MIAMI — The Miami Heat weren't supposed to be in this situation. Not now, anyway.

MIAMI — LeBron James has been here before, with dire results.

SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili had 24 points and 10 assists in a surprise start to spark the San Antonio Spurs to a 114-104 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, pushing the Spurs one victory away from their fifth...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Former teammates, players and a former NBA assistant coach think the credibility a Hall of Fame career brings — and familiarity with today's players — will help Jason Kidd successfully transition into coaching.

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker's hamstring, not Dwyane Wade's knee, is the current chief injury concern.Manu Ginobili, not Chris Bosh, is mired in the slump of the moment.Things change...

SAN ANTONIO — At their best in the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat have forced turnover after turnover, finding a gear the San Antonio Spurs just can't reach.

SAN ANTONIO — LeBron James scored 33 points while playing with the aggression and ferocity that everyone expects of the four-time MVP, leading the Miami Heat to a 109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night that evened the NBA Finals at two games...

The Brooklyn Nets hired Jason Kidd as their coach Wednesday, bringing the former star back to the franchise he led to its greatest NBA success.

SAN ANTONIO — Danny Green scored 27 points, Gary Neal added 24 and the San Antonio Spurs set an NBA Finals record with 16 3-pointers in a 113-77 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night that gave them a 2-1 series lead.

NEWARK, N.J. — Kobe Bryant reached a settlement with a New Jersey auction house that allows his mother sell a small amount of his memorabilia, while also getting an apology from his parents, who thanked him for his financial support.

SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili sat in mostly stunned silence, all that playoff experience not preparing them for how they felt after two games.They were satisfied, yet shaken.

—NBA Finals, 6th Ld-Writethru,948Heat beat Spurs in Game 2 to tie NBA FinalsAP Photo AAA, AAA150, AAA154, AAA116, AAA129, AAA127, AAA124, AAA126, AAA119, AAA120, AAA118, AAA110, AAA109, AAA122

MIAMI— The NBA Finals. Just being here can be memorable — and miserable.And surprise, it's those supposedly stoic Spurs who are having more fun, while the South Beach bunch is a little grumpy and grouchy.

MIAMI — If LeBron James played for the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich might have a message for him.It's the same one he's occasionally delivered to Tim Duncan.

MIAMI — Tony Parker banked in a 16-footer with 5.2 seconds left for the last of his 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs stunned the Miami Heat 92-88 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

DENVER — The starless Denver Nuggets just lost their biggest name on the bench.George Karl was ousted Thursday less than a month after winning the NBA's Coach of the Year award. His tenure with the Nuggets is over after 8½ seasons.

MIAMI — Before reaching the top of basketball, LeBron James was run over by the San Antonio Spurs.

SAN ANTONIO — Hours away from drawing the toughest defensive assignment of his two-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, Kawhi Leonard wasn't feverishly taking mental notes of how to guard LeBron James.

MIAMI — Other than being widely known by just the first syllable of their surnames, the coaches who will match wits in these NBA Finals may seem like polar opposites.Of course, they would probably disagree with that assertion.

MIAMI — Their season, their legacy, their reign atop the NBA was all at stake, and the Miami Heat responded to all of that in a manner befitting champions.With a blowout.

NEW YORK — Jason Kidd became one of the best by making others better.

JONESBORO, Ga. — Former NBA All-Star Daron “Mookie” Blaylock has been charged with vehicular homicide arising from a head-on crash in suburban Atlanta, authorities announced Monday.

MIAMI — As the final horn in a Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers was sounding, LeBron James walked toward several of his Miami Heat teammates to shake some hands and share a couple of quick words.His message was clear: Get ready for Game 7.

Ken Bartuska has coached boys basketball at Nanticoke for the past 17 seasons. Whether he returns for the 2013-14 campaign will be in the hands of the school board.

LOS ANGELES — Seven-time All-Star Grant Hill retired from the NBA on Saturday after 19 seasons, ending a career interrupted by injuries that included an Olympic gold medal.

MIAMI — Standing on the cusp of the NBA Finals has tended to agree with the Miami Heat in each of the last two seasons. When the Heat have gotten a game away from the title round, they've finished the task as quickly as possible.

JONESBORO, Ga. — Former NBA All-Star guard Daron “Mookie” Blaylock was on life support at a hospital Friday after his SUV crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a van in suburban Atlanta, police said.

MIAMI — There will be no win-or-else Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals for the Miami Heat this season. LeBron James saw to that, and now the reigning champions are one victory from a third straight trip to the NBA Finals.

MIAMI — Several times around the start of these playoffs, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra insisted that the postseason path his team would wind up navigating had the potential to be more challenging than the route they took to the NBA championship a year...