lucylily's blog: "ght"

MIAMI -- LeBron James had 34 points and 10 assists, Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and the Miami Heat avenged a loss at Oklahoma City last week, rallying to beat the Thunder 98-93 on Wednesday night for their 17th straight home victory. Mario Chalmers scored 13 points, and Chris Bosh had 12 for Miami, which trailed by 11 in the first half before a comeback fueled in part by Russell Westbrook pulling James down from behind on a fast break in the second quarter. Kevin Durant scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, and Westbrook added 28, but shot 9 for 26. James Harden had 12 for the Thunder, who lost despite holding Miami to 37 per cent shooting. The win moved Miami (39-14) within two games of Chicago (42-13) in the race for the NBAs best record. Oklahoma City fell to 40-14. Durant could have given Oklahoma City the lead with 1:30 left, backing down James and then trying a turnaround from the left side. His shot was way off, hitting the top of the backboard. Bosh, who had been 3 for 13 to that point, made a jumper on the next Miami possession to make it 96-93. Kendrick Perkins then missed two free throws with 43.6 seconds left, the first Thunder misses from the line all night after starting 18 of 18. And after James couldnt connect on the ensuing Miami trip, it was still a one-possession game. The Thunder called a timeout with 19.5 seconds left and went for the quick 3, Durants try hitting the front of the rim and going out of bounds. Wade made a pair of foul shots, stretching the lead to five, and it was soon over. Oklahoma Citys win at home over Miami last week was largely one-sided. For a while, this one looked as if it would go the same way. There were some incidents that had big-deal potential in the opening minutes. Wade and James failed to score on a pair of early 2-on-1s, first against Westbrook, then against Durant. James tweaked his left ankle after falling over a courtside videographer, then grabbed at his back and winced after some unintentional and unexpected contact with referee Zach Zarba. By nights end, all that was forgotten. Westbrooks three-point play with 7:27 left in the second quarter gave Oklahoma City a 36-25 lead, and that sort of margin typically means a Thunder win -- they came into Wednesday 32-2 when they held a double-digit lead. Then the games complexion changed. The first salvo came with 5:45 left in the half, when Perkins struck Wade in the head while trying to block a shot and both got called for a technical and personal fouls, much to the ire of both sides -- coach Scott Brooks couldnt understand why Perkins merited both, while Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked why contact to the head wasnt worth a flagrant foul. The flagrant came 12 seconds later. Wade stole the ball from Westbrook, flipped it ahead to James, who leaped for a dunk. Westbrook came from behind James, wrapping his left hand over the Heat stars left shoulder and using his right hand to grab him around the waist. James fell to the court, and emotions started boiling over. Referees Bill Kennedy and Olandis Poole jumped into the fray, making sure players didnt go at one another. Heat President Pat Riley got out of his seat three rows from the court and took a long look at the scene, while normally mild-mannered Miami assistant coach Bob McAdoo had some choice words for anyone who would listen. The end result was a flagrant-1 for Westbrook. James swished a jumper as time in the half expired, and Miami led 50-49. The Heat closed the half on a 23-11 run. "Playoff basketball," James said at halftime in a TV interview. "I know Russ. I dont think hes a dirty player." Hes right -- it certainly did have a playoff feel. Even new Jets quarterback Tim Tebow -- who James raves about -- was taking notice of the level of play. "Dont know whos gonna win," Tebow tweeted in the third quarter, "but KingJames isnt playing around." Neither were the Thunder. As soon as the Heat went up by nine late in the third, their biggest lead to that point, the Thunder came back with a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead. Durant started the burst with a 12-footer with 3 seconds left in the quarter, then Oklahoma City scored the first eight of the fourth to go back on top 81-80. By that point, it was clear this one was going to the wire. NOTES: Word that Wade would play -- he missed Tuesdays game against Philadelphia with a bruised left knee -- came down about 45 minutes before tip-off. ... NFL stars Julius Peppers and Jeremy Shockey were part of the sold-out crowd, as was actor Michael Douglas for the second straight night. ... About 57,000 people went to a pair of sold-out sports events three miles apart in Miami on Wednesday night, with Heat-Thunder going on not far from the first official baseball game in the history of Marlins Park. ... Thunder guard Derek Fisher and Heat guard James Jones -- both NBPA officers who spent much of the off-season dealing with the lockout -- exchanged greetings at halftime. www.thebrownsjerseysshop.com/Womens-Brandon-Bogotay-Nike-Jersey . Pete Times Forum in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The fourth-seeded Penguins had a chance to end the series Saturday afternoon on home ice, but the Lightning destroyed Pittsburgh by an 8-2 score to cut the series deficit to 3-2. www.thebrownsjerseysshop.com/Womens-Alex-Mack-Nike-Jersey . Brassard scored 14 goals and added 19 assists for 33 points in 62 games with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. http://www.thebrownsjerseysshop.com/Womens-Mitchell-Schwartz-Nike-Jersey . Boston signed the 24-year-old forward to an US$18-million, four-year deal that pays $4.5 million per season. Marchand, a key part of the Bruins Stanley Cup championship in 2011, had 28 goals and 27 assists last season. www.thebrownsjerseysshop.com/Womens-Greg-Little-Nike-Jersey. The Pacers came into the Big Apple on Sunday and won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, 102-95. Indiana has stolen the home-court advantage from the Knicks, but that doesnt mean the Pacers are taking Tuesdays game lightly. www.thebrownsjerseysshop.com/Womens-Josh-Gordon-Nike-Jersey . At the start of his annual state of the NFL news conference Friday, Goodell was asked about returning a team to Los Angeles.TORONTO -- Pending league approval, Toronto FC striker Eric Hassli appears headed to FC Dallas -- and a warm welcome. "Hes a goal scorer," Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman was quoted by mlssoccer.com after a Saturday exhibition win over the University of Memphis. "Hes a player that will be in the right place in the right time and if hes not scoring goals, he will be creating goals for players." FC Dallas is looking for offence in the wake of Brek Sheas departure to Englands Stoke City. And Panamanian forward Blas Perez is facing a two-game suspension to open the MLS season, as well as plenty of international duty. FC Dallas tweeted its interest in Hassli on Friday. Toronto has declined comment, although president and GM Kevin Payne has said the club is looking to ease its salary cap crunch. "Were hoping that it all does come true," Hyndman told reporters. "Because one of the things we said is the sale of Brek should give us an opportunity to go get some players we need. You take a look at today, we need finishers. With Blas being gone as much as he is, we need somebody to carry that along." Hassli made US$790,000 last season, of which $350,000 counted against the salary capp by virtue of his designated player status.dddddddddddd The 31-year-old Frenchman joined Toronto from Vancouver last July after Koevermans tore up his knee. But injuries restricted the tattooed striker to just seven games in Toronto. He ended the season with three goals for Toronto and two for Vancouver, for whom he saw action in 18 games. Hassli scored 10 goals in 26 games for Vancouver in 2011, his first season in MLS. Hasslis contract was renewed by Paul Mariner in November, just days before the former England international was fired as Torontos coach and director of player development. Hassli, who was a Mariner fan, reportedly wanted out of Toronto after the coaching change. But Hassli disputed that when he reported to camp and Payne, who was hired after the new Hassli contract was sealed, said Thursday that the Frenchman was not making waves. "Hes been a good soldier since hes been here this week and hes working hard," Payne said. "We all know hes got quality, when hes healthy. So the jurys out on Eric, too." Toronto has sent a designated played to Dallas before. TFC shipped Canadian midfielder Julian de Guzman to the Texas club last July for forward Andrew Wiedeman. ' ' '