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It's strange to think that the defining moment of the Heat's season so far might be when teammate Juwan Howard and trainer Jay Sabol went out onto the court to prop up James for the walk back to the bench, because he didn't look strong enough to make it on his own. Or that the most important few points of James' first title -- no team has ever blown a 3-1 advantage in the finals -- will have been scored by Chalmers, either on the nifty driving layup he slipped in with 44 seconds, or the two free throws two possessions later that sealed the win.
If James resented any of it, he wasn't letting on. Ditto for any lingering pain.
"He was hurting," Wade confirmed afterward. "But that's what it's about this time of the year. It would hurt more if we lose the ballgame, so it feels a little better if you can win it."
Forgotten, too, was James' pregame exchange with Oklahoma City defender Serge Ibaka, who suggested James couldn't cover Thunder star Kevin Durant. Instead of rising to take the bait, James laughed the whole thing off.
"I don't really care what he says, he's stupid. Everyone says something to me every series, then (the media) tries to get a quote," James said. "It's stupid."
Of course, it's easier to do when like James, you're averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds in the biggest series of your career and the cavalry is always close by.
"We're going to prepare the same way we been preparing all series. When we play Miami Heat basketball," James said finally, content to be part of a team instead of it all, "we give ourselves a good chance to win."
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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