Vorschau » Stoudemire had a powerful follow dunk over Mason Plumlee

MIAMI -- For the entirety of the regular season, the supremacy of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference was brought into serious question by the Indiana Pacers. Then came the playoffs. And the question was answered -- emphatically. The Heat became the third franchise in NBA history to reach the title series in four consecutive seasons, a laugher of a conference-title finale getting them there again Friday night. LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 25 points, and Miami eliminated the Pacers for the third straight year with a 117-92 romp in Game 6 of the East championship series. "Im blessed. Very blessed. Very humbled," James said. "And we wont take this opportunity for granted. Its an unbelievable franchise, its an unbelievable group. And we know we still have work to do, but we wont take this for granted. Were going to four straight Finals and we will never take this for granted." Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each scored 13 points for Miami, which trailed 9-2 before ripping off 54 of the next 75 points to erase any doubt by halftime. The Heat set a franchise record with their 11th straight home post-season win, going back to the final two games of last seasons NBA Finals, leading by 37 at one point. "The group loves to compete and loves to compete at the highest level, and be pushed to new levels," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Indiana led the East for much of the regular season, one where the Pacers were fueled by the memory of losing Game 7 of the East finals in Miami a year ago. So they spent this season with a clear goal: Toppling Miami as kings of the East. The Pacers were two games better in the regular season. They were two games worse in the post-season. Game 7, this time, would have been in Indianapolis. The Pacers just had no shot of making it happen, not on this night. "Its bitterly disappointing to fall short of our goals," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Its bitterly disappointing to lose to this team three years in a row. But were competing against the Michael Jordan of our era, the Chicago Bulls of our era, and you have to tip your hats to them for the way they played this whole series." Paul George had 29 points for Indiana, David West scored 16 and Lance Stephenson -- booed all night -- finished with 11. "No regrets. All of us played hard. They were just the better team, and they won," Stephenson said. So now, the Celtics and Lakers have some company. Until Friday, they were the only teams in NBA history to reach the Finals in four straight years. The Heat have joined them, and their quest for a third straight title starts in either San Antonio or Oklahoma City on Thursday night. "Its all about 15 special men and what theyve been able to accomplish these last four years," said Heat managing general partner Micky Arison, who handed the East title trophy to Greg Oden. "Just a little bit more work to do, but Im really proud of the incredible job that these guys have done." The way they played in Game 6 made a prophet out of Bosh, who predicted Miami would play its best game of the season. The numbers suggested he was right, and then some. Miamis largest lead at any point this season, before Game 6, was 36 points. Indianas largest deficit of the season had been 35 points. After a layup by James with 3:39 left in the third, the margin in this one was a whopping 37 -- 86-49. James night ended not long afterward. "It was just one of those games that we want to play from beginning to end," Bosh said. "Here on our home court, we wanted to make a statement." There were the now-requisite Stephenson events, adding intrigue to the first half. The Indiana guard walked over to James and tapped him in the face in the opening minutes, stood over him after both got tangled under the basket, and got whistled for a flagrant foul for striking Norris Cole in the head in the second quarter. It was the end of a memorable series for Stephenson, none of which really had anything to do with basketball. His string of newsworthy moments from these East finals started when he talked about the health of Wades knees before the series and reached an apex in Game 5 when he blew into James ear and walked into a Heat huddle. When it was over, Stephenson went out and shook hands with plenty of Heat players, as did the rest of his teammates. "To work so hard and to get to where we are now really hurts," Stephenson said. The Heat were bothered by it all -- "angry," Spoelstra confessed -- but got the last laugh. Big Brother, again, reigned supreme in this rivalry. Vogel was using the big brother-little brother analogy earlier in the series, telling the tale of how at some point in every sibling rivalry the younger one has to make a stand. Indiana thought it would happen now. The Heat, obviously, had other ideas. "Theyve won championships," West said Friday when asked if the Pacers considered themselves Miamis equal. "No, were not equal." West said those words about eight hours before game time. They were in no dispute at nights end. NOTES: James appeared in what became his 100th playoff victory. ... The Pacers are now 7-12 against Miami in the last three postseasons, and 20-10 against everybody else. ... Wade and Udonis Haslem are going to the NBA Finals for the fifth time in nine seasons -- with a 15-67 season on their record during that stretch as well. ... Chris Andersen returned from a thigh injury, scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 13 minutes for Miami. Cheap Asics Shoes Online . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Cheap Asics Shoes From China . -- Get a flow chart ready to follow the Packers quarterback situation. http://www.cheapasics.com/ . The White Sox said Wednesday they acquired left-handed pitching prospect Sean Bierman and infielder Ben Kline, who both played at Class A this season. The White Sox dealt Crain to Tampa Bay on July 29. Discount Asics Shoes . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Wholesale Asics Shoes . Louis Blues just continue to roll -- especially against the Nashville Predators. NEW YORK -- At least the New York Knicks can say they won a city championship. Only the Brooklyn Nets have a chance to compete for a real one -- though theyd better play a lot better than this. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 16 points and the Knicks, playing without the injured Carmelo Anthony, beat the Nets 109-98 on Tuesday night to win the season series between city rivals. And in an otherwise massively disappointing season, apparently local bragging rights do matter. "Hell yeah," Knicks guard J.R. Smith said. "I mean, Im cool with some of those guys over there, so I can still say something when were in the gym this summer. As long as I can say they didnt beat us that many times, were good." The Knicks prevented the Nets from clinching the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and won their third straight in their too-little, too-late strong finish. Amare Stoudemire and Smith each added 14 points. Anthony had an MRI exam Tuesday that revealed a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He wont play Wednesday against Toronto, the final game of the first season in his 11-year career that wont end with a playoff berth -- and potentially his last as a member of the Knicks. He has said he will become a free agent in July. Marcus Thornton scored 24 points for the Nets, who werent sharp despite playing starters Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. The other starter, Shaun Livingston, remained sidelined with a sprained right big toe. The Nets still have a magic number of one for finishing fifth. But they could fall to No. 6 if they lose Wednesday in Cleveland and Washington beats Boston. "Tonight was an example of how not to take a step forward. We were off our game offensively, defensively, all phases of the game and thats not how you want to go into the playoffs," Pierce said. The Knicks would be in the playoffs themselves if they played against everyone else the way they did against the Nets while winning three romps. All four games were on national TV, though none was really worth watching after halftime. The Knicks won a pair of routs, 113-83 at Barclays Center in December and 110-81 at Madison Squarre Garden two weeks ago.dddddddddddd The Nets won by 23 in their lone victory. The overhyped city series didnt live up to preseason expectations, much like the Knicks. Players from both sides had sparred in the press during the summer after the Nets made their big off-season moves, expecting to battle to be the best in New York and also the Atlantic Division. Well, the division champion isnt from New York -- or even the U.S. Toronto finished ahead of both teams. The Knicks have defeated the Raptors, Bulls and Nets, currently the Easts Nos. 3-5 seeds, in their last three games, and coach Mike Woodson said it was "irritating" that his team would be watching the playoffs from home. "If we had handled our business early on and didnt let some of the close games get away, we probably wouldnt be standing here. Wed probably be preparing for playoff basketball, but thats not the case," Woodson said. "We put ourselves in this hole and were going to have to live with it this summer and then try to figure it out next season." The Knicks led 29-18 after one and the game got fun midway through the second quarter. Stoudemire had a powerful follow dunk over Mason Plumlee, screaming into the rookies ear afterward. Plumlee responded in the best way possible, dunking on the Nets next two possessions. Plumlee finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. But Brooklyn never really got into the game, and the only real interest in the second half were some occasional dueling chants between the split crowd. A "Goodbye Melo!" chant from a section of Nets fans was soon followed by a loud "Lets go Knicks!" NOTES: The Nets wore their Brooklyn Dodgers-inspired grey uniforms on Jackie Robinson Day. He debuted for the Dodgers as the first black player in the major leagues on this date in 1947. ... Pierce became the sixth player in NBA history to score 1,000 points in 15 straight seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19), Karl Malone (18), John Havlicek (16), Elvin Hayes (15) and Robert Parish (15). ... Mirza Teletovics wife gave birth to twins earlier Tuesday and the Nets reserve forward also will miss Wednesdays game. ' ' '