eight shots.Zhang stretched her lead as

SAN ANTONIO -- Somehow, some way, the San Antonio Spurs seem to have discovered a secret that every team in the league desperately searched for all season long. They have figured out a way to slow down LeBron James. Whether its Kawhi Leonards incredible wingspan, Danny Greens dogged determination or a stash of kryptonite that Tim Duncan happened upon while taking a walk along the banks of the San Antonio River, its working. And yet the Spurs return home for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night perhaps feeling lucky to have earned a split in Miami. James is averaging a pedestrian 17.5 points and has posted his two lowest point totals in the post-season during the finals. One would think thats a recipe for a commanding 2-0 series lead. But San Antonio needed an incredible shot from Tony Parker with 5.2 seconds to play in Game 1 to hold off a charging James, then got blown out in Game 2 on Sunday night even though the four-time MVP scored 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting. "Obviously, LeBron is unbelievable," Parker said after the 103-84 loss to the Heat that evened the best-of-seven series at one game apiece. "Hes going to score. But right now the other players, they are playing great, too. So we cant have both." James shot an astounding 56.5 per cent during the regular season and made 103 3-pointers -- the first time in league history someone has made that many 3s while shooting a percentage that high. The improved shooting has made the 6-foot-8, 250-pound freight train almost impossible to guard this season, and had the Heat confident that their star player had the antidote for any type of defensive approach against him. The last time the Spurs were in the finals in 2007, they won their fourth title over the Cleveland Cavaliers by daring James to shoot the jumper in an all-out effort to keep him from attacking the rim. It worked beautifully when James shot an abysmal 35.6 per cent in a four-game sweep. The Spurs have essentially used the same approach this time around, with Leonard and Green sharing time on him and Duncan and Tiago Splitter crashing to double every time James even thinks about coming into the paint. And so far, that efficiency that he showed in the regular season hasnt been there. James had a triple-double in Game 1, but only scored 18 points on 16 shots in the 92-88 loss. He is shooting just 41.4 per cent from the field, is 2 for 8 from long range and has only attempted six free throws in the first two games, monumental achievements against the most dominant player in the game. "I know I attract a lot of attention," James said. "This team has been set up the right way where when I do attract attention, we have guys that can make plays." In Game 1, Dwyane Wade kept the Heat in it with 17 points in the first three quarters and Ray Allen hit three 3-pointers before Parker bailed the Spurs out with the shot of these playoffs. In Game 2, it was Mario Chalmers 19 points and three big 3s from Mike Miller that helped fuel a 33-5 run and put San Antonio away early in the fourth quarter. "I think LeBron is the type of player that you have to pay a lot of attention to," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "And its not something that happens that often that he scores less than 20. But I dont think that was the difference why they beat us so badly in the second half." Thats the biggest problem for these Spurs. They have done what many viewed as impossible. They have stopped LeBron James from scoring. And still, when the two teams boarded their respective planes to head for San Antonio, the defending champion Heat were the ones walking with a renewed swagger, with new life. The Spurs havent hosted a finals game since 2007. Theyre going to need the energy, the juice, the charge that should come from a passionate fan base eager to once again see the only show in town playing on the biggest stage. Because theyve thrown everything theyve got at James in the first two games. And wouldnt you know it, its worked pretty darn well. Yet there they were on Sunday night, staggering out of American Airlines Arena, their victory in Game 1 a distant memory. Instead, the realization was creeping in that theyve done as well as can possibly be expected against the leagues brightest star, and still they need to do so much more to stop James and the Heat from running away from them the way they have run away from everyone else for the last two years. "It wasnt just LeBron attacking us or getting those 13 points," Ginobili said of James awakening during the game-deciding run. "It was just the whole Miami team was killing us. ... So its not just that he turned it on. It was Miami that turned it on."Randy Johnson Diamondbacks Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Matt Szczur Diamondbacks Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondbacks-abraham-almonte-jersey/ . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Eduardo Escobar Jersey .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Curt Schilling Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Chinas bid for shooting gold came up short on the opening day of the Rio Olympics and was not looking good on Sundays day two after a two-time defending gold medalist failed to qualify.Zhang Mengxue gladly picked up the slack, continuing Chinas dominance in womens 10-meter air pistol.Zhang overcame some early jitters in the finals with some big scores on Sunday, earning Chinas fourth air pistol gold in the past five Games.I remember a coach told me once, the only person who could destroy me was myself, Zhang said through an interpreter. So I just did my utmost to be myself today.China has dominated the air rifle and pistol shooting events at the Olympics, earning nine gold medals since the 2000 Sydney Games.The Chinese came up short of gold the first day in Rio, finishing with a silver and a pair of bronze medals.Chinas bid for gold in womens air pistol seemed to take a big hit when Guo Wenjun, the two-time defending champion, struggled in qualifying and finished 30th.Zhang qualified sixth for the eight-person elimination finals and opened with three straight 9s with a field that seemed to struggle with nerves early.dddddddddddd She steadied herself with a 10.8 on her fifth shot and took the lead after eight shots.Zhang stretched her lead as the competition continued and all but locked up gold with a perfect 10.9 in the penultimate round. She finished with 199.4 points in the 20-round final, putting her 2.3 ahead of Russias Vitalina Batsarashkina.Before the last shot, I knew I was in an advantage, but I wanted to concentrate, Zhang said. So I did my utmost on the last shot.All three medals went to first-time Olympians after Anna Korakaki captured bronze to become the first Greek woman to earn an Olympic medal in shooting.Im really excited that Im the first woman through all these years to win an Olympic medal, said Korakaki, who had 177.7 points through 18 rounds. ' ' '