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SAN ANTONIO -- Moments after getting his championship ring on the night this NBA season opened last October, Mike Miller walked to midcourt, grabbed a microphone and addressed the delirious crowd. "The journey that starts tonight is going to be even more challenging," Miller said. At the time, Miller had no idea how prophetic those words would seem. Stuck on the Miami Heat bench for much of the year, laughing on the outside as little more than a coping mechanism designed to hide his frustration, Miller is getting plenty of time again in these NBA Finals. A star of last years title series -- he made his first seven 3-point tries of Game 5, the clinching win against Oklahoma City -- Miller is relishing the chance to contribute to perhaps a second straight championship. "Its definitely been a good experience, but weve got a lot of basketball left," Miller said. Miller made all three of his 3-point attempts Sunday night in Miamis 103-84 victory that tied the series against the San Antonio Spurs at one win apiece. Game 3 is at San Antonio on Tuesday night. If the current trend continues, Miller will be the first sub off the bench for coach Erik Spoelstra. Over a 2 1/2-month stretch earlier this season, Miller saw first-quarter minutes exactly once. Hes now gotten them in each of Miamis last three games, after taking the role that had been filled by Shane Battier, who was sent to the bench because of a shooting slump. "The little things," Spoelstra said when asked what Miller brings to the table. "He does a lot of those things. Very similar to Shane. Some of those things dont show up in a box score, but his effort, his hustle, extra efforts, closeouts. He has a knack for being around the ball. If you see a collision or loose ball, Mike likely is involved with it somehow, some way. You add all those up, those are winning plays." And he still can shoot, which helps. Millers three shots from Game 2 might not seem like much, but they all came at key times. His first gave Miami a lead in the second quarter, and his two others helped fuel what became a 33-5 run. Miller was on the floor for all but the very first field goal in that massive Heat spurt. He replaced Dwyane Wade with 3:11 left in the third quarter, with the Heat up 63-62 pending a free throw by Mario Chalmers. When Wade returned and Miller came out with 7:43 left to play, it was 91-67. Wades locker is next to Millers, and at least once this year, Wade asked Spoelstra to find Miller some more minutes. The way Wade sees it, having Miller around without a spot for him to play has been "an amazing luxury" for the Heat this season. "I love it. I love seeing Mike Miller on the floor," Wade said. "Im just as excited to see him as I am when Im on the basketball court, because I know what he can bring to this team. And not even just his ability to shoot the ball, but his ability to rebound. Mike is an underrated playmaker as well." The problem with Millers time has been that hes playing behind guys like Wade, Battier and Ray Allen. Good luck cracking into that rotation. Spoelstra was up-front and direct with Miller from the outset. "He told me from the beginning," said Miller, who entertained retirement talk after battling about a half-dozen injury issues last season but is now feeling as good as he has in years. "If you look around this locker room, Im playing behind three Hall of Famers. So hes told me from the beginning that its going to be spot and when he calls on my number Ive just got to deliver." The Heats "Little 12" -- as they tend to call themselves in a nod to Miamis "Big Three" of Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh -- have been delivering. "Thats when theyre at their best. Thats when every team is at their best," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "When the perimeter is making shots, when the bench is playing well, when you have a lot of contributors, that helps you win basketball games." Look for more of it in Game 3. Obviously, and wisely, the Spurs defensive game plan will revolve around James, Bosh and Wade. And what just about every team has encountered over the last three years is the pick-your-poison problem of either overloading on Miamis superstars and playing off the role players, or trying to play someone like James 1-on-1 and rolling some very tricky dice. "When Mike gets the ball, our shooters got the fluorescent light on our team," James said. "Theyre not even allowed to pass. When Ray and Mike get the ball, they have to shoot it. No matter how close the defenders are, they have to shoot it. When you have that leeway and that confidence, you just have to let it go." Its expected that the Heat will try to address their luxury-tax issues over the summer, and Miller knows that hes making too much money -- about $13 million over the next two years -- to have his game-night attire essentially adhered to the bench. He could be traded. He could be the player the Heat cut loose through their still-available amnesty provision. Or he could stay. All that might get sorted out in the coming weeks. For now, theres a second ring for Miller to chase. "Ive got a lot of basketball left," Miller said. "Its the best Ive felt in five years. That might have something to do with the fact I havent played. Sometimes theres some light at the end of the tunnel even when youre frustrated. So I feel great and, knock on wood, it stays that way."Vapormax Plus Mens Ireland . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Vapormax Flyknit Ireland . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.outletvapormaxireland.com/vapormax-off-white-wholesale-china.html . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Vapormax Wholesale . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Vapormax Plus Wholesale . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web.The football teams from Old Dominion and Charlotte will form a circle of unity on the field before the national anthem is played at their Conference USA game Saturday night.The circle of unity is an idea that Monarchs players came up with when they met with coaches to discuss how to respond to recent police shootings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina, ODU coach Bobby Wilder said Friday.We were looking and seeing what was going on around the world, but more specifically in Tulsa and Charlotte, and we were trying to decide as a team how could we express ourselves in a way that would bring unity, and that was what the team came up with, Wilder told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.Many Monarchs players wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts during warmups before ODUs home game against Texas-San Antonio last Saturday, and the team joined hands in a circle and raised their arms before the game.Last Saturday was the platform to launch what we see as a reaction to whats going on in our country, to do something to make a difference, and were hoping more people will try to do something to make a difference instead of adding too the noise, Wilder said, referring to protests during the national anthem that started with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling in protest to police shootings in the country.ddddddddddddther NFL and college players have since joined Kaepernick in protesting during the anthem.Were hoping that this is something that, instead of a protest before the national anthem, that teams will consider doing before games to show unity. You look at a football team generally and its a microcosm of society in terms of all the races and religions that are represented, Wilder said. If we can take the lead and try to develop unity and get a better dialog going, that is what we would like to see happen.Wilder said he called Charlotte coach Brad Lambert this week, and Lambert said his team would like to take part in the circle before the game at Jerry Richardson Stadium. The city was the site of several days of rioting and unrest in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police on Sept. 21. ' ' '