Heat coach Pat Riley stood in the center circle of his team's locker room Saturday morning, the space that features a rendering of the NBA championship trophy in the carpet, and challenged his players to join him for a sparring session.

''He came in the locker room [Saturday] jumping around, ready to spar,'' Dwyane Wade said of his 62-year-old coach. ``Nobody wanted to get in the circle with him to spar. He was in the middle. Udonis [Haslem] punked out, Dorell [Wright] punked out, [Gary Payton] punked out. They didn't want none. He's got the old man strength, too, so you can't let him grab you or it's over.''

Of course, Riley's message wasn't about fighting to the end. It was about fighting to avoid it.