MIAMI -- The San Antonio Spurs left Miami last June looking so human, Tim Duncan nearly in tears talking about how close they were to another championship. They dont look human now. They look like a machine. Up 3-1 and shooting the ball at a level never seen in the NBA Finals, the Spurs headed home with a chance to wrap things up on Sunday night in Game 5. The Miami Heat, who were able to deny the Spurs last year, have two days to figure out what can possibly be done to do it again. "Theyre a high-oil machine and they move the ball extremely well," LeBron James said. "They put you in so many difficult positions. If youre not right on time, right on target, theyre going to make you pay for it." The Spurs won by 19 and 21 in the two games in Miami and are shooting 54.2 per cent in the series. The NBA Finals record for a series of any length is 52.7 per cent. No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals, and the Heat were so thoroughly manhandled in Miami that the only reason to think they could be the first is what they did in the past. Duncan said the memory of last seasons loss -- the pain thats driven the Spurs through this entire season -- would "definitely come up" before Sunday. "As I said, we know the calibre team they are, and we have a lot of respect for what theyre able to do," Duncan said. "Theyre able to throw it another gear and theyre going to do just that. They dont want this to be done." Duncan probably meant "done" as in the series. Of course, it could also mean the era. Two off days were sure to be filled by talk of the Heats uncertain future, with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all eligible for free agency. Might such a one-sided beating convince James he had to leave to find a better roster elsewhere? Make him more resolute in his desire to stay and get the Heat back on top? The two-time champions have more urgent concerns now. "Did we expect to come here and lose two the way we did at home? No way," Wade said. "But we also expect to go to San Antonio and put up a better effort and try to come out with another win. So well get away from it (Friday), but well still think about what we need to do to try to get another win to keep the series alive." James simply acknowledged the obvious, that the Spurs were the better team, when they swept his Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007 for the last of their four NBA championships. But he wasnt supposed to be on the wrong side of the talent differential once he bolted for Miami, where the Heat would build a Big Three for this decade that would rival what San Antonios did last decade. But the Spurs go so far beyond Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili now. Theres Kawhi Leonard, who followed his career-high, 29-point night in Game 3 with 20 points and 14 rebounds Thursday and has done no worse than battled James to a draw over the last two games. Or Boris Diaw, who wasnt even in the starting lineup until Game 3 and had eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Game 4, serving as one of the catalysts for the Spurs mesmerizing ball movement. Individual players get hot all the time. The Spurs are on a team-wide hot streak. "I just think were playing Spurs basketball," Parker said. "Were just moving the ball and were just playing the way weve been playing all season. Wed like to do a good to great, the extra pass, and we preach that, and right now were clicking." It gets a little harder to keep that going when trying for that fourth win, the one the Spurs couldnt quite get last year, when even the real freewheeling teams tend to tighten up a bit. "I mean, every closeout game is very difficult, for all the obvious reasons," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Especially if James delivers as so often when the Heat faced elimination, from his 45-point game in Boston in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, to a triple-double against the Spurs in Game 6 last year, followed by 37 points in Game 7. He may need to deliver something similar, or a championship reign could be over sooner than expected. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. Blue Jays Jerseys China . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/.com) - Sixth-seeded Feliciano Lopez was a first-round winner on Monday at the Delray Beach Open tennis event. Toronto Blue Jays Gear . I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. Fake Blue Jays Jerseys .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph.FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Ortiz hopes to get a one-year contract extension "pretty soon" and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry would like to fulfil his designated hitters desire to retire as a member of the team. Whether a new deal will be completed during spring training remains uncertain. "I think its going to be OK," Ortiz said Wednesday. "Conversations are good. My bosses are more than happy to talk about what were talking about. Theyre trying to get this out of the way so it doesnt begin to be a distraction. "The contract situation thing is going to be taken care of at some point. When, I dont really know. Hopefully, pretty soon." About 90 minutes later, Henry was more restrained when asked if he expects a speedy resolution. "I dont know that it will get done, but I think its good to have the conversation at the beginning of spring training," he said. "The sooner its resolved, in one way or another, the better it is for everyone." Henry said he and other Red Sox owners would be in town by Thursday. Fernando Cuza, Ortizs agent, has been in Fort Myers this week. Ortiz, 38, is in the final year of a $26 million, two-year contract as he enters his 12th season with the Red Sox. He began last spring training with a heel injury that hobbled him early in the season. But he finished with a .309 batting average, 30 homers and 103 RBIs. In the six-game World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, he batted .688 and was the MVP. "Hes meant so much to this franchise, to New England, for so long," Henry said. "He has helped carry us to three world championships, so I know where hes coming from. He wants to finish his career here and we should try to make that happen." The Red Sox could be wary of Ortiz having problems with his health or production at his age. But hes looking forward to another outstanding season. "Last year was a tough year for me and I surviveed through it and now I feel great," he said.dddddddddddd "I feel way better than last year." In 11 seasons with the Red Sox, Ortiz is batting .292 with 373 homers and 1,191 RBIs. That averages out to 34 homers and 108 RBIs per season. "I think Im one of the greatest ever to wear this uniform," he said. "I dont like to talk about it, like to sound like that, but sometime you got to let em know. And I think its very disrespectful for someone out there to be saying that Im greedy, that all I want to talk about is contract. When am I going to talk about contract? When I retire?" Hes more upset with people who criticize him, citing "haters" who "talk trash" on radio -- than he is with the Red Sox. He said he doesnt bring up his desire for an extension, but responds to questions asked by reporters. And one of those questions is how long hell continue playing. "I get that question asked all the time," Ortiz said. "And I have a question for everyone. What am I doing so bad that people want me to retire? Can anybody give me an answer to that?" Ortizs desire for a one-year extension "is certainly something we should listen to and consider," Henry said. Can Ortiz imagine playing for another team? "It can happen," he said. "Hopefully not." After slumping in the AL championship series against the Detroit Tigers, Ortiz went 11 for 16 with two homers and six RBIs in the World Series. His .688 batting average and .760 on-base percentage were the second highest in Series history. "People sometimes want to make a big deal about a guy like me asking for another year extension when some others are asking for a 10-year extension," he said. "If it doesnt get done, it doesnt get done. Ive got to come in and get my job done like I normally do. "Im not going to shut it down. Thats not going to get me another contract." ' ' '