acter," Spoelstra said. "Then when you do with that collectively, that is a special moment and a special feeling. Theres nothing like it

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. Here comes the ultimate game. To the winner, a trip to the NBA Finals. To the loser, an off-season loaded with regret. Its that simple now for the champion Heat and the confident Pacers, who meet in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night in Miami -- a perk the Heat earned by finishing with the leagues best record this season. "Each and every year there are 30 teams that would love to be a part of this, to have one game to advance to the NBA Finals," James said. "And theres two teams thats in this position. And its something that you cant substitute, this feeling. You cant substitute the atmosphere that were going to be in on Monday night for both teams. We should all cherish this moment." When its over Monday, only one club will be cherishing the outcome. For the Heat, its a chance to move into the finals for the third straight year and keep hope alive of winning a second straight title. For the Pacers, its a chance to cap what would surely go into the books as one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history, considering that they finished 16 1/2 games behind the Heat in the regular season. None of that matters much now. The Pacers have beaten Miami five of nine times this season. They need a sixth, or else it was all for naught. "It is a closeout game and an elimination game," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Our approach right now is not if we lose were out -- our approach is if we win, we get to the finals. And thats what were going for. Were going to give our best shot and try to win the Eastern Conference championship." Mondays winner will open the NBA Finals on Thursday against San Antonio. History suggests that the odds are long for the Pacers. Since the NBA went to its current playoff format in 1984, home teams are 16-2 in Game 7s played in the conference finals or NBA Finals. Then again, the Pacers were colossal underdogs heading into this series, and if it wasnt for a last-second collapse at the end of Game 1, they probably would already be East champs. "Its going to be tough in their arena," Pacers guard Lance Stephenson said. "Weve just got to bring it. If we play aggressive like we do at home, we can get the W." Indiana headed to Miami with enough luggage for an eight-day trip. If the Pacers win Game 7, theyre headed to San Antonio, with no time to make a return swing through Indianapolis along the way. "We believe we can win the series. We always have," Vogel said. "We havent been perfect this series, but were going to need to be near perfect to win a Game 7 there." The Pacers had an off-the-court distraction to address Sunday. The team distributed an apology attributed to centre Roy Hibbert, who used a gay slur in his postgame comments on Saturday, plus used a profanity to describe members of the media. When the Pacers flight left for Miami -- it was reportedly delayed because of mechanical issues involving a battery -- the NBA had not announced if it would discipline Hibbert. "They were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of my personal views," Hibbert was quoted as saying in the statement released by the team. "I used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language I used definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television." Vogel said he spoke with Hibbert about the matter Sunday, saying "he obviously made a great mistake." On the court, though, Hibbert has had nothing to apologize for, dominating play inside while the Heat are struggling in countless ways. Dwyane Wades sore right knee -- which has been an issue for about three months now -- is not getting better anytime soon, and hes stopped even wanting to discuss how its affecting his game. Chris Bosh said he needed to get back in the gym Sunday and regain some lost rhythm. Wade is averaging 12 points on 32 per cent shooting in his last three games, Bosh just 6.3 points on 24 per cent shooting in that same span. "Just got to come out and play to win," Wade said. "Its one game for both teams." Said James, when asked about the other two parts of Miamis Big Three: "I mean, we can state the obvious. Theyre both struggling." Theyre hardly the only Heat players who picked the wrong time of year to go into a slide. Ray Allen is shooting 13 for 46 in this series, Shane Battier is at 2 for 16, and theyre a combined 9 for 39 from 3-point range against the Pacers. Mike Miller gave the Heat a big second-half boost as they tried to rally from a big deficit in Game 6, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra suggested that Miller could get some time in the series finale. "Everything is on the table," Spoelstra said. One roster tweak the Heat will make on Monday: Chris Andersens one-game suspension for pushing Indianas Tyler Hansbrough is now complete, and the Heat backup big man -- who is 15 for 15 from the field in the series -- will be available for Game 7. So even on the cusp of elimination Sunday, Spoelstra was decidedly upbeat. He lauded the Pacers and insisted that this series going the distance is a testament to the level of competition. He said the Heat didnt mind being pushed to the limit, and that his team would look at being in a Game 7 as "a treasure." "You feel alive when youre tested, when theres adversity, when you have to reveal your character," Spoelstra said. "Then when you do with that collectively, that is a special moment and a special feeling. Theres nothing like it in pro sports ... arguably two of the top words in pro sports is Game 7." The Heat had to win a Game 7 in the East finals at home last season, so they understand the pressure that will be there on Monday night. But in his postgame remarks Saturday, James was smiling, laughing on occasion, showing no signs of strain even though a season of the highest expectations is on the brink of ending earlier than anyone would find acceptable. How he handles everything on Monday will probably determine if the Heat live to play another day in these playoffs. "I probably will not be able to relax until the game starts," James said. "You know, its an opportunity for us. And like I said, thats what we had the best record in the league for. If we didnt take care of business on the road at some point in the playoffs, we could always fall back on this. We hate to be in this position, but its an opportunity and we look forward to it on Monday." Cheap Vapormax Womens .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Cheap Vapormax Mens . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.cheapvapormaxtrainers.com/cheap-vapormax-off-white.html . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Cheap Nike VaporMax Moc 2 . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Off White Vapormax Fake . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. LOS ANGELES -- Sylvia Fowles had 21 points and nine rebounds, Maya Moore scored 12 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 77-74 on Tuesday night for sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.Fowles and Moore combined to score Minnesotas first 18 points of the fourth.Moore hit a 3-pointer in transition to extend Minnesotas lead to 61-54. She knocked down another 3 with the shot clock winding down and after a Los Angeles miss, Moore made a fast-break layup for a 68-58 lead with 3:53 left.Minnesota was up by 12 with 1:47 left but Los Angeles charged back and Chelsea Gray hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 2.1 seconds left to pull the Sparks to 76-74. With a second left, Lindsay Whalen made tthe first free throw and intentionally missed the second to run out the clock.ddddddddddddWhalen finished with 10 points and Rebekkah Brunson had 11 rebounds for Minnesota (25-5), the top-ranked team in the AP power poll. The Lynx earned a double bye to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.Gray scored a career-high 20 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 19 points and eight rebounds for second-ranked Los Angeles (24-6). Candace Parker added 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.The Sparks didnt make their first basket of the third quarter until the 3:21 mark but only trailed 54-50 entering the fourth after closing on a 10-4 run. ' ' '