to an important event

MIAMI -- By now, Lance Stephensons list of egregious acts from Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals are well-known: He blew air into LeBron James ear, interrupted a Miami Heat huddle and got caught flopping for the second time. Cheap Real Jordans Free Shipping . And on Thursday, the Heat tried to get their focus back on themselves. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra almost never holds a practice the day after a road game, especially when the team plane lands around 3:30 a.m. as was the case in the wee hours of Thursday. But Spoelstra deviated from the norm on the day before Game 6 of this East title series, not for any one on-court issue but rather so the two-time defending NBA champions could relieve some frustration. "Clear heads ... and to connect," Spoelstra said. "We didnt want to leave it all to tomorrow. There were some things we wanted to go over, and for times sake, splitting it up was a little bit more efficient." The Heat still lead the series 3-2, and get the chance to close the Pacers out for the third straight year on Friday night. The game is in Miami, where the Heat have won their last 10 playoff contests. Predictably, the talk on the off day wasnt so much about Paul George scoring 37 points to lead his team to a season-saving win, or even how James was held to seven points on a night that he was rendered silent for long stretches because of foul trouble. Instead, the buzz was almost entirely about Stephenson, who has simultaneously become a Heat frustration and Internet sensation. Images of his already-infamous ear-blowing stunt were widely distributed on social media moments after it occurred in Game 5, and he didnt back down Thursday when asked about his desire to pester the Heat. "Just playing ball, man, having fun and enjoying the moment," Stephenson said. Spoelstra didnt react when Stephenson -- who said James was showing signs of "weakness" earlier in the series -- crashed the Heat huddle. Much like his players, Spoelstra didnt bite when asked about the excitable Pacer guards attempts to throw Miami off its game. "Very bizarre game," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "Weird game. But its over." Indiana coach Frank Vogel didnt seem to mind the huddle move, though suggested the ear-blowing decision was a bit much. "People are in my huddle all the time. Every player in the NBA does that. Thats nothing," Vogel said. "Blowing in his face probably crosses the line. Thats not really who we are. We want to be a competitive team, but we dont want to cross the line." Stephenson and Pacers centre Roy Hibbert flew to Miami with slightly lighter wallets; Stephenson was fined $10,000 by the NBA on Thursday for his second flop of the series, Hibbert $5,000 for another flopping violation. It marked the second time in as many games that a Pacer has drawn a fine, with George having gotten dinged for $25,000 after blasting the officiating following Indianas loss in Game 4. In Georges case, the money might have seemed well-spent. Indiana took 22 free throws in Game 5 to Miamis eight, a total that matched the fewest any team has shot in a playoff game since 2006. "We just didnt get to the free-throw line," James said. "We were aggressive ... we shot the ball extremely well. We just didnt get to the line." Almost everything went wrong for Miami in Game 5, and the Heat still nearly won. James shot just 2 for 10 in 24 minutes, and got his fifth foul with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, with the Heat leading by eight. Miami went scoreless on nine of its first 12 possessions after James checked out and the Pacers used that stretch to build a five-point lead, the margin eventually reaching seven when George connected on a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer. Down by as many as 11 in the fourth, Miami had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds, but Chris Boshs 3-pointer bounced away. And with that, the Heat started the process of turning the page to Friday night, when they could punch their fourth straight ticket to the NBA Finals. "Its Game 6," Bosh said. "Its our Game 7." Cheap Jordans For Sale . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C. Discount Jordan Shoes .C. - Steve Clifford isnt exactly singing his teams praises after the Bobcats won for the sixth time in seven games. MOSCOW -- Julia Lipnitskaia fell on her opening jump and put on what she called one of her biggest disappointments, but the 15-year-old Russian prodigy still edged out Carolina Kostner on Saturday by less than a point to win the Rostelecom Cup, the last of the seasons six preliminary Grand Prix events. American Mirai Nagasu took bronze. In pairs, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won gold, Russians Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov took silver, and Canadas pair of Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto won bronze. Lipnitskaia also won Skate Canada, and her second victory of the season means she qualified for the Grand Prix Final -- which she missed last year due to injury. Kostner and Nagasu wont make the final. "Im happy to qualify for the final with two victories, but Im very dissatisfied with today. It was most likely my worst performance ever in competition," she said. "I made a mistake on the first jump and wasnt able to pull myself together." Lipnitskaia was well aheadd of Kostner going into the free skate after a precise and ambitious short program. Cheap Real Jordans. . But after falling on her triple lutz, she put her hand down on the second jump. Kostner opened well, but later put her hands down on two jumps. She won the free skate, but ended 0.68 points behind Lipnitskaia in the overall results. Kostner, a 26-year-old veteran and the 2012 world champion, took it in stride, saying she wont let it distract her from preparing for the Sochi Olympics. "I made a few mistakes, but thats how it goes building up to an important event," the Italian said. Nagasu was pleased with third, after her eighth-place finish at the NHK Cup. "I wish I could put two and two together and make it to the final, but unfortunately that isnt the case. Ill take it as a blessing in disguise because then I have more time to train for nationals," she said. Nagasu had been in fourth, just one-hundredth of a point behind compatriot Agnes Zawadzki, whose troubled free program landed her in sixth place overall. ' ' '