Posted Date: June 19, 2013

Heat force Finals Game 7 with dramatic overtime victory over Spurs

2013 NBA Finals, Ben Golliver, LeBron James, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan
LeBron James

LeBron James and the Heat will live to see another day. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

MIAMI — The Heat forced Game 7 with a 103-100 overtime victory over the Spurs in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

LeBron James shook off a slow first half to score 16 fourth-quarter points, including a key three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. He finished with his second triple-double of the 2013 Finals, tallying 32 points (on 11-for-26 shooting), 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Miami overcame a vintage performance from Tim Duncan, who scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard added 22 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

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Posted Date: June 19, 2013

Video: Ray Allen hits three to force overtime in Heat’s Game 6 win over Spurs

2013 NBA Finals, Ben Golliver, Miami Heat, Ray Allen, San Antonio Spurs

MIAMI — Ray Allen, the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter, hit a shot for the ages in Miami’s 103-100 overtime victory over San Antonio in Game 6 of the Finals on Tuesday.

With just seconds remaining in regulation and the Spurs leading 95-92, LeBron James launched a three that rimmed off. Chris Bosh came up with the offensive rebound in a crowd and kicked it out to Allen, who rushed to set himself up in the right corner for another potential game-tying try.

“When I saw [Bosh] get the ball, I just backpedaled right to the three-point line, and I was hoping I was where I needed to be,” Allen said. “I wasn’t quite sure. But just from years of shooting, I got to my spot. … I just knew get to the three-point line. We need a three. Two points isn’t going to cut it.”

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Posted Date: June 19, 2013

Video: Heat’s Mike Miller hits three-pointer after losing shoe against Spurs

2013 NBA Finals, Ben Golliver, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, San Antonio Spurs

Heat forward Mike Miller hit a three-pointer after losing his shoe during the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the Finals on Tuesday night.

The three-point specialist came up the court with his shoe in his hand, casually tossed it toward the sideline and then ran all the way across the court in the halfcourt offense before nailing a three from the right angle. Miller’s shot cut San Antonio’s lead to 77-73.

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Posted Date: June 19, 2013

Video: Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard throws down poster dunk on Heat’s Mike Miller

2013 NBA Finals, Ben Golliver, Kawhi Leonard, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, San Antonio Spurs

Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard dunked on Heat forward Mike Miller in transition during the first quarter of Game 6 of the 2013 Finals at American Airlines Arena in Miami on Tuesday night.

Tony Parker pushed the pace in a three-on-two break situation, shooting a crosscourt bounce pass to Leonard, who filled the lane on the left. Leonard gathered from outside the protected circle and, without dribbling, rose high to throw down a right-handed dunk over Miller. Replays showed that Leonard’s highlight effort was aided by a bit of a clear-out with his off arm.

Leonard’s slam gave San Antonio an 18-16 lead midway through the first quarter.

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Posted Date: June 19, 2013

Celtics’ unique offseason circumstances may give reason to revisit talks with Clippers

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Los Angeles Clippers, Rob Mahoney
Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics

The incentives for Boston to deal Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett may be too great to not revive trade talks with L.A. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

The momentum fueling trade talks between the Celtics and Clippers has stalled, with Boston GM Danny Ainge going so far as to pronounce discussions between the two teams “dead.” For the moment that may be true; there’s a clear consensus among sources and reports regarding the flatlined deal, which would have been structured around shipping Kevin Garnett and Celtics head coach Doc Rivers (if indirectly, in Rivers’ case) to Los Angeles in exchange for 24-year-old center DeAndre Jordan and a collection of draft picks. The latter reportedly became the sticking point, as the Clippers shied away from including the two first-round picks that the Celtics had requested in exchange for releasing Rivers from the three years remaining on his current contract.

Given that the first rounders in question are likely to fall in the mid-20s, their inclusion might seem a strange place to draw a line in the sand on deal to acquire a player as influential as Garnett and a coach as savvy as Rivers. But the Clippers aren’t in any immediate rush to consummate this kind of arrangement, as their needs are far less specific than that of the Celtics. As noted by Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com, part of the backdrop for this entire predicament is the fact that Garnett is only interested in playing for Rivers — who seems to have little interest in remaining in Boston. That preference carries a bit more weight thanks to two additional considerations: