obviously thats out of all of our control.

MIAMI - It all comes down to this. Heroes are made, legacies are forged and hearts are broken in Game 7s of the NBA Finals. Its a shame they dont come around more often. David Stern has spent 30 years as NBA commissioner, and hes only been able to see the leagues ultimate event five times. The rareness of the one game, winner-take-all scenario is what makes it special. That certainly isnt lost on Stern, who plans to retire in February and is watching his last finals as commissioner. The San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat took this years series to a Game 7 — the third one in the last nine years, a pattern that basketball enthusiasts hope will continue. "To have two well-constructed and each, in their own way, fabled teams with playoff MVPs, with finals MVPs, certain Hall of Famers, seven championships among them, having had a great season," Stern said Thursday afternoon, "its as good as it gets." Rare are the occasions where the season definitively comes down to its very last day. Senses are heightened. Stomachs are churning. "You go through a long season and youre not thinking todays the last day," said ESPN analyst Kurt Rambis, who played in two Game 7s with the Lakers in 1984 and 88. "That one, it is a real defining moment. There are a lot of emotions that you go through thinking about the what-ifs of you winning and what-ifs of you losing. You start thinking about everything you went through to get to that point. Its clear that its over with after today." Its as close as the NBA can get to the drama and stakes of the Super Bowl, and Stern has witnessed the celebration and the heartbreak up close. "Each one of them is so terribly exhilarating," Stern said. "In addition to the exhilaration of the winning team, the despair of the loser is palpable. Its sports at its best. Its the essence of competition." Stern said it would be hard for this series to top Game 6, when LeBron James rallied the Heat from five down with 21 seconds remaining to win it in overtime. It kept Miamis hopes of defending its title alive against Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the veteran core of the Spurs. "I just think everyone, including the spectators, are on edge and thats wonderful," Stern said. "Every possession gets magnified. Every move, every coaching change, every adjustment, it becomes a clinic about the beauty of our game." Heres a look at some of the most recent finals Game 7s: ___ 2010: Lakers 83, Celtics 79. Kobe Bryant had tried to pretend the Celtics were just another opponent, but he could finally admit otherwise after the Lakers pulled off a fourth-quarter rally to avenge a loss to their biggest rival two years earlier. It wasnt a pretty performance for Bryant, who shot just 6 of 24 for his 23 points, but he got help from Pau Gasol (19 points, 18 rebounds) and a surprising 20 points from Ron Artest, before he was Metta World Peace. The Lakers needed a big comeback after the Celtics led by 13 in the second half. Bostons old guys ran out of gas, with Paul Pierce shooting just 5 of 15, Ray Allen 3 of 14 and Rasheed Wallace wearing down after being forced to play 36 minutes because starting centre Kendrick Perkins injured his knee in Game 6. With their second straight championship and 16th overall, the Lakers pulled within one of the Celtics for the most in NBA history. ___ 2005: Spurs 81, Pistons 74. Tied at 57 going into the final quarter, the final game of the 2005 season was anything but an offensive masterpiece. But the Spurs found more than enough scoring down the stretch to capture their third title in six years, with Duncan finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Ginobili adding 23 more. Duncan opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a dunk, and the Spurs never trailed in the final 12 minutes. Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen and Ginobili all came up with big 3-pointers for the Spurs in the final quarter, with Ginobilis basically serving as the backbreaker for Detroit, putting the Pistons in a 72-65 hole with 2:57 left. The Pistons never got within four again. Five players scored in double-figures for Detroit, with Richard Hamilton leading the way with a hard-fought 15 points on 6 for 18 shooting. ___ 1994: Rockets 90, Knicks 84. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets past the New York Knicks and officially ending the Chicago Bulls reign atop the NBA world. Its not Olajuwons stats that people remember most about Game 7. That distinction goes to John Starks, the Knicks guard who kept shooting and shooting ... and missing and missing. Starks finished 2 for 18 from the floor, scoring just eight points for New York. And the Knicks still had a great chance, being down just three points with under 3 minutes remaining. But a basket by Olajuwon and a 3-pointer by Vernon Maxwell all but sealed the title for Houston. Maxwell finished with 21 for the Rockets. For the Knicks, Derek Harper scored 23 points and Patrick Ewing finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. As for Starks, his 0 for 11 from 3-point range has only been matched once in the two decades since, by Antoine Walker in 2001. ___ 1988: Lakers 108, Pistons 105. Pat Riley famously said that his Los Angeles Lakers would defend their 1987 title. He was correct, but his club was taken to the absolute limit by Detroit. The Pistons played down the stretch without their floor leader, as Isiah Thomas succumbed to the sprained ankle he was trying to play through. But they gave the Lakers all they wanted, cutting a 15-point deficit all the way to one on Bill Laimbeers 3-pointer. The Pistons would not score again, the Lakers got a layup to clinch the title and with that Rileys team survived its third Game 7 of that years playoffs. James Worthy was magnificent, finishing with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for Los Angeles, which went 4-0 in games where it was facing post-season elimination. Joe Dumars scored 25 for the Pistons, who led the series 3-2 before the 2-3-2 series returned to Los Angeles. ___ 1984: Celtics 111, Lakers 102. Round 1 goes to Larry Legend. In the first finals meeting between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the Celtics and Lakers traded punches in a tense first six games. Back at the Boston Garden for Game 7, Bird put up 20 points and 12 rebounds to get the better of his rival from Los Angeles. The Lakers cut a 14-point deficit to three with just over a minute remaining, but Cedric Maxwell forced a key steal on a pass from Johnson to Worthy and Dennis Johnson hit two free throws to seal the victory. Maxwell led the way with 24 points, eight assists and eight rebounds and Dennis Johnson scored 22 points for the Celtics. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 29 points, Worthy had 21 and Magic Johnson had 16 points and 15 assists for the Lakers. Magic would get his revenge over Bird in two more finals clashes, but he made just 5 of 14 shots in this one. ___ 1978: Bullets 105, SuperSonics 99. One of the most unlikely matchups — Seattle came out of the West as a No. 4 seed and Washington was the third seed in the East — provided one of the more memorable games in finals history. The Bullets led by 11 points before Seattle surged back into the game, cutting the deficit to 101-99 in the final 90 seconds. Sonics big man Paul Silas intentionally fouled Bullets forward Wes Unseld, who was a 63 per cent foul shooter for his career. But Unseld made both free throws and Bobby Dandridge dunked home the last of his 19 points to seal Washingtons only basketball title. Dennis Johnson was 0 for 14 from the floor, but Marvin "The Human Eraser" Webster scored 27 points and Jack Sikma chipped in 21 for the Sonics. Charles Johnson scored 19 points and Unseld added 15 points for Washington, which the last team to win a Game 7 on the road. ___ AP Basketball Writers Brian Mahoney and Tim Reynolds contributed to this story. Nike Air Max 270 Outlet . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Nike Air Max 270 Sale . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Fake Nike Air Max 270 . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. MILWAUKEE -- After losing staff ace Clayton Kershaw to the disabled list with a lower back injury, the Los Angeles Dodgers moved quickly to shore up a depleted pitching staff by acquiring right-hander Bud Norris from the Atlanta Braves.Norris last pitched Sunday, firing seven scoreless innings at the New York Mets. He?is in line to start Friday against the Colorado Rockies, the spot Kershaw would have occupied.The Dodgers announced earlier Thursday that Kershaw received an epidural shot on his ailing lower back and was headed to the 15-day disabled list. Hours later, the team announced that an MRI exam revealed that Kershaw had a mild disk herniation but would not require surgery. The team said it would announce his expected recovery time at a later date.The Dodgers will officially place Kershaw on the disabled list on Friday.Kershaw had his second-worst outing of the season Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up four runs on nine hits. A day later, as the Dodgers finished a four-game series in Pittsburgh, he was being examined in Los Angeles for what was then labeled as minor back discomfort.I think that he understands thats the best course of action, manager Dave Roberts said of placing Kershaw on the DL. Hes been our most valuable player. And when you lose a player to the disabled list like Clayton that you have counted on every fifth day for a start -- obviously thats out of all of our control.I know Clayton is very disappointed. But its up to us to pick him up.Roberts told ESPN.com on Monday that the back problem had been an off-and-on issue for Kershaw.Kershaw, whho has made at least 30 starts in six of the past seven seasons, is in the midst of one of the best seasons ever by a pitcher.dddddddddddd Even with the loss to the Pirates on Sunday, he is 11-2 with a National League-leading 1.79 ERA. He also leads the NL with 121 innings, 145 strikeouts, a 0.727 WHIP and 0.7 walks per nine innings.Kershaws 16.11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which had been as high as 20-to-1 earlier this month, would crush the major league record of 11.63 set by the Minnesota Twins Phil Hughes in 2014.The Dodgers are 14-2 when Kershaw pitches this season and 29-35 when he does not.Those will not be easy shoes to fill for Norris, 31, who was 3-7 with a 4.22 ERA for the Braves this season. In 22 appearances this season, Norris has made 11 starts. His last five outings were as a starter for the Braves; he was 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA in that span.In the deal with the Braves, the Dodgers also receive outfielder Dian Toscano, a player to be named later and cash considerations. Norris was on a one-year deal with the Braves at $2.5 million.The Dodgers give up minor-league pitchers Philip Pfeifer and Caleb Dirks in order to acquire Norris. Pfeifer, 23, is a combined 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA at two Single-A levels this season, and was a third-round pick in 2015. Dirks, 23, was 3-2 with a 1.44 ERA in relief at Double-A Tulsa. He is a former Braves draft pick.To make room for Norris on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated left-hander Ian Thomas for assignment. ' ' '