News & Neuigkeiten » 155th straight home game vs. non-confer

MIAMI -- The list of coaches with back-to-back NBA championships includes some of the games giants -- names such as Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Chuck Daly, and of course Pat Riley. Erik Spoelstra is now part of their fraternity. And he seems completely unimpressed by that. At just 42 years old, Spoelstra is now a two-time champion coach with the Miami Heat, having guided the club to the last three NBA Finals and last two titles. Only 12 other men in the history of the league have multiple titles as a coach. Only seven others have collected rings in back-to-back years -- and of those, six have been immortalized in the Basketball Hall of Fame. To most people, joining such a group would sound like some major accomplishment. For Spoelstra, not so much. "Not really," Spoelstra said, asked if hed stopped to consider the historical significance of his back-to-back titles. "No." Thats why this week, when Spoelstra would be within his rights to continue celebrating Miamis seven-game triumph over the San Antonio Spurs for this seasons title, hes not on a beach somewhere. Instead, hes in his office, where he plans to be for the next few weeks to prepare for the looming draft (even though the Heat currently have no picks to use Thursday night), the start of free agency and Miamis upcoming summer-league appearances. Hes the guy who started in the Heat video room before working his way up to being entrusted with what Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and Riley, the teams president, have spent nearly two decades building. Spoelstra likes to quip that for the first two years, Riley didnt even know his name. "I dont think that he gets enough credit for his abilities to be able to manage us," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who has spent all 10 of his pro seasons working with Spoelstra. "He does a great job of managing egos. He does a great job of keeping us level-headed. It takes a special guy to have guys of this calibre to all stay on one path and not jump off. Thats his strength, his ability to be able manage this team. Thats his greatness with this unit." Spoelstra told his team in the beginning of training camp -- and on a preseason trip to China -- that this path to a championship would have to be different. He was right. His team rolled through the regular season, winning 27 straight games at one point on the way to a 66-16 record. But in the playoffs, the Heat had to grind, first through a 1-0 deficit in the second round against Chicago, then a Game 7 against Indiana in the East finals, then seven more games against the Spurs. "Starting in China together, having an opportunity to visit the White House together, having an opportunity to share the All-Star weekend together, 27-game win streak, and then we get into the playoffs, after that first round that playoff run felt more challenging," Spoelstra said. "In some ways it was extremely gratifying." On the way to the 2012 title, he had a black replica of the NBA championship trophy made as part of his motivational tactics to use during the playoffs. And a similar ploy was used this time around. Another black trophy, this time with a slightly different design and theme, was part of the bond the Heat forged for the playoffs, a reminder of the promises players and coaches made along the way. A marker was used to denote on the trophy how the Heat were advancing along the title path. "It bound our agreement of what we would be willing to do and to sacrifice for each other," Spoelstra said. "We made our marks, in order of seniority. The couple middle rounds, we made with blood red because those series were so dang physical. And the last one, out of ultimate respect for our competitor, absolute, ultimate respect for who we were playing, we made them in silver for the Spurs." It took more than a motivational trick to beat the Spurs. One of Spoelstras best memories of his second championship season as coach of the Heat was the aftermath of the teams most lopsided defeat. It was Game 3 of the NBA Finals, a night where the Heat lost to the Spurs by 36 points and fell behind in the championship series. Spoelstra, searching for answers, retreated to his hotel room. The first knock on his door was from assistant coach David Fizdale. The next was from another assistant, Dan Craig. And the third was from Riley, who was bearing gifts. "I was despondent. I was beside myself," Spoelstra said. "I went back to my suite to break down film after the game. Fiz stopped by so we could work it out. Dan Craig stopped by to bring us film and to work it out. And about 20 minutes later Pat knocks on my door, and he comes in with three bottles of wine and he said Coach, what do you need me to do? So we gave him a laptop and he helped us break down film. "It was one of the most special moments in my professional career." Days later, Riley and Spoelstra were arm-in-arm in the back hallways of AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, celebrating another Heat championship. For Riley, its his ninth overall. For Spoelstra, his third, including the one he claimed as an assistant in 2006. They have no plan to stop now. "Its going to be hard to keep up with what were doing for his whole career," Wade said. "But he is one of the games young greats. And he is on the path of the Pat Rileys and those kind of coaches."Javier Mascherano Argentina Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. 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That was never going to be a concern for her second-ranked team against an overmatched opponent.Instead, the Lady Bears worked on improving themselves three days after their loss at third-ranked UConn.Beatrice Mompremier had 11 points and 15 rebounds while playing only 15 minutes and Baylor overwhelmed Mississippi Valley State 101-36 on Sunday, when the Lady Bears worked on conditioning by pressing throughout the game and got to play against a zone defense like they will see throughout the season.Its very obvious that there are going to be games in non-conference that were going to be better than. But youve got to get better, Mulkey said. Were coming off of a very hard loss to swallow after watching the film for three hours against UConn, and just saw glaring things that we control and weve got to get better. Youve got to come into this game and never look at the scoreboard.The Lady Bears (3-1) scored the first seven points in the game and had a 17-point lead by the end of the first quarter. They were up 49-19 at halftime.Nina Davis scored 15 points for the Lady Bears, and the preseason AP All-American became only the sixth Baylor player to surpass 2,000 career points. The senior forward now has 2,001.Its definitely a blessing, of course, but it doesnt really mean much if I dont win a championship this year or we dont get to the Final Four, said Davis, whose first three seasons have all ended in the Elite Eight. Its a great milestone, but I want more.Alexis Prince added 11 points for Baylor and freshmen Natalie Chou and Juicy Landrum each had 10. Kalani Brown had 12 rebounds.Lauren Elliot had 11 points to lead Mississippi Valley State (1-2), which had 28 turnovers that led to 35 Baylor points.Going from midway into the third and the entire fourth quarter, all my upperclassmen fouled out, Deviletttes coach Jessica Kern said.dddddddddddd So, I had five freshmen on the floor, and Im biting every nail I had left. Please get it over halfcourt.BIG PICTUREMiss. Valley St.: Already overmatched, Valley had two of its starters foul out of the game. The Devilettes shot only 24 percent from the field (14 of 58) and were only 1 of 12 on 3-pointers.Baylor: Three days after the 72-61 loss at UConn, the Lady Bears had the expected lopsided victory and won their 44th consecutive home game. Playing the first of five games in an eight-day stretch, nobody played more than 22 minutes and 12 of the 13 players who got in the game scored.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Lady Bears likely will drop at least one spot in the new poll Monday, since UConn was just behind them in the last Top 25.EXTENDED STREAKSBaylor won its 170th consecutive home games against non-ranked opponents since losing to Auburn in the WNIT final in Waco on April 4, 2003, and 155th straight home game vs. non-conference opponents in that same span. The Lady Bears have won their last 44 home games overall.MOTIVATED NINADavis was held scoreless against UConn, the only game she has ever played for Baylor without a point. I was very motivated, but its really not about me. Its about the overall team, Davis said. UConn loss, it was a tough one to swallow, but we cant think about the past. ... So, we just wanted to come out today and play more aggressive, play with more energy and just help everybody get a flow going. UP NEXTMississippi Valley State started a five-game road trip, but have a few days before playing Friday at Northwestern State in Louisiana.Baylor is home again Tuesday against Southeastern Louisiana, and then heads to Florida to play three straight days in the Gulf Coast Showcase next weekend. ' ' '