Up two, with about 30 seconds to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Miami HEAT are about to run a pick-and-roll with their point guard – only the point guard doesn’t have the ball in his hands. Years spent building the habits of versatility come down to Mario Chalmers setting a ball screen and Tony Parker hedging a pick-and-roll. Parker jumps out on the ball just long enough for Kawhi Leonard to fight his way past the screen and cut off the drive in the paint.

As it had been for all of this near-mythic series, the cushion was there for LeBron James. The jumper was there for the taking, and James took it. If he missed the and HEAT lost, people would ignore years and years of data and exclaim that James can’t get it done at the end of games. If he made it and the HEAT won, people would ignore years and years of data and exclaim that James had finally proven himself to be a closer. It’s remarkably unfair – illogical, even – but these are the moments that history remembers, and as the shot went in and the HEAT took a two-possession lead, James took hold of history.

This should be the iconic LeBron James shot. A dribble jumper to secure bottle-popping rights. A move any kid can replicate in his driveway. Dribble right. Stop. Pop. Title. There is elegance in simplicity, a certain grace in jumpers that affects the way we think about players. If history is any indication, this is the shot we should think about when we think about LeBron James.

Heat 95, Spurs 88

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Spurs Take Game 5, 3-2 Series Lead

Danny Green scored 24 points, including his Finals record-setting 25th 3-pointer, and the Spurs topped the Heat 114-104 in Game 5. Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and had 10 assists, Tony Parker scored 26 while Tim Duncan (17 points, 12 rebounds) posted his third double-double of the Finals. >

LeBron and the death of Michael Jordan comparisons

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Over the past two decades, comparisons to Michael Jordan have become amateur basketball's version of death and taxes. They're inevitable and inescapable for too many gifted young perimeter players with boundless athleticism, a gaudy points-per-game average and a warm smile

We know how these comparisons usually work out. It takes only one look at Harold Miner's Wikipedia page to realize his nickname was the most interesting thing about his four-year NBA career. Grant Hill wore the crown for a while as well, at least until injuries and the passage of time set in. Even with this year's NBA draft, in a

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HEAT win!

Your Miami HEAT defeat the Chicago Bulls 115-78 to even the White Hot best-of-7 series at 1!

Ray Allen: 21 points