Heat force Game 7 with 103-100 OT win over Spurs (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- When LeBron James' greatness almost wasn't good enough, officials began preparing for a San Antonio celebration.

Mike Miller loses his shoe, makes a big 3 anyway, proves shoeless dominance (Video) (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Miami Heat entered the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's Game 6 in need of a run to extend their season to one more game. Down 75-65 to the San Antonio Spurs entering the quarter, the Heat responded with five quick points from a Mario Chalmers three-pointer and LeBron James lay-up. A lay-in by Spurs center Tiago Splitter communicated that the visitors wouldn't give up, but the Heat made their statement. They would work through any obstacles to get back in the game. Of course, teams don't win NBA Finals games simply through hard work and gumption — sometimes it takes a heavy dose of the improbable to get a victory. As Splitter made his basket, Heat wing Mike Miller lost his left shoe while jockeying for rebounding position with Boris Diaw. In order to make sure his team wouldn't play a key possession down a man, Miller carried his shoe back up the court to the offensive end and threw it towards his team's bench. That's not to say that Miller was in good position to make a player. Anyone who's stepped onto a hardwood floor in socks knows that it can be difficult to maintain balance or traction. Yet Miller gingerly jogged to his spot on the right wing, took a pass from LeBron James, and calmly drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to 77-73. Gregg Popovich followed up the shot with a timeout, and Miller retreated to the bench to recover his lost sneaker. Meanwhile, the Heat went on to capture the game 103-100 in overtime .

James, Heat beats Spurs 103-100 in OT; Game 7 next (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James led a title-saving charge, and now his crown will be on the line one more time in Game 7.

James helps Heat stave off elimination in Game 6 (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James shrugged off a poor start to get 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds to play to force overtime and the Miami Heat staved off elimination with a 103-100 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Spurs and Heat tied at 95 to OT in Game 6 (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James shrugged off a poor start to get 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds and Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds to play that helped put Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs into overtime tied at 95 on Tuesday night.

Duncan's 30 gives Spurs lead in Game 6 (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- Tim Duncan scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a 75-65 lead over the Miami Heat after three quarters in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Duncan's 25 gives Spurs halftime lead in Game 6 (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- Tim Duncan scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a 50-44 halftime lead over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Chalmers breaks out of slump sparks Heat in Game 6 (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- Mario Chalmers broke out of a shooting slump to score 10 points, lifting the Miami Heat to a 27-25 lead over the San Antonio Spurs after one quarter of Game 6 in the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Flo Rida’s manager asked not to attend NBA Finals in Miami on Gregg Popovich’s alleged request (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The NBA Finals are a hot ticket, which means that famous people and their friends are bound to show up in the first few rows to get a firsthand look (and get noticed) at the biggest games of the NBA schedule. On certain occasions, those celebrities end up becoming stories only slightly less attention-grabbing than the play on the court. In Game 7 of the Miami Heat's Eastern Conference Finals, Freezy, the manager of the rapper Flo Rida, was ejected from the arena for apparently talking trash to or around the Indiana Pacers bench. It was a bizarre moment, to be sure, but also the sort of thing that happens sometimes at professional sporting events. There was no indication that Freezy had become persona non grata at all Heat games. However, it now appears that he will not be able to attend either Game 6 or Game 7 of the NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena, apparently because San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich requested it. From Larry Brown Sports :

Experienced Trio Ready to Contribute

Source: NBA.com

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Brandon Jennings for Danny Granger swap rumored

Source: Yardbarker

via Indy Cornrows An injury to your top scorer is usually tragic, but for gifted and resilient coaches and GMs, their team will see that as a blessing in disguise. For teams like Indiana and Chicago, this season saw tremendous breakouts from their players. The most resounding example is Paul George, who made his Most Improved Player Award the understatement of the year. A natural consequence though, is that the injured player becomes dispensable. The Bulls will never trade Rose, at least not in the next 5 years, perhaps. However, George seems to have surpassed Granger, despite the latter’s achievements. The fact that they have considered trading him before will not help either. Now is the best time to pull the trigger.   per Indy Cornrows:   According to Fox Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico, the Indiana Pacers have strong interest in acquiring Brandon Jennings from Milwaukee. The deal for Jennings would have to get done by sending Danny Granger for Jennings in a sign-and-trade.     The onl...

Watford's Confidence Hasn't Wavered

Source: NBA.com

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2012-13 Pacers in Review: Jeff Pendergraph

Source: Indy Cornrows by Nathan S.

While this will largely be about Jeff Pendergraph, the late season rotation big for the Indiana Pacers, it's worth beginning the note on a few players who didn't get the playing time to warrant actually covering them on their own. The Pacers had their best season in nearly a decade, and while the roster featured guys whose time on the floor wasn't too valuable, there was a lot of chemistry value with this team, and it's worth paying homage to the locker room heroes for the Indiana Pacers. It's of course fitting to cover this for Pendergraph, who was the one who broke into the rotation while being

Watford Works Out for Pacers, Confidence Hasn't Wavered

Source: NBA.com

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Heat-Spurs NBA Finals Game 6: 5 big questions (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The San Antonio Spurs are 48 minutes away from the fifth NBA championship of the Gregg Popovich-Tim Duncan era. The Miami Heat are 48 minutes away from either hosting a Game 7 for back-to-back titles on their home court or facing an offseason of blistering criticism for what will be perceived as its Big Three once again shrinking on the grandest possible stage. The stakes of an NBA game don't get much higher than this. Tuesday's Game 6 is going to answer a lot of questions — here are five that've been rattling around my head for the past two days. Feel free to weigh in on them or share your own big questions in the comments below. 1. Will LeBron James silence his critics? Nope! That'll never happen. Never. Ever. Not in a million

Win or lose, coaches Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra have been up to their Finals task (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

It may not strike you at first, what with Manu Ginobili needing until Game 5 to get going and Miami’s Big Three taking turns at being stuck in the mud – but the best thing about these 2013 NBA Finals may very well be the coaching on both sides. In a quick turnaround series that started just days after the Miami Heat finished off the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, running the complete opposite to San Antonio’s extended break after being the Memphis Grizzlies on their end, Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra have put together two masterful efforts on their teams’ behalf. The question for Spoelstra, who is currently facing a 3-2 deficit in these Finals, is if this is even enough. He’s done his part, as a tactician, to get LeBron James and crew going on both ends. And yet, as it has been since 2010, it may not be enough. Gregg Popovich doesn’t have nearly the same-sized obstacle. Bit of a self-starter, these Spurs are.

Former Indiana basketball star Christian Watford confident he'll get drafted, would love to play for Pacers

Source: Indy Star

Former Indiana forward Christian Watford, forever famous among Hoosier fans for The Shot and The Block, continued on his job search this afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Christian Watford

Source: NBA.com

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Trevor Mbakwe

Source: NBA.com

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Romero Osby

Source: NBA.com

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Kenny Kadji

Source: NBA.com

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Player Review 2013: Roy Hibbert

Source: NBA.com

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Player Review 2013: Roy Hibbert

Source: NBA.com

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Pacers Fourth Workout on Tuesday Features More Second Rounders

Source: Indy Cornrows by Evan Sidery

If you are looking for top-flight players for Indiana to workout, that has not happened that much so far. Outside of Michigan's Tim Hardaway, Jr., North Texas' Tony Mitchell, and D-League star of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Glen Rice Jr. Through the first four group workouts, those are the only prospects expected to be taken in or near the first round come draft night.

Once again, Pacers.com beat writer, Scott Agness announced the latest group workout yesterday evening on Twitter.

Pacers scheduled to workout Christian Watford, Trevor Mbakwe, Kenny Kadji (Miami), and Romero Osby (Oklahoma) on

Former Butler guard Rotnei Clarke works out for Pacers, refuses to believe he can't play in the NBA

Source: Indy Star

Rotnei Clarke has seen the mock selections and read the evaluations. He knows the dimensions, too. At a pre-draft tournament in Portsmouth, Va., he was measured at 5-11, or an inch shorter than he was on the Butler basketball roster.

Pacers 23rd Pick Tournament Round One: Isaiah Canaan vs. Lorenzo Brown

Source: Indy Cornrows by Evan Sidery

This matchup is a battle of point guards who have completely different traits. We have a small point guard in Canaan, who has risen his stock all the way into the first round. Brown, who was projected as a first rounder a few months ago, has seen his stock nosedive into the mid-second round. Having a scoring guard (Canaan) versus a 6'5" guard who excels with his ball handling ability (Brown) should be a good matchup in the underneath the article. Who will win this battle of point guards and advance on to the second round?

Unfortunately, there is no prospect breakdown on neither Canaan or Brown from Draft Express. We do have though

Pacers Offseason Rumors: Danny Granger for Brandon Jennings?

Source: Indy Cornrows by Evan Sidery

According to Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico, the Indiana Pacers have strong interest in acquiring Brandon Jennings from Milwaukee. The deal for Jennings would have to get done by sending Danny Granger in exchange for Jennings in a sign-and-trade.

The only way this trade works as mentioned is if Jennings signs a near max-deal with Milwaukee and is sent packing to Indiana for Granger. Danny would be a big upgrade over Tobias Harris and Luc Mbah a Moute as their

Rice hoping D-League success helps on draft night (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Glen Rice Jr. already knows what to expect in his next job.

Report: Clippers Talking Eric Bledsoe Trade With Pacers, Magic, Putting Deal With Celtics for Doc Rivers in Jeopardy

Source: Yardbarker

Danny Granger or Arron Afflalo could ultimately nix the reported deal to send Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to the Clippers as a package deal. Although talks between the Celtics and Clippers are not totally dead, separate conversations by the Clippers with the Pacers and Magic could decrease the chances of Rivers and/or Garnett heading west. That’s because the Clippers are in discussions to send Eric Bledsoe to Indiana for Granger or Orlando for Afflalo, ESPN reports, and if either of those trades goes down, the Celtics could get up from the bargaining table. Bledsoe is coveted by the Celtics, who insist that he be included in a package with DeAndre Jordan and draft picks for the rights to Rivers and Garnett, who are both under contract for multiple years. Bledsoe is a free agent at the end of the 2013-14 season, and it is assumed the Clippers will trade him before then. However, they want to keep him until they are absolutely sure Chris Paul will re-sign this summer, when they then ...

Rice, Jr. Takes Road Less Traveled to NBA

Source: NBA.com

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Heat back on familiar, and shaky, ground in Finals (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James has been here before, with dire results.

Realistic About His Chances, Clarke Believes He Has a Role

Source: NBA.com

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Pacers To Hold Draft Prospect Workouts Tuesday

Source: NBA.com

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Augusto Lima

Source: NBA.com

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Amath M'Baye

Source: NBA.com

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Nuggets hire executive Tim Connelly (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Denver Nuggets have settled on a general manager. Now, they can concentrate on finding a new coach.

Pacers Resume Draft Workouts Monday; Filled with Second Rounders

Source: Indy Cornrows by Evan Sidery

Indiana has gone quiet this weekend, with no draft workouts done this weekend. That all changed though this morning as Pacers.com writer, Scott Agness announced it on Twitter.

Pacers workout group for Monday: Rotnei Clarke, Troy Daniels, Augusto Lima (Spain), Amath M’Baye, Glen Rice, Jr., and Durand Scott.

— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 16, 2013

As you can tell, the workout list does not sound appealing for the 23rd pick in the draft. Only one person in this workout will truly be in consideration for that

Durand Scott

Source: NBA.com

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Glen Rice, Jr.

Source: NBA.com

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Rotnei Clarke

Source: NBA.com

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Player Review 2013: Tyler Hansbrough

Source: NBA.com

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Down 3-2 in the NBA Finals, Heat glad to go home (Yahoo! Sports)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Heat will try to become the fourth NBA team to win Games 6 and 7 of the Finals at home.

Heat perplexed at inability to catch fire in Finals (Reuters)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

By Frank Pingue SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The top-seeded Miami Heat were at a loss to explain their stunning inability to win consecutive games for nearly a month, a sequence they must break if they are to repeat as NBA champions. Inconsistent play and stiff competition have baffled the Heat, who have surprisingly alternated wins and losses over the their last 12 playoff games. "If I knew the answer we would have won two games in a row. I don't know. ...

Danny Green sets NBA Finals record for most three-pointers in a series (Video) (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The NBA Finals is often decided by one or two huge performances from role players, but San Antonio Spurs wing Danny Green's shooting against the Miami Heat is unprecedented. With 9:39 remaining in the third quarter of Game 5 , Green knocked down his 23rd three-pointer of the series, breaking Ray Allen's record for the most threes in an NBA Finals. Green ranked seventh in the league this regular season with a 42.9 percent mark from beyond the arc. His shooting in the NBA Finals has been considerably better. Through the first four games of the series, he had made 19-of-28 long-range shots (69.8 percent). At the time of his record-breaking shot, Green had somehow done even better in Game 5, hitting four of his first five three-point attempts. That means Green converted on 23 of his first 33 tries — just better than two-thirds — to get the record. Allen, the most prolific three-point shooter in NBA history and now Green's opponent as a member of the Heat, set the previous mark of 22 threes in six games in 2008 as a member of the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers. Allen needed 42 attempts for his record, which underscores just how amazing Green has been this series. Directly after Green set the record, Allen expressed his dismay at losing the record. After the jump, check out a screengrab of Allen's face (via @ jose3030 ):

Heat-Spurs NBA Finals Game 5: 7 big questions (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

In a purely literal sense, Game 5 of the 2013 NBA Finals isn't a must-win , no matter what any member of the San Antonio Spurs or Miami Heat tries to tell you — with the series tied at two games apiece, whichever team drops Sunday night's contest will still have two shots at staying alive and hoisting the O'Brien once the series shifts back to South Beach. On the other hand, though, as NBA.com's John Schuhmann noted , of the 10 times the Finals have been tied 2-2 since 1985, the team that won Game 5 has won the series seven times. On balance, then, it would seem like a better thing to win Game 5 than to lose it; that much is not in question. But there's an awful lot of stuff that is in question as we head into the matchup between

Dwyane Wade’s scoring impact is historically crucial to this year’s Miami Heat team (Ball Don't Lie)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

We’ve been down this path before. Dwyane Wade’s All-Star-level play is crucially important to the Miami Heat. When he cuts and slashes with ease like he did in Thursday’s 32-point outing in Game 4, scoring in the lane and disrupting the passing lanes on defense, Miami is just about unbeatable. When he misses on runners, bricks his jumpers, and looks a step-slow on the other end of the court? The Heat are quite vulnerable. This has been obvious to any set of eyes during the last two postseasons. Thanks to Chris Herring of the Wall St. Journal , though, we now have a qualification of how much Dwyane’s regular season-typical 20 points per game help the Heat out. Wade, who turned into “Flash” in Thursday’s Game 4 despite a nagging knee injury , may just be the biggest X-factor in NBA playoffs history. From Herring : The Heat have won 42 of the 46 games this season in which Wade scored 20 points or more. According to Stats LLC, only four players in the past 25 seasons have logged better winning percentages in such scenarios: Chicago's Scottie Pippen (1996), Detroit's Joe Dumars (1989 and 1990), San Antonio's Tony Parker (2003) and Boston's Robert Parish (1986). Each of those men won NBA titles in those years. Context is crucial, and telling in this instance.

Pacers To Hold Draft Prospect Workouts Monday

Source: NBA.com

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2013 NBA Finals: Can the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade Repeat Dominance in Game 5? (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

COMMENTARY | Surprisingly, Dwyane Wade, not LeBron James, was the Miami Heat's hero in Game 4 of the 2013 NBA Finals, two days after suffering an embarrassing loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Report: Pacers pursue Granger, Afflalo (The SportsXchange)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

If the Los Angeles Clippers find the right deal for coveted guard Eric Bledsoe, they're ready to push the button on that transaction.

Pacers Off-Season Rumors: Danny Granger for Eric Bledsoe?

Source: Indy Cornrows by Evan Sidery

According to USA TODAY's Sam Amick, the Los Angeles Clippers are willing to give up Eric Bledsoe for Danny Granger. The question is, does this deal make sense from Indiana's point of view?

Los Angeles could not fully take on Granger's contract unless another one from the Clippers is sent back to Indiana. That contract would have to be