LeBron James says title wasnt lucky SAN ANTONIO -- LeBron James and Dwyane Wade want to put an end to the notion that luck delivered the Miami Heats NBA title last season. As they prepare for a rematch against the San Antonio Spurs, James and Wade pushed back against the perception that Ray Allens 3-pointer in Game 6 occurred after some fortunate bounces saved their teams season. We feel slighted, James said before the Heats practice on Wednesday. I cant sit here and lie to you, we do. ... It went seven [games], it wasnt like it was 3-0 and they had us in Game 4 and we took it and won four straight. If you look at the numbers, look at the numbers, the lead changes, the ties and the points in that series, its almost even. The Heat trailed by five points with 28.2 seconds left in Game 6 but forced overtime on Allens shot with five seconds left. They won in overtime and came back to win Game 7 after trailing three times in the series. Wade says the Spurs won a game on a challenging, clutch shot by Tony Parker in Game 1, but no one considers that lucky. Game 6 was unbelievable to be able to come back and win that game, Wade said. But thats the game of basketball. You know, the ball bounces funny ways. Game 1, the shot that Tony Parker hit, I mean, that was unbelievable, to get off the ground and hit that shot and just get it off. The ball bounces in funny ways. And were thankful for Ray Allen making that shot, but there were so many other things that had to play right for us to win that game. So you need a little luck, both ways, even to be in the Finals. We were a recipient of luck in that [Game 6] moment, but we won the championship. The Heat seem to be looking for ways to create an edge as they approach Game 1 on Thursday. In the days leading up to their departure for San Antonio, several Heat players have said Tim Duncans comments that the Spurs intend to beat the Heat this time around were serving as a motivational tool. Now both James and Wade seem determined to make sure last seasons title is in what they feel is the proper context as they attempt to beat the Spurs again. Both teams put themselves in a position to win an NBA championship [last year], and we just happened to make one or two more plays to win it, James said. At the end of the day it doesnt take away that we did win last year, but thats last year. Last year is last year and were excited about it, but this trophy this year belongs to nobody. Its up for grabs.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 22:42:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015