Miami

MIAMI — Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra over the past two seasons has been given opportunity after opportunity to respond to any gesture or comment directed toward his team. He has always taken the high road by simply ignoring "the noise. " It was no different when Spoelstra was asked his thoughts on Boston Coach Doc Rivers' saying the Celtics packed a week's worth of luggage for their trip to Miami for Saturday's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. In typical Spoelstra fashion, he refused to get caught up in discussing outside factors.

— Indiana Pacers Coach Frank Vogel stressed Monday he meant no disrespect to the Miami Heat in his postgame comments Saturday night and took to South Florida radio to clear the air. After the Pacers eliminated the New York Knicks in Saturday's Game 6 of that Eastern Conference semifinal series, Vogel said: "This is not about getting back at Miami. You're in the final four, you're competing for a championship, you're competing for a championship. And they're just the next team that's in our way. And that's how we're approaching it. " Vogel said Monday he was not minimizing the Heat's accomplishments as defending NBA champions, with the teams to open the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Lakers tonight AT MIAMI Time: 4 PST. On the air: TV: TNT; Radio: 710; 1330. Where: American Airlines Arena. Records: Lakers 46-19; Heat 43-21. Record vs. Heat: 0-1. Update: Miami has lost six of its last seven games, the lone victory a 121-113 decision over Washington. Surprisingly, four of those losses were in home games against New York, Orlando, Chicago and Portland. The Lakers have lost their last two games in Miami, including a 114-111 setback last season in which they allowed 15 points in overtime.

The NFL will celebrate its 50th Super Bowl in Northern California, where its newest, most high-tech venue is being built. That makes South Florida, in the midst of a spat over expensive stadium renovations, a loser for the 2016 game. And Miami took a double defeat when Houston was awarded the 2017 championship game. In separate votes, NFL owners Tuesday went with the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston on the first ballot at their spring meetings. The 49ers' new home is set to open next year in Santa Clara and will host the first Super Bowl in the area since 1985.

INDIANA AT MIAMI 3 p.m. PDT Sunday. TV: None. Winners of 17 consecutive games, Miami is wiping away some of its smudges from earlier in the season while it cleans up on the rest of the NBA. Last week, the Heat posted a resounding comeback victory against New York after previously suffering a pair of 20-point defeats against the Knicks. Now the Heat looks to improve on its 0-2 record against Indiana, widely perceived as the only realistic challenger to the defending NBA champions in the Eastern Conference.

Clippers today at Miami When: 9 a.m. PST. Where: AmericanAirlines Arena. On the Air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 19-30, Heat 36-14. Record vs. Heat: 1-0. Update: Just call this one "Breakfast with Blake and Baron. " Not a misprint, a start time of 9 a.m. for viewers in Los Angeles, noon in Miami. The Clippers scored a stunning 44 points in the first quarter against the Heat in their victory against Miami on Jan. 12 at Staples Center.

4. BOSTON VS. 5. MIAMI Season series: Celtics, 3-0 Key stat: Miami finished 18-4, Boston 27-27. Personnel-wise, the bigger, deeper Celtics are a mismatch for the Heat on paper but that's meaningless as Kendrick Perkins noted recently, adding, "Look at us." In denial, Boston management and fans criticized their overachieving players' effort level. Coach Doc Rivers is now considering resigning, a sign he knows this is all they have left. Now everyone's anxious to see just how much that is, starting with them.

MIAMI AT BOSTON Sunday, 10 a.m., Channel 7: In good news for the Lakers, sort of, the Celtics may have been looking past them, to a big game. Since falling in Boston in the opener, the Heat has been written off at 9-8 with LeBron James reportedly trying to dump Coach Erik Spoelstra ... hailed in a 21-1 run... forgotten in a 1-4 swoon amid injuries to James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh ... and is once more being hailed on an eight-game winning streak. Miami is supposedly overmatched by the Celtics' size, even with Shaquille O'Neal out. Actually, Miami plays tough defense ?

Looking ahead MIAMI AT ORLANDO: Tuesday at 4 p.m. PDT. TV: NBA TV. It could be the penultimate game of Dwight Howard's Orlando career, or just another game against an Eastern Conference power. The Magic has somehow thrived amid all the Howard trade talk, winning three of its last four games to solidify its hold on the No. 3 playoff seeding in the East. Included in that stretch was a 99-94 victory over Chicago at the United Center that ended the Bulls' eight-game winning streak.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS 1. Miami vs. 3. Indiana Season series: Pacers, 2-1. Key stat: Miami leads the NBA in field-goal accuracy during the playoffs, making 49.1% of its shots, while holding opponents to a league-low 40.9% shooting. Outlook: As usual, the drama between these teams started before the series opener. Indiana Coach Frank Vogel irritated Miami with his comment about the Heat's being "just the next team that's in our way," one year after he accused Miami's players of being the NBA's most egregious floppers.

This weekend's series between the Dodgers and the Miami Marlins matches last-place teams that took wildly divergent routes to the cellar. New Dodgers ownership splurged for a star-studded roster and the highest payroll in baseball - a $230-million collection of talent that has produced the worst record in the National League West. And yet the Dodgers, despite a 13-20 record before Friday, lead the major leagues in attendance. Meanwhile, after loading up on high-priced free agents to attract fans to his team's new ballpark in 2012, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria gutted his roster by season's end. The starless Marlins arrived at Dodger Stadium with a 10-25 record, the worst in the National League.

Eastern Conference semifinal No. 1 Miami vs. No. 5 Chicago Season series: Tied, 2-2. Key stat: Miami held Milwaukee to 85.3 points per game in its first-round sweep of the Bucks. Outlook: Chicago mucked things up for Miami in the regular season, ending the Heat's 27-game winning streak that fell only six games short of the NBA record. This isn't the regular season. This is the time of year when the Heat becomes unbearable, as evidenced by its romp over Milwaukee that was the closest thing the league had to a first-round bye. Miami is also enjoying the benefit of extra rest for Dwyane Wade's sore right knee, which kept him out of Game 4 against the Bucks.

Every game, someone different steps up for the Miami Heat. Well, someone different and LeBron James. Ageless Ray Allen scored 23 points, setting the NBA career playoff record for three-pointers in the process, and James had seven of his 22 points during a decisive run that closed out the third quarter — and maybe the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat's 104-91 victory Thursday night at Milwaukee gave the defending champions a 3-0 lead, with a chance to complete the sweep Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

EASTERN CONFERENCE HEAT VS. BUCKS 1. Miami 66-16 (Home: 37-4; Road: 29-12) 8. Milwaukee 38-44 (Home: 21-20; Road: 17-24) Season series: Miami, 3-1. Key stat: LeBron James is making a career-best 56.5% of his shots, which is all the more stunning when you consider he shot 41.7% as a rookie sensation nine seasons ago. Outlook: Milwaukee may not be the 1985-86 Chicago Bulls, who made the playoffs despite a 30-52 record, but it deserves dishonorable mention for beep, beep, beeping into the playoffs like a truck in reverse.

The NBA toughened its anti-flopping rules for the playoffs, perhaps giving the Lakers an unintended nudge. The team widely expected to meet the Miami Heat in the Finals made a sham-mockery of the season's first four months, not to mention its league-high $100-million payroll, before securing a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. Not that forward Metta World Peace believes the Lakers will be an easy out given that they have won five consecutive games, a relatively epic streak by their standards.

MIAMI VS. DALLAS 2. MIAMI 58-24 First round: def. Philadelphia, 4-1 Second round: def. Boston, 4-1 Third round: def. Chicago, 4-1 3. DALLAS 57-25 First round: def. Portland, 4-2 Second round: def. Lakers, 4-0 Third round: def. Oklahoma City, 4-1 Season series: Dallas, 2-0. Key stat: Mike Bibby, Mike Miller and James Jones, who averaged a combined 3.9 three-point baskets in March, averaged...

SEE YOU IN THE FINALS 1. MIAMI (63-16) Playoffs really begin for Heat on June 6: That's start date for the Finals. (1) 2. OKLAHOMA CITY (59-21)  Thunder may not miss James Harden in first round; it may see him every day. (2) HOPING TO MAKE THINGS INTERESTING 3. SAN ANTONIO (58-21)  Playoff series vs. Lakers would be same as Gregg Popovich resting starters. (3) 4. DENVER (54-25) Ty Lawson back, putting a drag on everyone trying to keep up with Nuggets. (4) 5. MEMPHIS (54-26)

Redefining night life? That'd be Miami Regarding "For Creatures of the Night" [March 24] on Miami Beach: Jenn Harris needs to step away from Miami Beach, because anything done there is not redefining. Time to cross the bridge and step into the real Miami. Visit such places as Will Call, Space, Grand Central, the Garret, Wood Tavern, Shots Miami and the Electric Pickle Co. These places are a redefinition of typical Miami Beach night life. Marlon DeLeon Miami Wheelchair-friendly cruises Regarding "The Right Questions" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, March 24]