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MIAMI - The last time Dwyane Wade played in an NBA Finals game, he needed fluid drained from his left knee and eight hours of intense game-day therapy just to get into uniform. The Miami Heat guard later described it in a single word. "Hell," Wade said. It was also worth it, after he scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hoisted his third Larry OBrien Trophy. Now, unlike last year, Wade is not dealing with any injuries heading into the Miamis finals rematch against the San Antonio Spurs. At 32 years old and with 866 NBA games already on his playing odometer, Wade still deals with plenty of aches and pains, good days and bad days, and basically has a standing appointment in the Heat training room. But compared to last seasons NBA Finals, his knees are good as new. "Hes a big-time, huge piece to our puzzle," four-time NBA MVP and Heat star LeBron James said. "To have him out there in the groove that hes in right now, its going to help us." The Heat are looking to win their third straight title and Wade is on the cusp of joining a list of all-time NBA greats. There are just seven players with four championships and at least one NBA Finals MVP award on their resumes: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Magic Johnson, Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and the Spurs Tim Duncan. Wade could be the eighth person in that club. "We just want to continue to add to what were accomplishing," Wade said. Almost forgotten amid all the memories of Wade limping about during last years playoffs — he whacked what was his "good" knee at this time last year, the surgically repaired left one, in a collision with the Spurs Manu Ginobili during Game 6 of the finals — is he had big games when Miami needed him. Through his first 14 games of the 2013 playoffs, Wade was averaging 13.6 points. In the final eight games of that post-season run, starting with Game 7 against Indiana, he averaged 19.8 points. And in the last four games of the finals, he averaged 23.5 points against the Spurs to close the series. As his knees got worse, Wade seemed to get better. "He still found a way last year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He really did. He had some of his biggest games not only in the finals, but Game 7, we didnt think necessarily he was going to even play that game in the Eastern Conference finals." This year, the Heat tried to leave nothing to chance with Wades health. The so-called maintenance plan for Wade — limiting his minutes to save his knees — kicked in on the second night of the regular season. He wound up missing 28 games in all, mostly because of that rest-and-rehab scheme, to ensure that he would be good to go in the playoffs. The results cant be argued. Wade is averaging 18.7 points on 52 per cent shooting, Miami is 12-3 in the playoffs and when getting more than three days rest — like the Heat will have before Game 1 in San Antonio on Thursday night — the perennial All-Star has had games of 23, 14, 27 and 23 points on a combined 60 per cent shooting. "Dwyane is playing great," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday. "He looks a lot more spry and ready to go then he did last year in the finals." Maybe the biggest payoff of the regular-season maintenance plan has been how Wade has closed games in this post-season. Wade is shooting 56 per cent in fourth quarters during the playoffs, the best clip of his career and the best percentage of any guard with more than 30 shots in the final period of post-season games this season. San Antonios Danny Green is second on that list, shooting just under 49 per cent. Wade doesnt like talking about his place in history. But he knows what rarefied air he would be entering with a fourth title run. "I think weve all put ourselves in great situations, and were just going to continue to try to enjoy this moment that were in because its an amazing moment," Wade said. "Its something that, for a lifetime, is going to fulfil us as athletes. Even when we cant play this game, were going to always be able to talk about this." And now, when talking about his health, Wade has another one-word answer: "Better." Jonathan Lucroy Angels Jersey . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United. Cody Allen Jersey . The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/albert-pujols-angels-jersey/ . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Rod Carew Angels Jersey . The pair ended pointless droughts when they each scored two goals in a 6-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets that halted a two-game losing skid for the Stars (15-11-5). Mike Trout Angels Jersey . Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 after opening with a 77 -- his worst score of the season -- on TPC San Antonios AT&T Oaks Course. Lefty was 11 strokes behind leader Steven Bowditch, the Australian who had a 67 to reach 8-under 136.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - DeMarcus Cousins had 34 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks in the Sacramento Kings 98-92 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Rudy Gay added 25 points, seven boards and six assists for the Kings, who have won two in a row since falling to Golden State in their opener. Darren Collison tallied 14 points. It feels good to come in here and get a win. This is definitely a confidence booster, said Collison. Spencer Hawes and Blake Griffin each finished with 17 points for the Clippers, who had won two straight to start the season. Chris Paul played through a left foot sprain and ended with 16 points and 11 assists. Trailing 69-59 with 4:37 left in the third quarter, the Kings went on an 11-3 run. Gay tallied seven points during the surge and Carl Landry capped it with a tip-in to get Sacramento within two. Chris Douglas-Roberts made two free throws to give the Clippers a 74-70 lead heading to the fourth. The final period was close throughout and Gays layup with 5:51 remmaining gave the Kings the lead for good.dddddddddddd Cousins added a layup over a minute later to make it an 87-84 game. After J.J. Redick made a jumper to get Los Angeles within one, Omri Casspi made two free throws and Collison was good on a technical foul shot. The final blow for the Clippers came with 1:01 to play when they were called for a backcourt violation. Collison followed with a jumper and Sacramento went 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch. Our empty possessions was the turning point, said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. We had great shots down the stretch and we didnt make any of them. Los Angeles outscored the Kings by a 32-20 margin in the second quarter to take a 51-45 lead into the locker room. Game Notes Clippers guard Jamal Crawford missed the game with an injury to his ribs ... The Kings shot 50 percent from the field and went 27-of-33 from the foul line ... The Clippers shot 37.5 percent from the floor ... Sacramento turned the ball over 20 times. ' ' '