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SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs beat the Heat. Miami couldnt beat the heat. And there was the story of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. With LeBron James unable to play in the final 3:59 because of cramps throughout the left side of his body, and on a night where an air conditioning failure inside San Antonios arena had temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, the Heat simply withered in the final minutes. As their four-time MVP could only watch, Miami watched as San Antonio pulled away in the final minutes for a 110-95 win on Thursday night in the opener of the title series. "Its frustration and theres anger," James said as he lay on a training table long after the game. "But at the same time, its something you try to prevent, you try to control. I got all the fluids I needed to get. I did my normal routine Ive done. Its something that was inevitable for me tonight. "It just sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point of the season." James scored the last of his 25 points on a layup that got Miami within two. That was the end of his night; he stood still on the baseline afterward, unable to move his left leg because of cramping. His night was over, and soon, so was the game. The Spurs outscored the Heat by 13 the rest of the way, and took the series-opener for the second straight finals. The Heat were outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, Chris Bosh added 18 and Ray Allen scored 16 for Miami. Rashard Lewis added 10 for the Heat. "I think it felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping like that back to the bench," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But at the same time we still had an opportunity." James has dealt with cramping issues several times in the past, including during the 2012 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City -- in a game in Miami. "Were used to having the hotter arena," Spoelstra said. Spoelstra insisted that the Heat would not use the temperature as an excuse, and said James tried to return to the game shortly after the cramp knocked him out. "I just looked at him and said, Dont even think about it. You cant even move," Spoelstra said. James didnt need much convincing. He knew. Cramps, he said, were affecting nearly the whole left side of his body. "Any little step or nudge, it would get worse," James said. "It would lock up even worse. My muscles would just spasm at a 10 out of 10." Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Parker added 19 points and Manu Ginobili finished with 16 points and 11 assists for San Antonio, which improved to 10-1 at home in the playoffs. James was affected throughout the second half, asking for breaks more than once, and some players placed ice bags on the backs of their necks in an effort to combat the temperature. Duncan said the heat was a significant factor in the game. "I dont know what happened to LeBron, but I think all of us were feeling the heat," Duncan said. "We were all dehydrated." If there is a bright side for James -- who used cold towels, drank what he could and even changed uniforms at halftime -- its that Game 2 isnt until Sunday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich acknowledged afterward that James departure obviously played a role in the finish, though lauded the way his team executed in the deciding minutes. "Certainly could have been a different story. Theres no doubt about that," Popovich said. Its not the first time electricity has had a significant impact on a championship event in recent years. The Super Bowl in 2013 between Baltimore and San Francisco was marred by a power outage at the Superdome in New Orleans, interrupting play for 34 minutes. Power was the culprit in Game 1 of the finals as well, arena officials said. "An electrical failure for the power that runs the AC system in the AT&T Center has occurred," Spurs Sports and Entertainment said in a statement distributed in the second half. "We are continuing to work on resolving the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience." Many fans removed the giveaway black T-shirts handed out before the game, obviously wanting to wear as few layers inside the steamy building as possible. "Not NBA Finals worthy," Wade said of the conditions in the locker room afterward. "Ill tell you that. This is crazy." . The Raptors two leading scorers were never able to co-exist the way they hoped or the team had envisioned, but individually DeRozan was thriving, in the midst of a career season. . Granada goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez saved Morenos first two headers from corner kicks taken by Sergio Garcia, but the defender beat him on his third try after Garcia found Moreno unmarked at the near post in the 78th minute. . "I could have been equipment manager but nooooo" from Lisa on Ice. Season 6, Episode 8. . 1 overall pick in the draft by the Houston Texans, is recovering from sports hernia surgery. . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. LONDON -- The Premier Leagues most unpredictable title race produced another surprise on Saturday as Chelsea lost at Crystal Palace for the first time since 1990. Despite the 1-0 collapse after Chelsea captain John Terry headed Joel Wards cross into his own goal at the start of the second half, Jose Mourinhos side remains top as Manchester City was held to a 1-1 draw at Arsenal. "We depend too much on other results," Mourinho said, writing off his teams title prospect. "When you depend a little its possible, when you depend a lot, I dont think its possible. "We depend now too much. I dont think now we can win the league." Liverpool, perhaps? Brendan Rodgers side is a point behind Chelsea and will go top with a victory over Tottenham on Sunday. The points tally, though, is deceptive. Although City is third and two points behind Chelsea, the 2012 champions have two games in hand. The one certainty is the defending champions wont be keeping hold of the trophy, with Manchester United still in seventh despite by coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-1. Southampton, a place behind United but six points adrift, produced a resounding 4-0 victory over Newcastle. In a meeting of relegation-threatened teams, both West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff scored in stoppage time as they drew 3-3. Stokes impressive form continued with Peter Odemwingie clinching a 1-0 victory over Hull, the teams fourth success in five matches. Swansea climbed above Hull into 13th by ending a six-game winless run in the league. Jonathan de Guzmans clinical double and Wayne Routledges goal produced a 3-0 victory over fellow struggler Norwich. In the trophy chase, Arsenals concern will be its return of two points from its last three games -- even if the spirited fighht back against City offered hope for the title run-in.dddddddddddd With Arsenal still reeling from a demoralizing 6-0 loss at Chelsea last weekend, David Silva completed a counter-attack to put City in front in the 18th minute. But conceding early made Arsenal more assertive and Mathieu Flamini turned Lukas Podolskis cross into the net to level eight minutes into the second half. At Old Trafford, the start of the game had fans looking to the sky when a much-publicized plane flew overhead with a banner emblazoned with "Wrong One - Moyes Out." Just one person, who said he is a United fan, has claimed responsibility for the stunt with no supporters groups backing the protest. "The support inside Old Trafford has been terrific and if ever there was a show of support for their football club and for their team, it was today," Moyes said. But supporters faith in Moyes was tested when Ashley Westwood put Aston Villa in front in the 13th minute by sending a free kick dipping into the net. Villas lead only lasted seven minutes before Rooney sent a header from Shinji Kagawas cross into the net. And after Leandro Bacuna fouled Juan Mata, Rooney put United in front from the penalty spot before half time. The lead was extended in the 57th when Juan Mata scored his first United goal since joining from Chelsea in January for 37.1 million pounds (then $61 million), and substitute Javier Hernandez wrapped up the victory in stoppage time. On the south-coast, Southamptons victory will have offered England coach Roy Hodgson some encouragement for the World Cup -- with three different English scores. Jay Rodriguez put Southampton in front just before half time and netted the fourth in the 89th after Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana scored. ' ' '
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