far as being able to come back and showing some resiliency, I was very pleased that our team was able to fight back. We said we were coming here to win and the guys did that.dddddddddddd" Drew Willy got the start at quarterback for Saskatchewan and engineered a scoring drive on the Riders first possession as Chris Milo nailed a 40-yard field goal six minutes in. Edmonton went up 7-3 with three minutes to play in the opening quarter when Don Oramasionwu popped a ball loose from Riders receiver Taj Smith. Eskimos defensive back Marcel Young scooped up the loose ball and galloped 58 yards into the end zone. The Saskatchewan defence got those points back just two minutes later on the play that led to Nichols injury as he saw his pass bounce off of a receiver and into the hands of Carlos Thomas, who took it back 30 yards for the touchdown and a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Reilly came in to take Nichols place and was subsequently picked off by Woodny Turene, but Milo missed his second field goal of the night as the Roughriders settled for a single point. Edmonton went up 14-11 with three minutes to play in the second when Reilly connected on a long pass to Isaiah Sweeney, who turned on the jets and outran a pair of pursuers for a 77-yard touchdown. Saskatchewan, which will host the 2013 Grey Cup, was pressing late in the first half but receiver Scott McHenrys fumble at the Eskimos 21-yard line was recovered by Edmontons Eric Samuels. The Roughriders pulled even with five minutes left in the third quarter as Brody McKnight kicked a 27-yard field goal on the heels of a 50-yard passing play from Sunseri to Greg Carr. The Eskimos went back up 21-14 with a minute to play in the third after Roughriders returner Phillip Livas bobbled a punt and it was recovered on his teams seven-yard line. Edmonton quarterback Jacory Harris, who came in to start the third quarter, took it in himself on the next play. Saskatchewan notched a McKnight field goal five minutes into the fourth quarter to close it to 21-17, but Grant Shaw restored the seven-point edge with his first field goal of the game for Edmonton with three minutes left on the clock before Saskatchewan rallied late. Notes: The Roughriders and Eskimos will play at Commonwealth Stadium on June 29 in the regular-season opener for both teams. ... Saskatchewan hosts the Calgary Stampeders in the final pre-season game for both clubs on Thursday, while Edmonton visits the B.C. Lions on Friday. ... Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed is now 0-5 in exhibition games in his career. ... Eskimos rookie kick returner Tavoy Moore left the game in the first half with a lower-body injury. ... The Riders had 67 players on their roster for Fridays game. The veterans not dressed included Geroy Simon, Dominic Picard, Rey Williams, Ricky Foley, Tristan Black, Cory Huclack and Keith Shologan. ... Among the bigger names sitting out for the Eskimos were Fred Stamps, Hugh Charles, Marcus Howard, Almondo Sewell, J.C. Sherritt and T.J. Hill. ... The Eskimos announced on Friday that they will host an exhibition game against the Roughriders in the northern Alberta community of Fort McMurray in 2015. ' ' '