12-27-2015, 03:06 AM
SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker is still thankful for the role players who helped carry San Antonio to its last NBA title in 2007. Orioles Wieters Jersey . There was Robert Horry, a seven-time champion and official finals good-luck charm if there ever was one. Michael Finley, who was hitting 3-pointers at a much better rate in those playoffs than he did in the regular season that year. Fabricio Oberto, who probably never had a play called for him but found ways to get things done. The Spurs had a Big 3 then, the same one that they have now. But three is rarely enough, and thats been proven once again in these NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw have been exactly what San Antonio needed in this matchup against the Miami Heat, and might be the two biggest reasons why the Spurs are one win away from their fifth NBA championship. The Spurs lead these finals 3-1, and will look to end Miamis reign in Game 5 at home on Sunday night. "If you want to win championships, obviously you need a Big 3," Parker said. "But you need your role players to play great too. And every time we won championships in the past, the Big 3, we played great, but we had great role players. ... If you want to go all the way, you need the whole team to play great." Thats what the Spurs are getting. Parker is leading the Spurs in scoring, Tim Duncan is leading in rebounding and the Western Conference champions are outscoring Miami by 62 points so far with Manu Ginobili on the floor -- so yes, the Big 3 is doing its part. But when the Spurs took control of the series by winning Games 3 and 4 in Miami, Leonard led the charge by averaging 24.5 points on 68 per cent shooting. And Diaw has 23 assists so far in the series, more than anyone else and none probably better than his behind-the-back offering out of the post that set Tiago Splitter up for a dunk in Game 4. Theres already talk that Leonard could be in line to win MVP of the finals. In an absolutely not-shocking development, he wanted no part of that talk. "It feels the same for me as any game going into it," Leonard said of the anticipation level for Game 5. "All Im thinking about is playing. Im not worried about what if we win or lose, and we just want to go out and play." Such is the Spurs way. The makeup of a player who perfectly fits into the San Antonio system has remained unchanged for the better part of two decades. He values team play over any individual accolade. He never says too much, particularly about himself. He stays in the moment, avoiding the urge to look ahead or behind. Leonard and Diaw meet all those characteristics. "San Antonio is playing great," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Theyre moving the basketball. Theyre exploiting where were normally good, so we have to do a better job. Even when weve made adjustments, theyve still been able to stay in a rhythm and a flow." Its hard to remember now that Diaw couldnt get minutes with the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats -- a team that finished with the worst record in NBA history -- in part because then-coach Paul Silas was frustrated with Diaws penchant for passing the ball instead of taking shots at times. So the Bobcats waived him late that season. The Spurs picked him up and in Game 4 of these finals, Diaw had more assists (nine) than shots (six). Go figure. "He really has a high basketball IQ," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Diaw. "I think he raises the level for everyone. At the defensive end, hes pretty heady, not the quickest guy in the world, but really smart. Does his work early and understands whats going on. At the offensive end, he can score inside and out, and he passes the ball really well. Hes a consummate team sort of guy." Diaw is just the third player to have a game with at least nine rebounds and nine assists during these playoffs, with Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook being the others. For his part, Diaw said hes never cared about scoring. If the team scores, thats good enough for him. "Its just moving the ball, playing with everybody," Diaw said. "There is nobody really just watching. Everybodys involved, and everybody gets the ball at some point. So its been good." Good, indeed. One more win, and these Spurs officially become great. Manny Machado Replic Jersey . TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT DETROIT LIONS, 1:00 PM (ET) Tampa Bay - None Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, G Garrett Reynolds, DE Larry Webster NEW YORK JETS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS, 1:00 PM (ET) NY Jets - TE Jace Amaro, G Dakota Dozier, OL Wesley Johnson, WR Walter Powell, QB Matt Simms, CB Josh Thomas, DL Muhammad Wilkerson Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, DE Scott Crichton, FB Zach Line, CB Jabari Price, LB Brandon Watts, OT JMarcus Webb, G David Yankey ST. Matt Wieters Orioles Jersey . PAUL, Minn.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Carson Palmer knew Detroits reputation for penalties, so when he let go of his pass with the game on the line, a pass interference call was a definite possibility. Sure enough, Lions cornerback Bill Bentley collided with receiver Andre Roberts in the end zone. A flag was thrown, a 31-yard penalty was called. It was Arizonas only third-down conversion -- in 11 tries-- of the day. Two plays later, Rashard Mendenhall scored on a 1-yard run with 1:59 to play and the Cardinals won 25-21 on Sunday in Bruce Arians home debut as Arizonas coach. "Its something we talked about a lot," Palmer said. "Those DBs play the receiver, they dont play the ball, and when we have opportunities and theyre staring at the receiver, theyre going to face-guard. Dre (Roberts) did a great job setting that up." Jay Feely kicked four field goals and Carson Palmer threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to rookie Andre Ellington for Arizona (1-1). Ellington, a sixth-round draft pick out of Clemson, also had a 16-yard catch to start the deciding drive. "Its not always going to be perfect," Arians said. "Youve got to learn how to ride the emotions of the game, stay with it. I thought our coaches did a great job with some adjustments in the second half and some young kids really stepped up." Kerry Taylor, promoted from the practice squad Saturday, had three catches for 40 yards, all late in the game with Larry Fitzgerald sidelined with a sore hamstring. They were Taylors first NFL catches. Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson on touchdown plays of 72 and 3 yards, and DeAndre Levy returned an interception 66 yards for a score for Detroit (1-1), which led 21-13 midway through the third quarter. Time and again, Detroit found itself starting deep in its own territory. "I feel like we lost the field position battle today big-time," Stafford said. The Lions were penalized eight times for 101 yards. Asked how the team could cut down on that problem, Stafford said the Lions are trying. "Were making a concerted effort to try and play cleaner football this year," he said. "I dont know. Maybe (we should be) asking them to quit throwing flags on us, I dont know." Detroits Reggie Bush left the game after taking a helmet to the knee early in the second quarter, and played only briefly in the second half. "I was able to go back in the game, but I wasnt myself," he said. "I probably shouldnt have gone back in the game, but I tried to give it a shot. We will see what happens this week. I am not sure, buut I dont think it is anything serious. Machado Jersey. ." Detroit also was without standout defensive tackle Nick Fairley with a sore shoulder. Arizonas defence, which held the Lions offence scoreless in the second half, forced Detroit to punt from its 8 late. "We pride ourselves on showing up when it matters," Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said, "and we showed up at the end of the game when it really mattered." The Cardinals took over at their 39 and Palmers 16-yard pass to Ellington quickly moved it to the Detroit 45. The drive stalled at the 32, and on third-and-8 Palmer threw deep for Andre Roberts, who slowed down to wait for the ball and was hit by Bentley. After an incomplete pass, Palmer handed off to Mendenhall, who stretched the ball over the goal line with one hand for the deciding score. Palmers pass on the 2-point conversion attempt failed. The Lions hopes ended when Nate Burleson was stopped short of the first down by rookie Tyrann Mathieu. While Feely was good from 47, 23, 43 and 33 yards, Detroits David Akers missed a 47-yarder and had another 47-yard attempt blocked by Justin Bethel. Stafford completed 24 of 36 for 278 yards and two TDs, but was only 8 of 16 for 77 yards in the second half. Palmer finished 22 of 39 for 248 yards. Actually, Akers misfired twice in Detroits first scoring threat. His 52-yard attempt was wide right, but Bethel was called for running into the kicker. Then, Akers 47-yard attempt was wide left. Feely made his 47-yard try to put Arizona up 3-0 with 11:44 left in the half. Three plays later, Stafford threw short over the middle to Johnson, who raced 72 yards for the score. Arizonas Karlos Dansby had a chance to knock the pass down or intercept, but Stafford threw the ball so hard it zipped through the linebackers hands. The Cardinals responded with a six-play, 80-yard drive on their next possession. Palmer lofted a 22-yard pass to Fitzgerald, then found Ellington open on a 36-yard play for the score to put Arizona up 10-7 with 7:32 to play in the second quarter. Detroit regained the lead with a 10-play, 92-yard touchdown drive capped by Staffords 3-yard touchdown pass to Johnson with 1:55 left in the half. Notes: After the game, Peterson asked Johnson to trade jerseys and the Lions star obliged. ... Besides defending Johnson and returning punts, Peterson also caught a pass and completed one. ... Detroit is the only team Arizona has beaten in the Cardinals last 14 games. Arizona has beaten the Lions twice and gone 0-12 against everyone else ... Campbell got Arizonas first sack of the season. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '