you pitch him." Harpers return puts Johns

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 Authentic Jordans . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Wholesale Jordans . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. http://www.cheapairjordanfreeshipping.com/ . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Cheap Jordans For Sale . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Air Jordan From China . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans.WASHINGTON -- Yes, that was Bryce Harper, not a mirage, in the Washington Nationals clubhouse, ready to return from the disabled list. Manager Davey Johnson wanted to be sure. "I went in there and said, Is that really you? Are you OK? Are you ready to go?" Johnson said. "He shook my hand and said Im ready. It seemed like I hadnt seen him in half a year. It seems that long." The 20-year-old sparkplug of a slugger was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list Monday, following his recovery from a knee injury that stemmed from a collision with the Dodger Stadium fence. Harper missed 31 games with bursitis, diagnosed after he reinjured the left knee several times after he kept trying to play for two weeks following the mishap in Los Angeles on May 13. He pronounced himself fit after going 4 for 11 with a double, a triple and a home run during a four-game rehab assignment last week with Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg. "A little swelling, but not much," Harper said. "Nothing to be cautious about. I feel good, and its to the point where I want to play." Harper said he will wear padding to protect the knee. He was in the starting lineup, batting third and playing left field for the homestand opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Nationals were 25-19 when Harper played, 16-21 when he didnt. That added up to a middling 41-40 mark at the halfway point for a consensus preseason pick to repeat as NL East champions. He was batting .287 with 12 homers and 23 RBIs when he went on the DL. "Not only his bat, but I think the energy he brings, he takes a lot of the focus and hes a competitor," Johhnson said.dddddddddddd "Just to have that 20-year-old energy running around 100 per cent, Im sure hes still probably going to run into the wall, Im sure hes going to dive headfirst. ... I dont want to put a damper on that. Thats who he is, and thats how he plays the game, and thats great." The return of Harper was the last thing the struggling Brewers needed. Milwaukee arrived in Washington on a five-game losing streak. "Well see after the series how bad of a break it is. ... What it does is it adds a guy who can drive the ball out of the ballpark," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He can hit any pitch, and you have to be really careful with how you pitch him." Harpers return puts Johnson closer to the lineup envisioned at the start of the year, except that Anthony Rendon has replaced the demoted Danny Espinosa at second base. All thats left is for catcher Wilson Ramos to return from a left hamstring injury. Ramos was scheduled to catch seven innings at Potomac on Monday and could return to the major league club as early as Thursday. Johnson moved Rendon from second to seventh in the batting order to create a left-right-left-right-left top of the order consisting of Denard Span, Jayson Werth, Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche. "Its all about matchups late in the ballgame that you want to create," Johnson said. NOTES: Johnson said LHP Ross Detwiler had a good bullpen session Monday and is on pace to start Wednesday as scheduled. Detwiler had stiffness in his lower back after his last start. ... The Nationals optioned RHP Erik Davis to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Harper. ' ' '