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Sports Shorts: Green inspires Spurs come-from-behind win over Heat
Danny Green scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter to spark the San Antonio Spurs to a 110-95 come-from-behind victory over the Miami Heat in the opening game of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
San Antonio trailed by seven in the final period but out-scored the Miami 31-9 over the last nine-plus minutes. The Spurs drained six three-pointers, including three by Green, over the last six minutes.
San Antonio were led in scoring by Tim Duncan's 21 points and Tony Parker's 19. LeBron James paced Miami with 25 points, followed by Dwyane Wade with 19 and Chris Bosh with 18.
"We stopped turning the ball over," Duncan told reporters. "All of a sudden it turns into us with ball movement and our shooters getting open shots, which we were trying to get to all game long but they were too much in the passing lanes.
"Their defense was too aggressive and we just couldn't find a way, but we kept pushing and found a way."
Fifty-eight percent shooting, including 13-of-25 from beyond the arc, helped the Spurs overcome a 22-turnover performance.
The second game of the finals, a re-match of last year won by the Heat in seven games, will be in San Antonio on Sunday, before the series shifts to Miami for the next two games.
San Antonio led 54-49 at the half behind 15 points from Duncan, who hit six-of-seven from the floor to the delight of the sold-out crowd at the AT&TCenter.
The Spurs held a 69-67 lead with just under four minutes left in the third quarter but veteran guard Ray Allen scored six points of an 8-0 Miami run to give the Heat a 75-69 lead.
An electrical outage at the arena caused the air conditioning to stop working, allowing temperatures to approach 32 degrees Celsius courtside. Despite the sweltering conditions, the crowd remained raucous until the end.
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Spurs prove stronger than Heat in the heat
LeBron James may have been the only casualty but the sauna-like conditions in Game One of the NBA Finals caused a lot of pain, frustration and dehydration.
Even the fans were not spared from the steamy conditions when an electrical outage caused the air conditioning to fail at the AT&T Center on Thursday.
James, the MVP of the finals the last two seasons, was forced from the game in the fourth quarter with leg cramps with his Miami Heat trailing by two. With the world's best player on the sidelines, the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 110-95 victory.
"I could tell at mid-court seven minutes left in the first quarter that it was very, very warm," Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of basketball operations, told reporters.
"The people sitting around me said they thought it was warmer certainly than normal.
"Once the game starts, it's in the hands of the referees. I was sitting the second row midcourt - were such that the game shouldn't be continued, then they would have come over and said something to me.
"Never did, I never said anything to them regarding the fact that the game should be canceled."
Temperatures reached near 32 degrees Celsius courtside. While the players wilted, the 18,000 fans grabbed anything they could find to fan themselves.
"It was probably tough on both teams," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "Players were pretty dead. So we tried to get guys in and out a little bit more than we usually do.
"Kind of screws up the rhythm a little bit but it was mighty hot out there."
James was thankful for the two days' rest until Sunday's Game Two, saying: "I need it, I need it, I need it."
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Fraser-Pryce struggles again, Gatlin wins in Rome
World and Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's problems continued at the Rome Diamond League meeting on Thursday when the Jamaican was again upstaged by long jump specialist Tori Bowie.
Fraser-Pryce won gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at last year's World Championships in Moscow but her start to the outdoor season has been dogged by a persistent leg injury and she showed no spark in beating home just one of the nine-strong field at the Olympic stadium.
After winning her season-opener in Doha last month, she then pulled out of the Shanghai meeting and finished a disappointing eighth behind American Bowie over 200m in Eugene last weekend.
Bowie, 23, again showed the sprinters how it is done by taking another surprise victory in a personal best 11.05, ahead of Jamaicans Kerron Stewart (11.08) and Simone Facey (11.13).
Unlike Fraser-Pryce, American Justin Gatlin has had no such problems in hitting his stride and clocked 9.91 to win the men's 100, ahead of Jamaica's Nesta Carter (10.02) and Briton Adam Gemili (10.07)
Former Olympic champion Gatlin, who powered out of the blocks and quickly had the race at his mercy, has run the three quickest times in the world this year.
In the night's tighest finish, world 100m hurdles champion Brianna Rollins just got the better of compatriot Dawn Harper-Nelson with just one hundredth of a second separating the pair.
Rollins looked to have the race in control but Harper-Nelson surged late to force a photo finish, with the younger American taking victory in a world-leading 12.53. Queen Harrison was third for a U.S. 1-2-3.
The much anticipated re-match between Rollins and Olympic champion Sally Pearson did not materialise after the Australian, second behind the American in Moscow, pulled out of the meeting earlier in the day.
Pearson said she would have risked suffering an injury by competing and pulled out as "a precaution".
"I am not injured but if I ran I either would've torn my hamstring or ran well off my best - either way was not an option for me," she tweeted.
Kenya's Silas Kiplagat surged late to reel in Djibouti’s 2014 World indoor champion Ayanleh Souleiman to win the men's 1500m in 3:30.44.
Souleiman had clocked the fastest time for a mile race on US soil when winning in Eugene but could not hang on down the straight and was overhauled by Kiplagat in the final 40 metres.
Kenya’s double world champion Asbel Kiprop could not mount a challenge and clung on for third.
There was more Kenyan success with Eunice Sum continuing to show that her surprise world 800m title was no flash in the pan by taking the two-lap victory in 1:59.49, following up her win in Doha last month.
World 400m champion LaShawn Merritt was not extended in breezing to victory in 44.48, while Jamaican Kaliese Spencer clocked the fastest 400m hurdles time of the year with a 53.97 win.
After a terrific indoor season, Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba dominated a strong field to land the women's 5000 in 14:34.99, pulling clear of compatriot Almaz Ayana (14:37.16).
Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim won the men's high jump, equalling the best leap in the world this year with a 2.41m clearance.
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Tough climb but Red Bull can reach summit, says Horner
Struggling Red Bull have a hard mountain to climb but they can still reach the Formula One summit again this year and claim a fifth straight drivers' crown, team principal Christian Horner said on Thursday.
While Mercedes have dominated the season with six wins from six races, Horner and his four times world champion Sebastian Vettel were not giving up hope after arriving in Montreal for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
"Nobody is chucking in the towel," said Horner, even if the standings suggest the title has become a duel between Mercedes team mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
While Rosberg leads overall with 122 points to Hamilton's 118, Australian Daniel Ricciardo has only 54 as the closest Red Bull driver.
"We have a mountain to climb; Take nothing away from Mercedes, they have done an incredible job this year but as we've seen in previous years, we had a difficult start in 2012 and managed to turn that around," said Horner. "Nobody is giving up on anything."
Mercedes have a hefty 240 points in the constructors' standings, with Red Bull second on 99.
The champions have been playing catch-up with an under powered Renault engine but there have been signs of progress. Ricciardo made it onto the podium at the last two races with third place finishes in Spain and Monaco.
The Australian is fourth overall, with Germany's Vettel sixth.