SAN ANTONIO – If LeBron James wants to hoist his second NBA Finals MVP award and Dwyane Wade his third Larry O'Brien trophy, if the Miami Heat want to win their second consecutive championship and see red and black confetti fall from the rafters of American Airlines Arena after Game 7 … well, if the Heat want all that to happen, they have to get to Game 7 first.

Frontrunners for the length of the season, the Heat now find themselves backed into a corner after losing Game 5 of the Finals 114-104 to the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night. Down 3-2 in the series, the Heat must win Game 6 on Tuesday and force a decisive Game 7 on Thursday to extend their championship reign.

"We look forward to the challenge," James said. "We've been here before. We've been on both sides of the fence. …We got an opportunity to do something special."

Down 3-2 in the Finals, LeBron James and the Heat know they don't have much breathing room. (AP)The Heat were in this same predicament in 2011 when they returned to Miami down 3-2 in the Finals to the Dallas Mavericks. They believed their home court would provide

The Heat's Big Three combined for 85 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. (USA Today Sports)

SAN ANTONIO – For 10 games, the Miami Heat have alternated victories with losses. LeBron James says "enough is enough" and thinks it's time for the Heat to finally win consecutive games as the NBA Finals resume with Game 5 on Sunday.

But for that to happen, the Heat will likely need a second straight memorable performance from their Big Three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

The three combined for 85 points in a 109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 to even the NBA Finals 2-2. While a collective big offensive game from the Heat's star trio was commonplace their first two seasons together, they have been few and far between this year.

"We would love to do what we did last game every game," James said. "But every game is different. Every game presents challenges. We haven't been able to string games like that for the Big Three this postseason.

"But we're still here. We're still in a position to win an NBA championship. And that's what's most important."

LeBron James scored 33 points in Game 4 after averaging 16.7 in the first three. (AP) The big question

SAN ANTONIO – Since the NBA's regular season ended, 12 of the league's head coaches have lost their jobs. Half of those coaches went to the playoffs this season, including those who guided the Western Conference's third- (Denver Nuggets), fourth- (Los Angeles Clippers) and fifth-seeded (Memphis Grizzlies) teams.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is now the NBA's third-longest tenured head coach. (AP)The constant turnover has even this season's two most successful coaches – Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra and San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich – riled. On Friday, during a break in the NBA Finals, Popovich and Spoelstra both blasted the quickening pace of the league's coaching carousel.

"In some cases one might surmise that some owners think it's easier than it really is," Popovich said during a media conference call on Friday. "It's difficult to win an NBA game, let alone playoff game‑type situation. It's not that easy. You don't just go draft or make this trade or sign this free agent and then it gets done. It's very difficult. And when things don't happen quickly, I think some

SAN ANTONIO – After a disappointing loss to the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker woke up Friday morning with some good news.

"Feeling better," Parker told Yahoo! Sports in a text message. "No extra pain."

Tony Parker went scoreless in the second half of the Spurs' Game 4 loss to the Heat. (AP)Parker was referring to the right hamstring strain he suffered during the second half of the Spurs' Game 3 victory over the Heat. Parker decided to play in Game 4 and scored 15 points in the first half before being held scoreless the rest of the way in the Spurs' 109-93 loss.

Parker got the OK to play from coach Gregg Popovich on Thursday morning after saying he would test it in the first quarter and would sit if he didn't feel right. Parker made 7 of 12 shots with six assists and three turnovers in 18 first-half minutes.

He took just four shots in the second half, missing all of them, and didn't have a free-throw attempt. The Heat defended him aggressively on pick-and-rolls, and Parker said he felt a little tired.

"It was kind of weak," Parker

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs fans – and maybe even some of the San Antonio Spurs themselves – are asking one question after the team's 109-93 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals:

What's wrong with Manu Ginobili?

"I don't know," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "If I knew that I would have fixed it."

Ginobili has built a reputation as one of the NBA's most explosive reserves and a big-game performer, but hasn't shown a lot of that during the Finals. He's averaging 7.5 points on 34.4 percent shooting in the series, punctuated by a five-point performance on Thursday.

With the Finals now even, the Spurs could use a little more production from the third member of their Big Three.

"No one is happy," Ginobili said. "Of course, I'd prefer to make more shots and play better. But I didn't. That's the bottom line."

Ginobili hasn't had many open moments against the Heat during the NBA Finals. (AP)Ginobili's scoring – and minutes – have dropped noticeably over the past two seasons. He averaged 11.8 points during the regular season, his fewest since his rookie year.

Former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl is scheduled to interview for the Memphis Grizzlies' head-coaching opening on Monday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

George Karl was named the NBA's Coach of the Year this season. (AP)Karl, this season's NBA Coach of the Year, will interview for the job that recently vacated when the Grizzlies opted not to offer Lionel Hollins a new contract. Hollins is interviewing for Karl's old job in Denver on Saturday.

Karl had a 423-257 record in parts of nine seasons as Denver's coach. The Nuggets made the playoffs every season under Karl.

Karl's interview is scheduled to take place in Memphis. Former Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry is scheduled to interview Friday in Washington, D.C. Others expected to interview include Chicago Bulls assistant coach Ed Pickney and Grizzlies assistant coach Dave Joerger.

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• Jason Kidd was the best choice for Nets
• Is Doc Rivers considering an exit from Boston?

The Denver Nuggets have focused their search for a head coach on Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw and will only consider other candidates if they are unable to hire one of those two coaches, a league source told Yahoo! Sports.

Lionel Hollins took the Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals this season. (Getty Images)The Nuggets' head-coaching job became open with the firing of George Karl on June 6. The Nuggets are scheduled to interview Hollins, the former Memphis Grizzlies head coach, on Saturday in Denver. Shaw, the Indiana Pacers associate head coach, is expected to interview next week, but an exact date has yet to be set.

The Nuggets have a list of other coaching candidates, including former Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry, that will only be seriously considered if Hollins or Shaw are not hired.

Hollins led the Grizzlies to a franchise-best 56 wins and their first-ever trip to the Western Conference finals this season before the franchise's new ownership and management decided not to offer him a new contract. He had a 196-155 record in two stints coaching the Grizzlies.

SAN ANTONIO – Tony Parker's strained hamstring apparently won't keep him from trying to play in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Parker participated in the San Antonio Spurs' morning shootaround and coach Gregg Popovich declared him "ready to go."

Parker repeated the same assessment three times – "I will be ready to go" – without any elaboration.

The Spurs didn't specify whether Parker will start or how many minutes he will receive. Nor can they be sure how effective he will be. Parker relies on his quickness and change of speed to create plays for himself and his teammates.

Tony Parker plans to play in Game 4. On Wednesday, the Spurs officially listed Parker with a grade 1 right hamstring strain – the least severe – and called his status day-to-day. Parker suffered the injury in the second half of the Spurs' 113-77 Game 3 victory over the Miami Heat.

"The good news is it's not a tear, it's not a defect," Parker said on Wednesday. "Now I just have to see how I'm going to feel [Thursday]."

Parker is averaging 13.3 points and 6.3