OKLAHOMA CITY -- LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night.
[b]David Justice Jersey[/b] . His Miami Heat teammates finished off a 103-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder without him on Thursday night. Miamis star forward went down with 5:50 remaining after he was struck by Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. James finished the dunk, but he was bloodied and he left the court with a towel over his face. "Im like everybody else, youre used to seeing him like Superman, get up and sprint back even after tough hits and tough falls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So we knew something was up." James landed the hardest blow long before that. He scored 16 of his 33 points in the first quarter to put the Thunder in a bind, and the Heat rolled to a lopsided win. James passed a concussion test, but some damage was done. "He has a swollen nose right now. Its bleeding," Spoelstra said. "Well evaluate him when we get back to Miami, but its sore." The Thunder were the ones shaken up after James made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first 4:11. "It was flawless," Wade said. "He was aggressive defensively, he was able to play passing lanes and be who he is. That was a great start on the road by our leader. It was something that we needed." Wade had 24 points and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh added 24 points for Miami, which won its fourth straight and avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City. It was a good step for the Heat, who are trying to catch Indiana for the top record in the Eastern Conference. "You can see the resolve," Wade said. "You can see the chemistry. You can see a team thats gearing up for the second half of the season." Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5. Durant has been the popular favourite to win the NBA MVP award, but Wade said James is still in the hunt. "Its not decided," Wade said. "I dont think that was a message. That was LeBron James being LeBron James. He loves the matchup, just like KD loves the matchup. The MVP is long, long from over." Russell Westbrook, who had missed the previous 27 games after having surgery on his right knee, started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He made 4 of 12 shots. "Im just going to keep getting him better, and as the season goes along, as he gets more comfortable in game shape, were going to see a better Russell every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. The Thunder overcame an early 18-point deficit on Jan. 29 to roll past the Heat 112-95 in Miami, and the home fans hoped for a regular-season sweep against the team that beat Oklahoma City in the 2012 finals. Instead, they saw a rare inefficient game from the Thunder. "When you dont have good rhythm, normally the three-ball can get you back into the game," Brooks said. "We didnt have shot makers tonight. Weve had them for a while now. We didnt have them tonight." The crowd erupted as Westbrook was introduced as a starter. His first minute of action was furious and had the fans on their feet. His first basket was a two-handed, fast-break dunk 37 seconds into the game, and he got a steal 17 seconds later. The excitement quickly evaporated. James scored 10 points in the first 3:11 and Miami made 13 of its first 14 shots to take a 28-13 lead. The Heat were ahead 34-17 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 19 points in the second quarter before the Thunder rallied behind Westbrook. He scored nine points in the final 1:55 of the first half, including a dunk in the closing seconds, to trim Miamis lead to 54-47 at the break. Miami took control early in the third quarter. James scored six points during a 10-0 run that helped the Heat take a 64-49 lead. The advantage grew to 75-53 on a 3-pointer by James with just over five minutes left in the frame. Durant scored seven points in the final 2:46 of the quarter to trim Miamis edge to 76-65 heading into the fourth. Miami reasserted itself in the opening minutes of the final period. Bosh hit a 3-pointer to bump the Heats lead to 19 with just under 10 minutes to go. The Heat won for the fifth time during their six-game road trip. Miami beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas before closing with a win against the team with the leagues best record. "Its good to finish it this way," Spoelstra said. NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson, who started while Westbrook was out, entered the game in the first quarter. ... Durant scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. ... Miami shot 76 per cent in the first quarter but made just 7 of 17 shots in the second and was outscored 30-20. ... Oklahoma Citys Kendrick Perkins left the game in the third quarter with a left groin strain and didnt return.
[b]William Contreras Jersey[/b] . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain.
[b]Mark Wohlers Jersey[/b] . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p.TORONTO - Power plays gave the Toronto Maple Leafs ample opportunity to break open a tight game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. When they couldnt take advantage, the Penguins cashed in to beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Friday night at Air Canada Centre. The Leafs went 0 for 6 on the power play after scoring three goals that way Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins. Pascal Dupuis scored twice and Sidney Crosby reclaimed sole possession of the NHL lead in points with an assist for the Penguins (11-3-1), who responded from a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the New York Rangers earlier in the week. Cody Franson scored a third-period goal for the Leafs (9-6-2), who visit the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. Jonathan Bernier was solid in stopping 39 of the 41 shots he faced. Penguins backup goaltender Thomas Greiss made 30 saves, including 13 in the third period. This was a better showing for the Leafs than the first time the Penguins visited this season, a 5-2 loss on Oct. 11 that led to a fan throwing his blue and white sweater on the ice. This was the annual Hall of Fame game held in conjunction with induction weekend. The class of 2014 - Dominik Hasek, Peter Forsberg, Mike Modano, Rob Blake, the late Pat Burns (represented by widow Line) and referee Bill McCreary — was honoured in a pre-game ceremony. The teams wore Hockey Hall of Fame patches on their jerseys and decals on their helmets. Line Gignac Burns dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff between captains Crosby and Dion Phaneuf. Once the action got under way, the Penguins controlled play for much of the first period. Their emphasis on better puck possession under first-year coach Mike Johnston was obvious as they had it in the Leafs zone more often than not. The Leafs only had five shots in the first but several of them were high quality. A penalty-filled second period gave way to plenty of chances for the Leafs to break the scoreless tie. A roughing penalty on Pittsburgh defenceman Robert Bortuzzo for clipping Nazem Kadri led to a lot of sustained pressure but no goal. Out of the box, Bortuzzo set up the Penguins first goal by holding the puck in the offensive zone and getting it to Brandon Sutter.
[b]Luke Jackson Jersey[/b]. Sutter found Christian Ehrhoff for a one-timer at the point, and Dupuis deflected it past Bernier at 17:18 of the second. Just 40 seconds later, Evgeni Malkin thought he had his seventh goal of the season but just his second at even strength. With an open net to shoot at it, the 2004 No. 2 pick didnt get all of it but still thought he had it - except Bernier got his glove up in time. Bernier was all but helpless 15 seconds into the third period when Dupuis made it 2-0. Reunited on the top line, Crosby found Dupuis for a one-timer between the circles that Chris Kunitz set the screen on. Franson cut the deficit to one 6:32 into the third by collecting Crosbys failed clear and firing a high shot past Greiss that seemed to catch the goaltender unprepared. The defenceman extended his point streak to six games with his third goal of the season. Phaneuf created a brouhaha at 17:46 of the third when he made a textbook shoulder to chest hit on Patric Hornqvist along the side boards. Malkin took exception to it and fought the Leafs captain but put his team on the penalty kill as a result. Again the Leafs were unable to score on the power play. Notes - Penguins centre Brandon Sutter left the game in the third period after taking a slapshot to the face from Torontos Roman Polak. Sutter, who wears a protective visor, was able to skate off the ice with some assistance. ... James Reimer is expected to start for the Leafs on Saturday night in Buffalo. Marc-Andre Fleury will get the nod for the Penguins against the Rangers. ... Craig Adams was playing his 303rd consecutive game for the Penguins. ... The Leafs before the game announced Borje Salming would be the next player to be part of Legends Row outside Air Canada Centre. ... The pre-game ceremony included several Hall of Famers: Salming, Clark Gilles, Dino Ciccarelli, Geraldine Heaney, Jacques Laperriere, Vladislav Tretiak, Lanny McDonald and Mats Sundin. Not surprisingly ex-Leafs captain Sundin got the biggest ovation. ' ' '
Find in Directory
Find in Events
Find in Marketplace