Cramps sideline LeBron, but Miami holds on for 3-1 lead

MIAMI -- The game still was very much up for grabs, having shifted back and forth all night. And with less than a minute to go, the Heat’s ultimate weapon, LeBron James, was on the bench, felled by leg cramps.

If you didn’t like Miami’s chances, even though the Heat led by three, you weren’t alone. So the Heat turned the endgame over to a guy who was having the playoff game of his life, a guy who resides outside the circle of the Big Three, Mario Chalmers.

But even before,the Heat grabbed a commanding 3-1 NBA Finals lead with their 104-98 victory Tuesday night, that LeBron chap made certain to leave his mark on the game.

ONE WIN AWAY:LeBron James of the Heat scores two of his 26 points in last night’s 104-98 victory over the Thunder to give Miami a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

James, in reach of his first championship ring, suffered leg cramps in the fourth quarter and had to watch the final 55.5 seconds from the bench (above).

“We talked about it, that you had to play until you had nothing left,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

And that’s exactly what James did.

With 5:49 to play, James dropped to the floor like he had been shot.

“It was basically like your body just shut down,” James said. “Your legs shut down. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

James managed to hang in and score another basket but with 5:15 left, he was yanked and soon was stretched on the floor before returning at 4:05 — and before he hit the 3-pointer that ultimately silenced the Thunder.

“He was hurting. But that’s what it’s about this time of year. You hurt more if you lose,” said teammate Dwyane Wade (25 points).

The Thunder, who rode the 43-point brilliance of Russell Westbrook and 28 points from Kevin Durant to stay on the Heat’s tail all game after blowing a 33-16 advantage, took a 94-92 lead (Durant jumper) and then saw it tied when Chris Bosh (13 points) drove. So it was still tied after the Heat found a stop the other way. Enter King James. For all intents, exit the Thunder. James fired and made a 3-pointer at 2:51 and the Heat, once down 17 points in the first quarter, had the lead for keeps.

“The ball was swung to me and the shot clock was running down. I was just trying to make a play,” said James, who had 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. “It was a big time team win. We needed everyone’s effort and everyone came in and made a play.”

“He was trying to will his body to make something happen,” Spoelstra said of James, who eventually left at :55.5 with the Heat up three. “That three was sheer will and competitiveness.”

And the Heat got by without him, thanks to five more points by Chalmers, who finished with 25 and a bonehead play by Westbrook, who intentionally fouled with just :04.2 on the shot clock and the Thunder down three. Westbrook fouled Chalmers after a jump ball went to the Heat at :13.8.

“Just a miscommunication on my part. Nothing you can do about it now,” said Westbrook, who poured in 17 points in the fourth quarter, outscoring Miami at one stretch, 11-5, to force a tie at 90 with 6:11 left.

“He had it going since the beginning of the game,” said Durant (28 points), the only other Thunder player in double figures. “When you have it going, you keep feeding him.”

Like the Heat did with Chalmers, who poured in 12 of his points in the fourth quarter. Chalmers had missed 16 of his previous 18 shots before making 9-of-15 last night.

“When one of our leaders are down, I have to step up. Just help the team the best way I could,” said Chalmers, who drove at :44.6 to put the Heat up five. “Coming out of the timeout I told DWade, ‘Find me. Let’s get this win. Let’s put the dagger in them.’ ”

Done on all counts. And when it was all said and done, when the 17-point first-quarter Thunder lead was a mere footnote, the stat that seemed indelibly stamped was Miami’s 3-1 advantage, a Finals lead never surrendered in 30 previous instances. So Westbrook got little comfort from his magnificent outing.

“Shots were falling but it doesn’t mean nothing,” Westbrook said. “We didn’t come out with the win.”

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Cramps sideline LeBron, but Miami holds on for 3-1 lead

MIAMI -- The game still was very much up for grabs, having shifted back and forth all night. And with less than a minute to go, the Heat’s ultimate weapon, LeBron James, was on the bench, felled by leg cramps.

If you didn’t like Miami’s chances, even though the Heat led by three, you weren’t alone. So the Heat turned the endgame over to a guy who was having the playoff game of his life, a guy who resides outside the circle of the Big Three, Mario Chalmers.

But even before,the Heat grabbed a commanding 3-1 NBA Finals lead with their 104-98 victory Tuesday night, that LeBron chap made certain to leave his mark on the game.

ONE WIN AWAY:LeBron James of the Heat scores two of his 26 points in last night’s 104-98 victory over the Thunder to give Miami a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

James, in reach of his first championship ring, suffered leg cramps in the fourth quarter and had to watch the final 55.5 seconds from the bench (above).

“We talked about it, that you had to play until you had nothing left,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

And that’s exactly what James did.

With 5:49 to play, James dropped to the floor like he had been shot.

“It was basically like your body just shut down,” James said. “Your legs shut down. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

James managed to hang in and score another basket but with 5:15 left, he was yanked and soon was stretched on the floor before returning at 4:05 — and before he hit the 3-pointer that ultimately silenced the Thunder.

“He was hurting. But that’s what it’s about this time of year. You hurt more if you lose,” said teammate Dwyane Wade (25 points).

The Thunder, who rode the 43-point brilliance of Russell Westbrook and 28 points from Kevin Durant to stay on the Heat’s tail all game after blowing a 33-16 advantage, took a 94-92 lead (Durant jumper) and then saw it tied when Chris Bosh (13 points) drove. So it was still tied after the Heat found a stop the other way. Enter King James. For all intents, exit the Thunder. James fired and made a 3-pointer at 2:51 and the Heat, once down 17 points in the first quarter, had the lead for keeps.

“The ball was swung to me and the shot clock was running down. I was just trying to make a play,” said James, who had 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. “It was a big time team win. We needed everyone’s effort and everyone came in and made a play.”

“He was trying to will his body to make something happen,” Spoelstra said of James, who eventually left at :55.5 with the Heat up three. “That three was sheer will and competitiveness.”

And the Heat got by without him, thanks to five more points by Chalmers, who finished with 25 and a bonehead play by Westbrook, who intentionally fouled with just :04.2 on the shot clock and the Thunder down three. Westbrook fouled Chalmers after a jump ball went to the Heat at :13.8.

“Just a miscommunication on my part. Nothing you can do about it now,” said Westbrook, who poured in 17 points in the fourth quarter, outscoring Miami at one stretch, 11-5, to force a tie at 90 with 6:11 left.

“He had it going since the beginning of the game,” said Durant (28 points), the only other Thunder player in double figures. “When you have it going, you keep feeding him.”

Like the Heat did with Chalmers, who poured in 12 of his points in the fourth quarter. Chalmers had missed 16 of his previous 18 shots before making 9-of-15 last night.

“When one of our leaders are down, I have to step up. Just help the team the best way I could,” said Chalmers, who drove at :44.6 to put the Heat up five. “Coming out of the timeout I told DWade, ‘Find me. Let’s get this win. Let’s put the dagger in them.’ ”

Done on all counts. And when it was all said and done, when the 17-point first-quarter Thunder lead was a mere footnote, the stat that seemed indelibly stamped was Miami’s 3-1 advantage, a Finals lead never surrendered in 30 previous instances. So Westbrook got little comfort from his magnificent outing.

“Shots were falling but it doesn’t mean nothing,” Westbrook said. “We didn’t come out with the win.”

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Sabathia going the distance trumps all for Yankees

Ken Davidoff
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Blog: Baseball Insider

Remember this moment, Yankees fans. Clutch to it during tough times, because tough times will come. They always do.

(Yes, “clutch” is a veiled reference to the 2012 Yankees’ documented struggles with runners in scoring position.)

In the grind of the regular season, it might not get much better than the Yankees’ 6-2 victory over the Braves at Yankee Stadium. For this was a night when the Yankees, now winners of 10 straight games, cured two of their few ailments.

They delivered key hits with runners in scoring position, which they had not been doing (and winning nonetheless).

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GOTTA CC IT TO BELIEVE IT: CC Sabathia, who allowed two runs on seven hits over nine innings while striking out 10, delivers a pitch during the Yankees’ 6-2 victory over the Braves. The win was the Bombers’ 10th straight over an NL East opponent.

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And in a more important area, they received an ace-like performance from their ace, CC Sabathia, who had been not quite himself during this run.

What’s next? Chris Stewart turns into a slugger? Well, he did double and score a run.

The Yankees’ big lefty went the distance to raise his record to 9-3 and lower his ERA to 3.55 as he allowed two runs and seven hits, walked one and struck out 10. He threw 116 pitches to give his bullpen a full night off.

“I didn’t want to be the guy to break the streak,” Sabathia said afterward.

Based on this red-hot Yankees month, Sabathia was such a guy. His three prior June starts gave him a 3.86 ERA for the month going into last night — perfectly acceptable, except when you match it against Hiroki Kuroda’s 1.80, Andy Pettitte’s 1.77, Phil Hughes’ 1.69 and Ivan Nova’s 0.79.

Joe Girardi agreed with a pre-game observation that it was slightly odd for the Yankees to be enjoying such a run without Sabathia serving as the primary pitching force. Instead, as Post colleague Joel Sherman details in his column today, that would be Pettitte, who has pitched extremely well since his return and therefore lifted some of the burden from his starting-rotation mates.

No matter how strong and long Pettitte goes, however, it’s natural to wonder whether, at 40, he can ride this all the way through the postseason. So the onus shifts to Sabathia to be the lead dog, and there’s little reason to think he can’t deliver.

Sabathia has experienced two primary problems this season, statistically. His home run per fly ball rate was up, from last year’s 8.4 percent to 12 percent (heading into last night’s game), and his strand rate was down, from 77 percent last year to 72.6 percent.

In his between-starts bullpen session with Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild, Sabathia explained, he refined his delivery — he was “not getting through on my front side and finishing pitches” — and the result last night was crisper pitches and a better sinker, in particular.

The improved sinker led to fewer fly balls — he generated 13 outs on the ground and another two via infield pop-up — and fewer hits, meaning there were fewer runners to strand.

“That’s the best I’ve seen him throw it all season,” said Stewart, the Yankees’ backup catcher, of Sabathia’s sinker.

“I think it’s important for him,” Girardi said of Sabathia’s strong start. “I could sense he was a little bit frustrated [with his recent outings].”

Sabathia wouldn’t concede to that, instead saying, “I just want to keep the guys in the game.” And he had been doing that.

On this night, though, the Yankees wouldn’t need any magical comebacks to sustain the streak after Sabathia allowed single runs in the first and fifth. Just a couple of big hits by Russell Martin and Derek Jeter in the fifth to put the Yankees on top, 3-2, and then insurance homers by Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano and another run-scoring single by Jeter.

“Things are coming together for us,” Sabathia said.

At some point, they’ll unravel, at least temporarily. So think of right now as the bar set high, with the Yankees hoping to reach this peak again about four months from now.

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Yahoo!’s awkward reunion at Sun Valley

I got booted from Yahoo! Oh, you too?

Yahoo!’s revolving door could make for some colorful encounters at Allen and Co.’s annual deal-making retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, where a handful of current and former chiefs will have plenty of opportunities to get acquainted while golfing, rafting and fly fishing.

At the annual event, described as “summer camp” for media moguls, Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo!’s interim chief, could find himself rubbing elbows with — or getting the cold shoulder from — his predecessors, judging by the guest list obtained exclusively by The Post.

Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang, who served as interim CEO and chairman, is due to attend, as is the man he ended up replacing in the CEO suite, Terry Semel, who is a fixture at the gathering of media chieftains, tech entrepreneurs, politicians and the occasional sports star. The confab kicks off July 10.

Yang, who infamously nixed the $47 billion takeover offer from Microsoft in 2008, stepped down from Yahoo!’s board in January after 17 tumultuous years. He was soon followed out the door by Chairman Roy Bostock.

Bostock is on the list, but Scott Thompson, who was forced to resign as chief after a résumé-padding scandal, is not.

On the subject of awkward run-ins, Bill and Melinda Gates received an invite, but so did fellow Microsoft co-founder and foe Paul Allen.

While the late Steve Jobs was a no-show in recent years, there seems a greater chance Apple’s Tim Cook will attend with TV deals for a rumored Apple television on the horizon.

Time Warner’s Jeff Bewkes, Comcast’s Brian Roberts and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch are set to attend, as is Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, whose fortune is estimated at $9 billion by Forbes.

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Pettitte ‘gassed’ after solid outing for Yankees

WASHINGTON — Andy Pettitte became the first pitcher over 40 to start a game for the Yankees since Roger Clemens took the mound five years ago at 45.

Though Pettitte gave the Yankees just about everything they could want, he admitted to being “gassed” after seven innings and 95 pitches.

“I don’t know if it was from the heat, a day game, or having to go up there [to the plate] with a different routine,” Pettitte said of why the outing took so much out of him. “Maybe it’s being 40.”

The lefty said it with a laugh after hitting the milestone on Friday and then watching the Yankees battle through a 5-3, 14-inning win over the Nationals yesterday, but Pettitte is still attempting to defy time.

Pettitte gave up just two runs in seven innings and was in line to earn his fourth win when Cory Wade gave up a game-tying homer to Ian Desmond in the eighth. The only two runs Pettitte surrendered came on a broken-bat double by Jesus Flores in the second.

The veteran also dominated 19-year-old Bryce Harper, striking out the phenom three times before the center fielder lined out to center in the seventh — which turned out to be Pettitte’s last batter.

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Pettitte said he hadn’t given much thought to his between-start regimen until he was asked about it yesterday, but he admitted it was something he might have to reconsider.

“I ran every day in Atlanta,” Pettitte said of the team’s recent trip down South. “It was hot and maybe I ran too much. ... Those are things I have to evaluate.”

But he would rather not alter anything.

“I’m trying to act like I’m not 40 and I’m like I was a few years ago and do my routine and what I’ve always done because I’m such a creature of habit,” Pettitte said. “I throw two bullpens between starts. ... I don’t think it’s gonna happen but if I continue to get tired, I’ll have to look at it.”

He threw 95 pitches in his previous outing, as well.

“The other day was a day game at home and I threw [38] pitches in the second inning and, I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t think I would get out of the third inning because I so tired.”

Though he may tire a little more easily than he used to, the Yankees certainly will continue to take these results from Pettitte, who lowered his ERA to 2.77 in seven starts.

“He’s been amazing,” manager Joe Girardi said.

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MLB rejects Mets appeal for Dickey no-hitter

R.A. Dickey’s no-hit bid was broken up by both B.J. Upton and MLB.

the Mets had appealed to MLB to have Dickey’s one-hitter on Wednesday in Tampa turned into a no-hitter, trying to contend that Upton’s infield single should have been a David Wright error. MLB didn’t agree, rejecting the Mets’ appeal yesterday.

“It was nice that the Mets wanted to do it,” Dickey said. “It was never my idea in the first place, but in truth, I’m fairly relieved that it ended up the way that it did because of my previous comments on it. ... If it would have an asterisk by it, it would become bigger than the no-hitter itself.”

Terry Collins didn’t think the call would be changed but thought it was worth the attempt.

On the Upton grounder, Wright attempted to barehand the ball but didn’t grab it cleanly. The call to give Upton a hit certainly appeared to be correct.

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* Last night, Jenrry Mejia began his road back to the Mets, and to possibly being a valuable relief arm.

Mejia, the Mets’ prized righty, had his first relief outing for Triple-A Buffalo, firing a scoreless inning of one-hit ball against Pawtucket. The 22-year-old, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, is on a two-week plan that could have him back with the Mets after that. And considering the how awful the team’s bullpen has been (an NL-worst 5.46 ERA entering last night) and how talented Mejia is, he could be an intriguing addition to the mix.

“That’s what we’re hoping,” Collins told The Post. “We’re hoping that [lefty reliever] Josh Edgin starts mowing ‘em down too.”

If so, Collins suggested Edgin could help the Mets as a second lefty to pair with Tim Byrdak. Edgin has a 3.96 ERA for Buffalo with 29 strikeouts in 25 innings.

Mejia has now pitched in eight minor league games (the previous seven were starts) across Single-, Double- and Triple-A. He’s posted a 2.50 ERA in 36 innings, allowing only 36 baserunners.

Collins said Mejia has “plus stuff.” But he qualified that saying, “If he throws it over. So does Elvin Ramirez. Elvin Ramirez can throw 98 [mph] too.” Ramirez has a 9.00 ERA in five games.

* Ronny Cedeno (strained calf) played shortstop for Buffalo last night. Ruben Tejada (strained quad) did some running yesterday and will run more today.

The Mets’ two 1st-round draft picks were at Citi Field yesterday — HS shortstop Gavin Cecchini and college catcher Kevin Plawecki. Cecchini is headed to rookie ball in Kingsport, while Plawecki will join last year’s 1st-rounder, OF Brandon Nimmo, at Brooklyn in low-A.

Cecchini wore No.2 and Plawecki wore No. 26.

—Additional reporting by Brian Lewis

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Goldstein's Shtilkind goes out on top, caps memorable career with Wingate

Becky Shtilkind laid the foundation of Leon Goldstein’s now dominant girls tennis program.

Before the Dolphins were winning city titles and Mayor’s Cup crowns, Shtilkind was winning in anonymity,

“She changed Goldstein tennis from being basically a recreational tennis club to a true tennis team,” recently retired Goldstein coach Victoria D’Orazio said.

The Stony Brook-bound dynamo was rewarded Monday night with the PSAL’s Wingate award, given to the top senior in each sport, for girls tennis Monday night at the Brooklyn Marriott.

It was very deserving. Shtilkind was coming off an individual title in the Mayor’s Cup just a week after leading Goldstein to the team Mayor’s Cup crown and an upset of St. Francis Prep, which carried an unprecedented 203-match winning streak into the match.

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Leon Goldstein's Becky Shtilkind won the PSAL Wingate Award for girls tennis on Monday.

“It’s the perfect way to finish my career,” she said of the Wingate Award. “Being chosen out of all the girls who play tennis, it was a huge honor to be selected. I’m glad I was able to perform so well over the years.”

Shtilkind, who D'Orazio said was also named the school's senior Athlete of the Year recently, chose Goldstein because of academics, but she quickly changed the program. Having such a high-level player drew more talented players, such as fellow singles players Destina Grunin and Elizabeth Tsvetkov. The team got better each year, finally breaking through with a PSAL Class A title last spring after falling to Cardozo in the finals the year before. The Dolphins repeated as city champions this year despite Shtilkind missing the match with a serious foot injury and went on to shock St. Francis in the Mayor’s Cup.

“Going into high school as a freshman we had no team at all. Nobody knew what Goldstein was, where it was or anything,” she said. “Over the past few years, building a team and making the program dominant really is impressive. I didn’t think Goldstein would end up so strong. I didn’t know who would come. It depended on girls coming in, how hard they wanted to work, how hard they wanted to push themselves.”

D’Orazio said Shtilkind set the tone. She led by example, by all the tournaments she entered, all the extra time she put in before and after practice and how successful she was.

“She was the turning point to the program,” the coach said.

Shtilkind is excited about continuing her career at Stony Brook, for an on-the-rise program under coach Gary Glassman. The school has been making plenty of noise athletically as its baseball team is playing in the College World Series for the first time this weekend. Shitlkind was unaware of the team’s success until just recently when she inadvertently found their game on television.

“I’m going to watch them this weekend,” she said. “I don’t even know the rules, but I’m still going to support my Seawolves.”

That doesn’t mean Shtilkind will forget about Goldstein. She leaves behind a legacy of excellent, one she expects to continue for at least the next few years with Grunin and Tsvetkov, among others, returning.

“I’m confident in my team,” she said. “They will be able to carry over strong to next year and win another title without me and maybe Mayor’s Cup, too.”

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