April 2013 Basketball Wiretap

LeBron To Wear Headband For Game 7

Jun 19, 2013 2:41 PM

LeBron James lost his headband during the fourth quarter of the Game 6 comeback win by the Miami Heat.

James was asked on Wednesday whether he will wear it for Game 7 on Thursday.

"I'll probably start with it, I'm a little superstitious," said James.

James has played with a headband throughout his career.

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Tags: LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs

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Bosh On Fans Who Left Early: 'Don't Come Back For Game 7'

Jun 19, 2013 2:36 PM

Many fans left American Airlines Arena during the final minute of Game 6 when the Miami Heat were trailing the San Antonio Spurs by five points.

After Ray Allen tied the game to force an overtime, many of the fans tried to reenter the arena but were denied by security.

"For all those guys who left, don't come back for Game 7," said Chris Bosh.

Bosh, who heard boos from the Miami crowd earlier in Game 6, was responsible for the assist to Allen on the game-tying basket and also blocked Danny Green's last second attempt in overtime.

Ryan Wolstat/Toronto Sun

Tags: Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs

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Game 6 Has 4th Highest Rating Since ABC Began Televising NBA Finals

Jun 19, 2013 11:14 AM

ABC had an overnight rating of 14.7 for Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

The rating makes it the fourth highest for the Finals since ABC began its coverage, trailing Game 7 in 2010 between the Lakers and Celtics, Game 5 in 2004 between the Pistons and Lakers, and Game 6 in 2011 between the Mavericks and Heat.

The rating peaked at 19.8 from 11:45 PM until midnight EST.

Game 7 in 2010 had a rating of 18.2.

Amanda Kondolojy/TV By The Numbers

Tags: Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Playoffs

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Duncan Illegally Entered Game For Final Spurs' Possession Of Regulation

Jun 19, 2013 10:51 AM

Tim Duncan entered the game illegally for the final possession of regulation after the referees reviewed Ray Allen's game-tying three-pointer in Game 6.

Reviews aren't technically a dead ball situation, meaning substitutions cannot be made without a timeout. The San Antonio Spurs were out of timeouts, meaning they couldn't make a substitution or advance the ball.

Tony Parker drove to the left baseline and missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Kelly Dwyer/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Tim Duncan, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Playoffs

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Game 5 Draws 11.5 Rating

Jun 17, 2013 3:58 PM

The NBA Finals averaged more than 16 million viewers during Game 5 on Sunday.

The game peaked at one point with 19.3 million viewers.

With an 11.5 rating in Game 5, viewership was down 9.5 percent from when the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the title.

The series is averaging a 9.0 rating.

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Tags: Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Playoffs

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Parker Has Slight Strain In Hamstring

Jun 12, 2013 3:21 PM

Tony Parker had an MRI on Wednesday on his injured hamstring, revealing a slight strain.

Parker was limited to just six points in 27 minutes in the San Antonio Spurs' Game 3 win.

Parker went to the locker room for treatment in the second half, but returned to the game.

Parker's status for Game 4 is uncertain.

"We'll see tomorrow how I feel," wrote Parker on his Twitter page. "I really hope to play."

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Tags: Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Injury, NBA Playoffs

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Game 3 Draws Lowest Overnight Finals Rating Since 2009

Jun 12, 2013 12:38 PM

ABC drew a 10.0 overnight rating for its coverage of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

The 10.0 rating was the lowest for any Finals game since 2009 when the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Orlando Magic in Game 5 (9.4).

Game 3 in 2012 between the Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder drew a 10.4 rating, while Game 3 in 2011 between the Heat and Dallas Mavericks drew an 11.1.

TNT drew a 7.1 rating for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Tags: Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Playoffs

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Spurs' Game-Plan Could Lead To LeBron Averaging Triple-Double For Series

Jun 11, 2013 12:30 PM

The NBA has only had 10 players average a triple-double in a playoff series, with only Jason Kidd completing the feat in the past 20 years.

No player has ever averaged a triple-double in The Finals.

LeBron James enters Game 3 averaging 17.5 points, 13 rebounds and 8.5 assists.

The San Antonio Spurs appear to have built their defensive scheme against the Miami Heat around forcing James to be more of a passer than a scorer.

“What I do know is sharing the ball is contagious, and it allows everyone to feel involved in the offense,” James said. “For me personally, I know I attract a lot of attention. This team has been set up the right way where when I do attract attention, we have guys that can make plays.” 

Brian Windhorst/ESPN

Tags: LeBron James, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ, NBA Playoffs

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Game 1 Had 10.6 Overnight Rating

Jun 7, 2013 1:52 PM

ABC had a 10.6 overnight rating for Game 1 of The NBA Finals on Thursday, the fourth straight year in which they had a double-digit rating for the opening game of the series.

The game had the third highest Game 1 rating since 2004.

The NFL typically draws a rating in the high twenties for its Conference Championship games, while Game 1 of the 2012 World Series had an 8.6 overnight rating.

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Bosh Apologized To Teammates Following Game 6

Jun 3, 2013 2:07 PM

Chris Bosh apologized to his Miami Heat teammates following Game 6 due to his poor performance.

Bosh has failed to score in double-digits in each of the past three games, the first time that has happened in his NBA career.

"It's hard, it's difficult," Bosh said. "Everything you're going to do in the postseason is difficult. And you're going to be put in situations you don't want to be in and you're going to have to do things that you don't want to do. It's part of it, so you might as well get used to it, being miserable and really loving it."

Bosh is averaging just 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks on 41.1 percent shooting in the series. Bosh has a PER of 11.8 in the series.

Bosh has largely been playing on the perimeter during the series in order to bring his man away from the basket.

"I changed my game in Games 1 through 6 and it hasn't really worked," Bosh said. "I just need to do what I do and just let it all hang out." 

Tom Haberstroh/ESPN

Tags: Chris Bosh, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ, NBA Playoffs

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Roy Hibbert Fined $75K For Postgame Language

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