Tag: LeBron James

Up-to-date details regarding Spurs’ season

Spurs fans anxious for payback against the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t have to wait long this season. The team that ousted the silver and black in the Western Conference finals last June is first up on the Spurs’ home-court schedule, slated for a nationally televised affair Nov. 1 at the ATT Center that will be the second game of the 2012-13 season.

For the first time since 2006, the Spurs will open the regular season on the road, this time in New Orleans on Halloween night.

The NBA champion Heat won’t play in the Alamo City until March 31.

Express-News NBA beat writer Mike Monroe offers some dates fans should circle on their calendars:

SEASON OPENER

Oct. 31 — at Hornets: How good will No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Davis be? The Spurs will be the first team to find out.

HOME OPENER

Nov. 1 — vs. Thunder: TNT couldn’t wait for a nationally televised rematch of the Western Conference finals.

THE CHAMPS

Nov. 29 — at Heat: LeBron James finally has a championship ring. Can he defend his first title?

LINSANITY, TEXAS STYLE

Dec. 7 — vs. Rockets: Jeremy Lin is a Rocket now. The Spurs’ Interstate 10 rival hit the reset button again, with Lin as the new centerpiece.

DIRK AND (NEW) FRIENDS

Dec. 30 — at Mavericks: The I-35 rivals don’t look much like last season’s Mavs, not with Jason Kidd and Jason Terry gone. But Dirk Nowitzki is still around.

KOBE AND BYNUM AND NASH, OH MY

Jan. 9 — vs. Lakers: Los Angeles hasn’t landed Dwight Howard — yet — but it did add the ageless Steve Nash. How good will the Lakers be on the fast break now?

RODEO TRIP

Feb. 6 — at Timberwolves: Next season’s rodeo road trip will encompass nine games in 18 days, beginning with this game against the T’wolves and concluding Feb. 24 against the Suns.

HOMECOMING

Feb. 27 — vs. Suns: The aroma of the rodeo will still be in the arena when Spurs fans get their first look at their heroes in more than three weeks.

THINK ROSE-Y THOUGHTS

March 6 — vs. Bulls: Recent reports indicate 2010-11 MVP Derrick Rose will be sidelined until March. Could this be one of his first games back from a torn ACL?

BE A WITNESS

March 31 — vs. Heat: Love him or hate him, this will be your only chance to see James at ATT Center next season.

SPURS’ PRESEASON SCHEDULE

• Oct. 6: vs. Montespachi Siena, 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 10: vs. Hawks, 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 12: vs. Nuggets, 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 14: at Rockets, 1 p.m.

• Oct. 20: at Heat, 6:30 p.m.

• Oct. 21: at Magic, 5 p.m.

• Oct. 26: at Wizards, 7:30 p.m.

Miami finds way to get big leg up

MIAMI — LeBron James better get well fast. He’s about to play for a championship.

Hardly able to move, James returned from a left leg injury to make the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:54 remaining, and the Miami Heat held off Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 104-98 victory on Tuesday night and a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

With James watching the final moments, Mario Chalmers finished off a standout 25-point effort that matched Dwyane Wade. James had 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, only missing a triple-double because he was on the bench at the end after hurting his leg with a fall to the court.

“Whatever it takes. No excuses,” Wade said. “You don’t want to leave this arena saying you missed opportunities.”

Game 5 is Thursday night, and James will have a chance to finish a championship chase that started in Cleveland before he famously — or infamously — left for South Florida. No team has blown a 3-1 lead in the Finals.

Westbrook scored 43 points for the Thunder, who wasted an early 17-point lead but were never out of the game because of their point guard. Kevin Durant had 28 points, but James Harden threw in another clunker, finishing with eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. Westbrook and Durant were the only Thunder players to score in the last 16:46.

James stumbled to the court on a drive midway through the fourth quarter, staying on the offensive end of the floor as the Heat regained possession on a blocked shot, and he made a short jumper that made it 92-90. After Westbrook missed a jumper, the Heat called time out as James gingerly went to the court. Unable to walk off, he was carried to the sideline by a pair of teammates.

He returned to a huge roar with a little over four minutes left, and after Chris Bosh tied it, James slowly walked into a pull-up 3-point attempt — perhaps doing so knowing he couldn’t drive by anyone.

That made it 97-94, and when Wade followed with a layup with 2:19 left, the Heat finally had enough room to withstand Westbrook, who kept coming all night.

His counterpart, Chalmers, scored more points than he had in the previous three games.

NHL players rip LeBron on Twitter

Shock of all shocks — LeBron James is under fire.

The latest round of criticism comes from an unexpected source: of Miami’s victory over Oklahoma City on Tuesday in Game 4 of the Finals.

The best came from from Nashville Predators defender Scott Valentine, who tweeted the following: If Lebron somehow manages to pull off winning a ring after fighting through a thigh cramp.. it will be a story I tell my children’s children.

, when the Heat can finish off OKC for the first championship of his career.