One San Marcos, California, family thought they were in the clear when their home survived the Cocos Fire. But a quick turn of events changed it all.

Randy Calado thought he was doing everything right.

He keeps an emergency preparedness kit in his car stocked with water, food, sleeping bags and other necessities for his family.

So, when Calado's neighbor knocked on his door telling him to evacuate on Wednesday afternoon, he and his family were out of their San Marcos home in about 10 minutes.

• Read: All Evacuations Lifted in Cocos Fire Zone

Calado and some other relatives who also had to evacuate due to the Cocos Fire stayed at the Staybridge Suites on Mira Mesa Boulevard until they were allowed back home on Saturday afternoon.

But Saturday morning, they woke up to the unthinkable.

The priceless items the Calado family grabbed as they evacuated – including irreplaceable heirlooms – had been stolen.

The family had parked their car in the hotel parking lot and thieves broke the window to the vehicle and stole many of their valuables.

"You know, my heart dropped to the floor," Calado told NBC 7. "You know, this whole week has been very stressful to say the least. That was kind of like a one-two punch.”

• Read: A Timeline of the San Diego Fires

Among the stolen items were two safes filled with money and personal documents like birth certificates and social security cards.

But Calado says his family is most saddened by a set of jewelry his wife wore on their wedding day.

The bracelet, necklace and earrings are family heirlooms passed down for generations.

Calado describes the jewelry as a "24-carat gold necklace and a 24-carat gold bracelet, and also some diamond earrings."

He says he wanted to share his story with NBC 7 because he doesn't want something like this to happen to someone else. He said he made a mistake leaving his valuables in his car overnight.

• Read: Letter of Hope Left at Home Destroyed by Fire

Calado says in stressful situations, sometimes you can't think about all of the possibilities, especially when you're not sure if you will even have a home after something as devastating as the Cocos Fire.

"It's devastating and I just don't want it to happen to any other family."

Calado suggests keeping the things that are important to you close to you at all times.

Especially during vulnerable times like the May Firestorm when thieves are looking for crimes of opportunity.

At least two people have been killed and 19 others wounded in weekend Chicago shootings.

Both of the weekend’s fatal shootings happened Saturday on the city’s West Side.

The first homicide took place just before 4:30 p.m. in the 200 block of North Pine Avenue in the city’s Austin neighborhood. Police said a 32-year-old man was seated in a parked vehicle when offenders in a passing vehicle opened fire at him.

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The man attempted to flee the scene in his car but crashed nearby.
He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the right side of his body and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced.

• Dad Gets Restraining Order Against Kindergartener

Around 11:30 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in the 3400 block of West Madison Street. The man was outside when shots were fired from a white minivan, striking the 20-year-old man in the head and body.

The man was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital and was pronounced dead, police said.

• Boy, 4, Killed in Accidental Shooting with Parents' Gun
• Police Find Guns, Drugs at Home with Daycare Center

At least 14 others were wounded in shootings Saturday afternoon and into Sunday morning.

• A 15-year-old boy was shot around 3 p.m. in the 4600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. Police said the teen suffered wounds to his back and abdomen and was listed in serious condition at Comer Children's Hospital.
• Around 6 a.m. Sunday, police said a 24-year-old woman was shot while sitting in a car with an acquaintance in the 900 block of North Lavergne Avenue. The woman told police she heard shots and felt pain, before realizing she had been shot in the left hand. Her acquaintance drove her to Loretto Hospital for treatment.
• About two hours earlier, a 23-year-old man was shot in the 4600 block of West Diversey Avenue. He was taken to Our Lady of Resurrection Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds. He was last listed in stable condition, police said.
• Just before 3:30 a.m. a 19-year-old man was the victim of a shooting near 81st Street and Drexel Avenue. The teen was sitting in a parked car when someone walked up and opened fire at his vehicle. Police said the teen fled the scene in his vehicle but crashed into a parked car. He then fled on foot to 79th and Ingleside where he called police. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in stable condition.
• Less than an hour earlier, a man was shot in the Washington Park neighborhood. Police responded to a call of a person shot in the 5600 block of South Wabash Avenue and found a man, believed to be 20-30 years old, on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. He was taken in critical condition John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to authorities.
• On Saturday, a 16-year-old boy was shot around 11:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of North Lawndale Avenue. Police said the boy was walking on the block when someone fired at him from a passing dark-colored vehicle. The teen fled on foot to the 1900 block of North Central Park to notify police. He suffered wounds to his thigh and a hip and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in stable condition.
• Around 8:30 p.m. a 19-year-old man was shot in the 7000 block of South Vernon Avenue. The teen was shot when someone fired at him from behind. He was taken to an area hospital in unknown condition.
• A little over an hour earlier, three people were shot in the 1600 block of West 70th Street. Police said someone opened fire on three people from an alley. An 18-year-old man and 20-year-old man were both shot in the leg and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in stable condition. A 15-year-old boy was also shot in the foot and taken to Holy Cross Hospital in stable condition. Police said the victims knew the offender who shot them and Area South detectives are investigating.
• Just after 4:30 p.m. a 50-year-old man was shot during an attempted robbery in the 7100 block of South May Street. The man was approached by two men, one of which held a gun to him while the other took items from his pockets, police said. The victim was shot in the left leg during the robbery and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in stable condition.
• About 10 minutes earlier, a 24-year-old man was self-transported to Holy Cross Hospital in critical condition. Police said the man had a wound to the neck and was in critical condition, but noted the shooting took place in the 7200 block of South Artesian Avenue.
• Around 12:45 pm. an 18-year-old man was shot in the 8600 block of South Exchange Avenue. The teen had a wound to his inner thigh and was in good condition at an area hospital, police said. Details surrounding the shooting were not immediately available.
• At about noon, a 17-year-old man was shot in the 7400 block of South Vernon Avenue. The teen was struck in the right leg and taken to St. Bernard Hospital in stable condition.

At least five others were wounded in shootings since Friday afternoon.

The conference finals started with a loss for the Miami Heat as the Indiana Pacers took game one on Sunday by a final score of 107-96.

The game started well and fast for Indiana as George Hill sank a three-pointer only 21 seconds in. The Pacers would go on to have a 7-0 run to start the game with Hill having five of the points.  

The Pacers would maintain their seven-point advantage up until the first break in the action at the 6:15 remaining point.  The teams would exchange baskets for the next few minutes leading to a five-point Indiana lead with three minutes remaining. 

• Heat's Playoff Schedule Set
  

At the end of one quarter, the score was 30-24 with the teams missing most of their attempts over the last few minutes.

The second quarter started a lot like the first with Indiana hitting a quick basket only 31 seconds in. The Pacers would add a three-pointer a short while after and began the game 6 for 7 from downtown. 

With 6:16 remaining, the Pacers took a timeout and still held a six-point lead. The hot shooting for Indiana would continue especially from David West. When the Heat took a timeout at the 3:41 remaining mark, the Pacers had a nine-point advantage.

At halftime, it was 55-45 Indiana with the 55 points being the most allowed by Miami in a first half during this year’s postseason.

Continuing the trend of the first half, the Pacers added two quick points in 21 seconds with a pair of free throws. At that point, Indiana led by a game-high 12 points.

With 7:24 remaining in the third, Miami took a timeout and trailed by 15 points following another jump shot from West. The lead would balloon up to 18 at one point but was cut to 13 on a Ray Allen three-pointer with 3:19 left.

• Complete Heat Coverage

An 8-0 run by Miami towards the end of the third reduced the deficit. At the end of three, the score was 83-70 Indiana.

Miami opened the third quarter with a 4-0 run to give it 12 of the last 14 points scored in the game and reduce the deficit to nine.  Mario Chalmers was hit with a flagrant foul after shoving C.J. Watson out of bounds with 9:22 left.

Down the final stretch of the fourth quarter, the Heat attempted several three-pointers and missed. With 5:07 left, Miami was 4 for 19 on treys and down by 16. LeBron James converted a four-point play with 4:05 remaining to make it a 14-point game.

The Heat were unable to get the lead under double digits again as the Pacers continued to make baskets in the final few minutes of the game.

Miami will try to even up the series in game two on Tuesday before heading home.

A former Quinnipiac University student who dropped out of school but still collected thousands of dollars in tuition money from her mother is facing charges after she called in a bomb threat before a graduation ceremony.

The wildfires in Southern California are winding down, but there are still big fears it is going to be a really bad fire season.

On Sunday, Gov. Jerry Brown said California is bracing for its toughest fire season yet.

Less wind and cooler temperatures this weekend have helped crews in San Diego largely subdue nearly a dozen fires. Since the middle of last week, fire has consumed at least 26,000 acres in California.

So far this year, Cal Fire has responded to over 1,5000 wildfires, more than twice as many fires as average.

• Strong Winds Expected in Bay Area Sunday, Thunderstorms Tuesday

Brown appeared on ABC news Sunday expressing his concern about the prolonged drought and wildfire activity.

"So we've got to gear up. We're going to deal with nature as best we can, but humanity is on a collision course with nature, and we're just going to have to adapt to it in the best way we can," Brown said.

Brown said the state has 5,000 firefighters and 600 million appropriated to battling wildfires, but he warns that may not be enough in the future.

He said thousands of additional firefighters could be needed in the future, saying California is on the front lines of climate change, which making weather hotter.

• Police Suspect Arson in Some Calif. Wildfires

One more victory.

That’s all that separates the Miami Heat from becoming just the third franchise in history to make it to four straight NBA Finals. A Game 6 victory over the Indiana Pacers would send Miami back to the Finals looking for a third-straight NBA Championship, the ever elusive three-peat.

If Miami can knock off Indiana, it will join the Boston Celtics (1957-1966; 1984-1987) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1982-1985) as the only franchises to get to four straight Finals.

The Pacers held on to a 93-90 victory Wednesday night aided in large part by Heat superstar LeBron James being in foul trouble throughout the game. Even with James scoring just seven points, Indiana won when Chris Bosh missed a last-second three-pointer to seal the Pacers victory.

Coming back to Miami for Game 6, the Heat are angry, focused, and don’t want to let the series return to Indiana for Game 7. For Miami to get back to the Finals, they will need a big return from LeBron James and to keep Indiana’s Paul George contained.

James is averaging 22.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game, but is actually averaging fewer minutes than Dwyane Wade in the Eastern Conference Finals (37.4 Wade to 36.6 James). Wade has been giving the Heat a boost with 21.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in the ECF.

James and Wade have also been shooting the proverbial lights out for the Heat in the conference finals. LeBron has put up a true shooting percentage of 61.2 percent while Wade’s TSP is hovering around 62.5 percent in the conference finals.

One big question the Heat has not answered yet is the availability of center Chris Andersen. The Birdman has been battling a thigh bruise since Game 3 and has missed the last two games.

However, the Heat has managed to overcome the loss of Birdman without paying much of a price in the paint. Pacers’ center Roy Hibbert’s usage hasn’t increased to the level it was in Game 1, though it did increase from 11.7 percent in Game 4 to 19.7 percent in Game 5.

Additionally, the Heat was outrebounded by just 3 (37-34) in Game 4 and by just 7 (45-38) in Game 5 without the Birdman on the floor.

Still, his length, athleticism, and energy would be a big boost to the Heat Friday night as the team looks to close out the Pacers. A win will guarantee the Heat a place in NBA history. A loss will send the series back to Indiana for a decisive Game 7 when anything can happen.

Game 6 will tip-off Friday night at 8:30 p.m. at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

A black bear took a much-needed break in a backyard hammock after spending the night knocking over trash cans and scaring residents in a Daytona Beach neighborhood Thursday.

Photographer Rafael Torres caught the bear climbing into a hammock and lying down, according to NBC affiliate WESH.

• 50 Dogs in Need of Home After Being Found in Dead Man's Home
  

Torres told WESH he was about 60 feet away when he took the photos and it didn't seem bothered by his presence. He said it stayed in the hammock for 20 minutes before heading back into the woods at about 8:15 p.m.

The black bear is the first Torres said he's seen in the area by that hammock.

• Mama Dog Nurses Kittens With Her Pups

The Southeastern Conference will distribute a record $309.6 million in revenue to its 14 member institutions, which equates to $20.9 million per school.

Commissioner Mike Slive announced the payout Friday, the final day of the annual SEC meetings.

The revenue is generated from football and basketball television contracts, bowl games, the league's football championship game, the league's men's basketball tournament, NCAA championships and supplemental surplus.

The SEC also passed five proposals Friday, including:

— The league instituted an automatic waiver for graduate-school transfers with less than two years of eligibility remaining, a move that should expedite the transfer process.

— The league will allow the use of artificial noisemakers any time during football games except for when the center is over the football until the stoppage of the play.

A Coral Springs 2-year-old was found face down in a pool by his grandfather Friday and is now in critical condition.

The child’s mother and father were at the hospital celebrating the birth of a baby Thursday night and the child’s grandfather was watching the 2-year-old and a 1-year-old cousin at a home on the 3100 block of NW 114th Lane.

Property records show that the home belongs to a Jenna and Sklyer Edwards, which was also the name on the mailbox in front of the home.

At some point, the grandfather turned around and found the 2-year-old face down in the pool that was surrounded by a safety gate.

The grandfather jumped in to save the child, but his cell phone was still in his pocket which left him unable to call 911. A neighbor called 911 for him and the child was taken to Coral Springs Medical Center in critical condition.

The attorney general of Florida says in court documents that recognizing same sex marriages performed in other states would disrupt existing marriage laws and "impose significant public harm."

Eight gay couples and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state in federal court in March. The lawsuit argues Florida is discriminating against the couples by not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican who was named in the lawsuit along with fellow GOP Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials, earlier this month filed a lengthy response that asks a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit for several reasons, saying a federal court shouldn't rule on a state's marriage laws.

Bondi's office also argues that the state has a legitimate interest in defining marriage as between a man and woman. Florida first banned same-sex marriages nearly two decades ago and voters reinforced that ban when they passed a constitutional amendment in 2008.

"Florida's marriage laws, then, have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society's legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units," Bondi's office said in court documents.

The state's legal position also notes that there would be significant financial and logistical problems for the state's pension and health insurance programs if same-sex marriages were recognized.

The lead attorney for the ACLU of Florida disagreed.

"Florida's discriminatory laws cause serious harm to real families across the state," attorney Daniel Tilley said in a statement. "Despite the state's assertion that the harms to same-sex married couples aren't significant enough to warrant relief, the families living every day being treated like legal strangers by their home state know better."

Scott earlier this year said he supports Florida's constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but added that he "does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason."

The lawsuit in Florida is part of a groundswell of challenges in the gay marriage debate.

Several federal judges have ruled in support of same-sex marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down part of the federal anti-gay marriage law.

The NBA has canceled its hearing to consider Donald Sterling's ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, saying the team will be sold to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

That announcement Friday afternoon came just after Sterling's lawyer filed an antitrust suit against the league, seeking $1 billion plus treble damages.

• Read: Sterling's Suit Against the NBA

The league said in its statement that it has resolved its dispute over the franchise's ownership with Donald Sterling's estranged wife Shelly and the Sterling Family Trust, who agreed Thursday to sell the franchise to Ballmer for $2 billion.

Shelly Sterling and the trust "also agreed not to sue the NBA and to indemnify the NBA against lawsuits from others, including from Donald Sterling," the league said in its statement Friday.

• Updates: Download the NBCLA News App

With that, "the NBA will withdraw its pending charge to terminate the Sterlings' ownership of the team."

The NBA had charged Donald Sterling with damaging the league by making racist comments and planned the hearing for Tuesday, where league owners could have terminated his ownership — and Shelly's as well.

On Thursday, Ballmer announced he had agreed to buy the team for $2 billion, after Donald Sterling had handed control of the team over to Shelly Sterling last week, allowing her to negotiate a deal.

NBA owners had been scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to force a sale of the team. Instead, the board of governors will vote on the deal to sell the team to Ballmer.

• Sterling Firestorm: Key Players, Timeline

Sterling's attorney told NBC News that he has not agreed to sell the Clippers.

Sterling was recorded last month telling girlfriend V. Stiviano not to bring black friends to Clippers games, specifically mentioning Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

Sterling's comments prompted widespread criticism, including from Johnson and other prominent NBA players, the NAACP and President Barack Obama.

Longtime sponsors and advertisers with the Clippers ended their relationships and suspended ads.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver imposed on Sterling a lifetime league ban, fined him $2.5 million and vowed to force a sale of the team.

Two weeks after the announcement, Sterling made his first public statements in an interview in which he called the remarks a terrible mistake and asked for forgiveness.

In the same interview, he also blasted Magic Johnson, saying the Lakers great was not a good role model for children and had done nothing for black people.

The Sterling family bought the LA Clippers in 1981 for $12 million.

A police chase in Hollywood Friday ended with a blue Infiniti stopped in the front yard of a home and the driver facing drug charges.

“There was no crash, I just heard a whole bunch of sirens,” said the homeowner Brandon, who declined to give his last name. “I was like, wow, crazy, in this neighborhood? Crazy.’”

Brandon said when he got to the window; he could hear officers yelling at the suspect, Scott Cinelli.

“Stop resisting, stop resisting, stop resisting, and they tasered him,” Brandon said.

Hollywood Police said everything started with an undercover drug sting. Police said Cinelli sold detectives heroin before leading them on the chase.

“Very dangerous, well, the drugs that he was delivering was dangerous in and of itself, but he made a situation even worse by fleeing,” said Hollywood Police Lt. Derik Alexander.

Hollywood Police said the heroin epidemic across the nation is hitting home in South Florida.

“We are seeing some signs of that in our jurisdiction and we’re working very hard to combat that and make sure that it doesn’t proliferate in our jurisdiction,” Lt. Alexander said.

Looking for a new dishwasher? You might feel “overloaded” with all of the choices.

Consumer Reports says job one of any dishwasher is clean dishes!

Testers spend a day dirtying dishes, glasses, and silverware—smearing on peanut butter, sauce, egg yolks, spinach, and more. Then the dishes are left in the dishwasher overnight, letting all of that food get caked-on, just like you might do.

A dishwasher that does well in Consumer Reports’ tests, whether very good or excellent, should be able to handle anything you throw at it. Some dishwashers leave behind small bits of food, but many dishwashers produce nice clean dishes.

After cleaning performance there is more to consider, including run-time. The normal cycle for most dishwashers these days is between 2 and 3 hours.

The $800 Blomberg DWT54100SS cuts cycle time almost in half with an 85-minute normal cycle. It is a bit noisy, but even with its shorter cycle, the dishes come out super-clean.

In the end, top-ratings went to the $1,300 Kenmore Elite 12793, from Sears, which solves another problem. With most dishwashers’ spray arms, if something such as a stray fork gets in its path, it gets stuck and the water can’t reach everywhere.

The Kenmore Elite has a motorized spray arm, so when it hits the fork, it reverses direction. The Kenmore Elite is also available without the motorized spray arm for $100 less.

Consumer Reports also named a Best Buy for about half the price. It’s a little bit noisier and doesn’t have a stainless-steel tub, but it delivers excellent cleaning power. It’s the $730 Bosch Ascenta SHX3AR7[5]UC and is available online at Lowe’s.

A fire in downtown Miami torched a home and a nearby church Friday evening.

The fire started in the back of a duplex at 219 NW 14th Terrace in Miami and quickly spread to the entire building and then a neighboring church.

Fire rescue officials originally said one person had died, but later said no victim was found in the home. Firefighters on scene began removing falling roof debris and found what appeared to be a severely burned body on a bed where a victim was believed to be, but the adult man was later located.

Another person was rescued from the front of the duplex.

A total of 40 Miami firefighters were on the scene at one point working on the fire.

Fire crews had to cut power to the entire block because their rescue equipment was getting too close to the power lines in the area. The fire shutdown NW 14th Street as firefighters battled the blaze.

The fire was brought under control in the 9 p.m. hour and fire crews are working on fully dousing the blaze.

The flames could be seen across downtown including as far away as the AmericanAirlines Arena where the Miami Heat was playing Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

This is amateur video of the fire from the Instagram account of Clint Carey:

Stay with NBC 6 and NBCMiami.com for more details on this breaking news

The death of a man in his Hialeah home Friday left Miami-Dade County Animal Services with more than 50 small to medium sized dogs in need of adoption.

Hialeah Police responded to a call of a man passing away from natural causes Friday morning at a home on the 5900 block of East 6th Avenue. When police arrived, they found the body of a man along with his elderly parents and roughly 51 dogs in the home.

• PHOTOS: Bear Rests on Hammock After Roaming Neighborhood

Police said the family loved animals and would pick up stray dogs from the street to try to help them. Hialeah Police said both parents appeared to be suffering from dementia and the dogs were taken by animal control to be put up for adoption.

Both parents were taken to Palmetto General Hospital for further evaluation.

• Dog Poo Forces Philly-Bound Flight to Make Emergency Landing

The dogs are at Miami-Dade County Animal Services at 7401 NW 74 Street in Miami. The shelter waived all adoption fees for the dogs. The dogs are available this weekend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

A Virginia man accused of stealing two signs from parks honoring victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and calling a victim’s family to say the Newtown shooting was a hoax has been arrested, police said Friday.

Andrew David Truelove, 28, was arrested in Herndon, Virginia, with the help of police in Connecticut.

Truelove is accused of stealing a memorial sign for 7-year-old Grace McDonnell from a park in Mystic, Connecticut, and another for 7-year-old Chase Kowalski from a park in Mantoloking, New Jersey. Both signs were stolen about a month ago.

After allegedly stealing the sign from the park honoring McDonnell, he called the slain girl's mother to say her daughter "never existed" and that the shooting was a hoax, according to one of the playground's supporters.

Herndon police told NBC Washington that Truelove may be a conspiracy theorist who believes that the Sandy Hook school shooting was staged to trigger stricter gun laws. He is banned from a school property in Herndon, according to police.

"It's hard to explain the 'why,' because from our perspective it doesn't appear rational, that type of thought process," Herndon Police chief Maggie DeBoard told NBC Washington. "We know Sandy Hook occurred, obviously there are a lot of victims in that case. So I can't explain the 'why.'"

Police searched a room Truelove rented at a home outside Washington and found the two stolen signs. Truelove has been charged with possession of stolen property and is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

Police say blogger and reporter Chez Pazienza of The Daily Banter  helped to track down the suspect. Pazienza wrote an open letter asking the thief to come forward, and he received a response, including photographs of the signs in a living room.

"I was really angry and I wanted to see this person go down for this," Pazienza told NBC Connecticut in a Skype interview Friday. "I wasn't just going to let it go."

Truelove's father, Alan, says that his son didn't steal the signs.

"They're chasing the wrong fella," Alan Truelove told NBC Washington. "So police have this investigation completely wrong."

Police in Virginia said grand larceny charges in Connecticut and New Jersey are pending. Investigators may upgrade his charges to felonies, NBC Washington reported.

The arrest comes after Connecticut police contacted Virginia authorities with a possible address for a suspect, police said. Police from Stonington, Connecticut, will travel to Virginia to get the sign for the park in Mystic next week.

The Miami Marlins fell back into second place in the National League East with their 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

Tom Koehler was cruising along and looked like he was on his way to putting the Marlins in first place. Then, the seventh inning happened and it involved the Braves putting two go-ahead runs on the board.

Koehler ended up going seven innings in which he allowed three runs on seven hits. The right-hander walked a high total of four but also struck out five.

Chris Hatcher worked the eighth in perfect fashion to keep the deficit at only one. Dan Jennings took over for the ninth and allowed a hit in a scoreless inning. The work by the bullpen was exceptional overall but the offense was unable to mount a comeback.

The two runs for the Marlins came early in the first inning via a Giancarlo Stanton two-run home run. It was the 16th home run of the year for the slugger and also gave him 51 runs batted in on the season.

Miami had five hits total and only one extra-base hit, which was the Stanton blast. That led to the Marlins only have two men in scoring position for the game and the team was 0-2 in those situations.

The Marlins will try to even the series on Saturday with Jacob Turner set to be on the mound in a nationally televised afternoon tilt.

The Miami Heat joined very elite company Friday night when the team won a fourth straight Eastern Conference championship title by beating the Indiana Pacers.

The Heat became just the third franchise in NBA history to ever make it to four straight NBA Finals joining the Boston Celtics (1957-1966; 1984-1987) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1982-1985). But Miami is far from done and is poised to join an even more elite group by winning three straight championships.

The last two teams to make it to four straight NBA Finals, the Lakers and Celtics in the 1980’s, won two championships during their four year runs. Miami already has two championships in the can and could three-peat with a victory in the 2014 NBA Finals.

The teams that have won three-straight championships included some of the greatest players in the history of the game, names like: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

The Heat is now on the cusp of joining that elite group if the team can knock off the eventual Western Conference champion, either the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder. Coincidentally, the Spurs and Thunder are the two teams Miami has beaten the last two seasons to win its two straight championships.

The Spurs and Heat have played each other seven times dating back to 2011 and Miami has won five of the seven games, including four last year in the NBA Finals. The Heat and Thunder have played eight times dating back to 2011 and Miami has a 5-3 record against Oklahoma City, including four wins in the 2012 NBA Finals.

Whoever wins in the Western Conference will be facing a Miami Heat juggernaut that is peaking as the team hits the NBA Finals.

How good was the Heat in the Game 6 victory over the Pacers? With eight minutes to go in the game, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade had a combined 63 points. The entire Pacers team had 67 points.

Miami will get the next five days to rest before the NBA Finals get started next week with Game 1 either in Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

The Miami Heat are headed back to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight year after their 117-92 blowout win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

The Heat completely dominated the Pacers in the first half and carried a 60-34 lead into halftime. LeBron James finished the first half with 15 points on 6-8 shooting while Chris Bosh contributed 13 points and 5 rebounds.

Chris Andersen, in his first action in the last two games, came off the bench and had 8 points and 8 rebounds in the first half. Combined, the Heat’s Big Three of LeBron, Bosh, and Wade finished the first half with 37 points to the entire Pacers’ team score of 34.

Miami, a notoriously poor rebounding team, crushed Indiana on the boards in the first half 23-13 and dominated the Pacers in the paint, 30-12.

The game was a complete turnaround from Game 5, especially for the Pacers’ Paul George. After scoring 31 points in the final two quarters of Game 5, George scored a total of one point in the first half of Game 6.

The 26 point deficit for Indiana was the largest the Pacers had seen since 2005 against the Boston Celtics.

The scary part for the Pacers was what LeBron told ESPN heading into halftime, “We’re not satisfied with our performance. We played well. But we expect to play well. Now we’ve got to expect excellence.”

The onslaught continued as soon as the teams came back on the floor in the second half. In fact, the lead only became bigger for Miami with the defending champions taking a 37-point lead toward the end of of the third quarter.

LeBron sat for the entire fourth with the Heat up by 33 at the start of the quarter. LeBron finished with 25 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

Wade and Bosh did play some minutes in the fourth after resting towards the end of the third. Wade had 13 points, 6 assists and 6 boards. Bosh contributed 25 points and 8 boards of his own.

Rashard Lewis continued to make a big impact outside of just scoring. Lewis was +23 for the game which only trailed LeBron who was +27 himself. Points wise, Lewis had 13 in this one. The amount of minutes that Lewis sees in the NBA Finals could depend greatly on who the opponent is.

The Pacers finally pulled all their regulars with about 4 minutes left in the game as they virtually waived the white flag. Greg Oden saw action for the first time this postseason as well with the clock ticking down.

The NBA Finals will begin on June 5th with the Heat taking on either the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Oakland High School students have started a petition in support of a staff member accused of handcuffing, punching and dumping a student with cerebral palsy out of his wheelchair.

According to a letter sent out to parents by school principal Matin Abdel-Qawi, the staff member -- named in an official complaint as security officer Marchell Mitchell -- has been arrested and charged with injuring a child, a felony. He was fired May 19, the same day as the incident.

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Mitchell was arraigned last week and pleaded not guilty, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's office.

On Friday, some students started a petition in support of Mitchell, who was caught on video hitting the student in a wheelchair. Mitchell claims the student provoked him by spitting on his face at one point during the incident.

Students taped flyers to themselves, which read: "Spitting is a crime, you provoked this ... Spit on me get yo a** beat."

The Oakland Unified School District has released a video of the incident. According to the probable cause document filed in court, the student, 17-year-old  Francisco Martinez, has cerebral palsy and can't use his legs. Martinez said Friday that he's still traumatized by what happened last week.

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"All I'm asking for is justice," he said. "It affects my studies because everybody is just watching."

Abdel-Qawi said that around 9 a.m. on May 19, two school security officers were urging students to go to class. But some of the students, including one in a wheelchair, continued to linger in the hallway.

When one of the security officers approached the student in the wheelchair and ordered him to move toward his next class, the student either refused or was slow to do so, Abdel-Qawi said.

The officer then proceeded to take the student’s chair by its handles and wheel him to class, at which point the student objected and attempted to slap away the security officer’s hands, Abdel-Qawi said.

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The security officer handcuffed the student and continued to roll him toward class when the student turned around and spat on the officer’s face.

The security officer allegedly struck the student several times before dumping him from his wheelchair onto the floor face down.

Another security officer intervened to restrain his partner. A staff member arrived at the scene moments later and notified Oakland School Police, who detained the security officer and launched an investigation that included interviews with students, teachers and administration.

The student was transported to a hospital with injuries. He has since returned to school.

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"We consider this behavior completely unacceptable, harmful to our school and community, and traumatic to our students and families," Abdel-Qawi said in his letter.

Police are still investigating the case but there was enough information to conclude that criminal behavior took place, resulting in the arrest of the officer by Oakland School Police for child abuse, Abdel-Qawi said.

Abdel-Qawi said that he had called a staff meeting on May 20 to respond to the incident. Oakland Unified’s legal office and Oakland School Police are also reviewing policies and training procedures related to school security officers, he said.

The school district is reviewing the surveillance video to determine whether other guards responded poorly to the incident as well.

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The next court dates are scheduled for June 16 for pre-trial and July 11 for a preliminary hearing.

Additional reporting and photo of student protest by NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez.