Manu Ginobili

SAN ANTONIO -  LeBron James won four of the last five MVP awards, carried the Miami Heat to a near-historic 27-game winning streak and shot a sublime 57% this season. Now he's one loss away from another humbling failure, the San Antonio Spurs sticking it to Miami, 114-104, Sunday to take a 3-2 edge in the NBA Finals. James had another ragged game, Manu Ginobili completely stole the stage and Miami never led in Game 5 at AT&T Center. BOX SCORE: San Antonio 114, Miami 104 Game 6 is Tuesday in Miami, but Game 7 carries the daunting if-necessary asterisk next to it. "I have to come up big for sure in Game 6," said James, who is 8-12 in Finals games.

SAN ANTONIO -  LeBron James won four of the last five MVP awards, carried the Miami Heat to a near-historic 27-game winning streak and shot a sublime 57% this season. Now he's one loss away from another humbling failure, the San Antonio Spurs sticking it to Miami, 114-104, Sunday to take a 3-2 edge in the NBA Finals. James had another ragged game, Manu Ginobili completely stole the stage and Miami never led in Game 5 at AT&T Center. BOX SCORE: San Antonio 114, Miami 104 Game 6 is Tuesday in Miami, but Game 7 carries the daunting if-necessary asterisk next to it. "I have to come up big for sure in Game 6," said James, who is 8-12 in Finals games.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Manu Ginobili is starting for a second consecutive game. The Oklahoma City Thunder is hoping to finish off Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs. Ginobili was fantastic in a starting role in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, scoring 34 points on 11-for-21 shooting and collecting seven assists. But it wasn't enough to help the Spurs avoid a 108-103 loss. San Antonio seeks a better result in a win-or-else Game 6 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday night.

MIAMI - Stretching his legs, Manu Ginobili grimaced a little. He did a quick drill and cringed a little more during Saturday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. At 35, it isn't getting any easier for this member of the Spurs' Big Three. Production is down for the 11-year veteran entering Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. "I'm happy with the way I move that ball," Ginobili said after arriving late to the arena Saturday. "I made a few mistakes defensively, but we all learned from that.

San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili was one of the Spurs' greatest steals.  They selected him with the 57th overall pick in the 1999 draft. He went on to become a two-time All-Star and a three-time NBA champion. Ginobili currently averages 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists for a team that's at the top of the Western Conference standings. We caught up with him before the Spurs thumped the Lakers, 112-91, on Tuesday evening.

Heading into the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs looked to be a more favorable matchup for the Lakers than some other contenders, partly because of their health. Both Manu Ginobili (hamstring) and Tony Parker (neck, shin) were banged up to finish the regular season. If neither were on their game, perhaps the Lakers would be able to pull off an upset despite being without Kobe Bryant (Achilles). Of course once the game tipped off, Ginobili and Parker managed 18 points apiece to lead their team to a Game 1 victory.

MIAMI - Stretching his legs, Manu Ginobili grimaced a little. He did a quick drill and cringed a little more during Saturday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. At 35, it isn't getting any easier for this member of the Spurs' Big Three. Production is down for the 11-year veteran entering Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. "I'm happy with the way I move that ball," Ginobili said after arriving late to the arena Saturday. "I made a few mistakes defensively, but we all learned from that.

SAN ANTONIO - The perfect team just got better. Manu Ginobili located the shooting touch that had betrayed him in the first two rounds of the playoffs, leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder feeling lost after his breakthrough performance in the opener of the Western Conference finals. The veteran guard made nine of 14 shots and three of five three-pointers on the way to scoring a postseason-high 26 points for San Antonio on Sunday at the AT&T Center during the Spurs' 101-98 victory.

BOSTON — Manu Ginobili scored 28 points, and Richard Jefferson had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 94-73 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. The Spurs beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and Celtics in consecutive games, and next go to New Jersey to play the nine-win Nets on Monday. San Antonio has won 12 of its last 16 to move into a three-way tie with Portland and Oklahoma City for sixth place in the Western Conference. Boston, which had won six of seven, posted its lowest point total and worst home loss of the season.

San Antonio 95, at New York 88: Tony Parker scored 22 points, Manu Ginobili had 17, and the duo made the key plays in the final minutes to power the Spurs to their eighth win in 10 games. The Knicks' David Lee matched a season high with 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, outplaying Tim Duncan (13 points), but New York still finished 3-2 on a five-game homestand, losing the last two. at Cleveland 108, Houston 83: LeBron James scored 29 points, Mo Williams had 20 and the Cavaliers rode a stifling defense and a flurry of three-pointers to victory.

Heat vs. Spurs: How they match up A look at the two teams before Game 1 of the NBA Finals LeBron James is right when he says he's way better than the player who couldn't carry Cleveland past San Antonio in the 2007 NBA Finals. It's also true that James' Miami Heat has a much better supporting cast than those Cavaliers did. The problem for Miami in these Finals could be what hasn't changed much since then: the Spurs. The core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili is playing as well collectively as it ever has, and Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich has perfectly aligned his role players Tiago Splitter, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to provide big-time contributions.

MIAMI - It truly is a case in which you can throw out the previous games between the teams. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs will meet in the NBA Finals, but don't expect the series to resemble their two games during the regular season. In fact, Thursday's series opener is the first time both teams will play one another at full strength. "It's crazy that it worked out this way, that we are both in the Finals," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. What's even crazier is how their regular-season series played out. The teams were supposed to meet in a star-studded, nationally televised game in late November.

-- Paul McCartney rocked FedEx Forum on Sunday night in the sixth stop on his worldwide tour. The legendary singer, who turns 71 next month, had ended a recent show by assuring fans he would be back. The San Antonio Spurs have a trio of aging stars who can relate to being pestered about their futures. And they wish everyone would let it be. "If we listened to you guys," point guard Tony Parker recently said of the media, "we would be done in 2008. We don't think like that.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - They bluffed. The Memphis Grizzlies came out and pummeled the San Antonio Spurs with quick hands and swatting arms, their swarming defense helping to forge a huge early lead. Then the Spurs fixed their wayward offense and the Grizzlies reverted to long stretches of the ragged play that has characterized a series that could soon be over. Tim Duncan was an ageless wonder in overtime for a second consecutive game, helping San Antonio tilt things heavily in its favor with a 104-93 victory Saturday night at FedEx Forum in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Uh-oh, 2-0? The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in a familiar place, having won the first two games of the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive season. This is where their season unraveled in stunning fashion last year amid a barrage of baskets by Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The Spurs lost four consecutive games, a season-ending slide that seemed all the more improbable considering they had won their previous 20 games.

The Lakers (45-37) were no match for the San Antonio Spurs - not with Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks and Metta World Peace all in street clothes. San Antonio (58-24) had little trouble completing the sweep on Sunday with a 103-82 victory. "It wasn't a fair fight," said Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich. "When you're a competitor, you want to compete on an even basis and the Lakers weren't able to do that. " It's difficult to gauge how much was San Antonio was playing outstanding basketball or the Lakers not having the talent on the floor.

-- Paul McCartney rocked FedEx Forum on Sunday night in the sixth stop on his worldwide tour. The legendary singer, who turns 71 next month, had ended a recent show by assuring fans he would be back. The San Antonio Spurs have a trio of aging stars who can relate to being pestered about their futures. And they wish everyone would let it be. "If we listened to you guys," point guard Tony Parker recently said of the media, "we would be done in 2008. We don't think like that.

at San Antonio 102, Cleveland 97: Manu Ginobili scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs ended the Cavaliers' eight-game win streak. LeBron James had 27 points for Cleveland. Miami 87, at Milwaukee 74: Dwyane Wade had 30 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Heat. Bucks forward Carlos Delfino was taken from the court on a stretcher after a knock to the head in the second quarter. The Bucks said Delfino was moving all extremities and was taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays because of pain in his head and jaw. at Boston 94, Sacramento 86: Rajon Rondo had a career-high 18 assists, Paul Pierce scored 22 points and the Celtics won for the sixth time in seven games.

Heading into the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs looked to be a more favorable matchup for the Lakers than some other contenders, partly because of their health. Both Manu Ginobili (hamstring) and Tony Parker (neck, shin) were banged up to finish the regular season. If neither were on their game, perhaps the Lakers would be able to pull off an upset despite being without Kobe Bryant (Achilles). Of course once the game tipped off, Ginobili and Parker managed 18 points apiece to lead their team to a Game 1 victory.

SAN ANTONIO - Steve Nash stared at an unknown point way up high inside AT&T Center, shaking his head and muttering to himself as he went to the sideline for a timeout. Two minutes had barely passed in the third quarter of the Lakers' playoff opener Sunday. He was three for 10 at the time against the San Antonio Spurs and looked every bit like a 39-year-old coming back from a three-week layoff. "I'm not myself," Nash said. "I'm not moving that well. I'm struggling a little bit. I probably had a few shots in there that I probably normally make, but I still think it's important to try and contribute.