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MIAMI -- Trailing entering the fourth quarter, thats becoming common for the Miami Heat. wholesale nfl jerseys . So is overcoming those deficits. Down by five entering the fourth, the Heat clamped down and beat the Toronto Raptors 102-97 Sunday night, getting 30 points from LeBron James and 17 from reserve Michael Beasley. "We stayed with it mentally," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We were into the grind and staying the course and had to continue to make plays." Playing in a back-to-back for the first time since mid-November, Dwyane Wade scored 14 points in 35 minutes for Miami, which got 11 rebounds from Chris Bosh and outscored the Raptors 23-13 in the final quarter. Miami is 7-6 this season when trailing entering the fourth. "Just find a way to win," James said. "Every game is different. One game is different is from the next and you just find a way to win when you can." The way they won this one was defensively. The Heat shot only 7 for 20 in the fourth, but the Raptors shot 6 for 21. "They got more aggressive," Torontos Kyle Lowry said. "We werent attacking as much in transition. First three quarters we were able to get out and run a little bit more. The quarter started very slow for us and it really hurt us." DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting for Toronto, which was bidding for its first six-game winning streak since April 2007. Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas each scored 17 for the Raptors, who got 14 from Lowry. Toronto had a slew of late chances. Johnson could have given the Raptors the lead with 25 seconds left, but his 4-footer bounced off the rim. And Lowrys 3-point attempt with Toronto down three with 6 seconds left also missed, with James corralling that rebound and sealing the win at the foul line. "We couldnt get a bucket," DeRozan said. "Things were going our way and then it came down to LeBron hitting a couple of big shots." A night after shooting 9 for 9 in Orlando, Bosh shot just 2 for 9, but his hook in the lane with 8:57 left put the Heat on top 86-84. Miami wouldnt trail again. Miami was up 52-51 at the break, then quickly lost the lead and its point guard. Mario Chalmers missed the second half with right Achilles tendinitis. He played 15 minutes in the first half, roughly his usual workload, but Spoelstra said the team decided at halftime to shut him down. Chalmers wasnt sure what caused the issue. While that was settling in, Toronto was taking off, a 12-2 run not long after halftime giving the Raptors a seven-point edge. The margin was nine with 4:56 left in the third after an inside score by Valanciunas, who had 10 in the quarter. Miami ripped off nine straight to tie it, but Lowry -- who also made a pair of 3-pointers in the period -- closed the third with a jumper that put Toronto up 84-79. "I like the way our guys fought, but in the NBA you dont get a win or any medal for losing," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I like what our guys are building. I know where we are. Ive said it. I havent wavered from it. I like the direction were going." Without Chalmers, Roger Mason Jr. got just under six minutes of second-half playing time for the Heat, his only basket being a 3-pointer to start Miamis fourth-quarter rally. Unless the Heat decide to part ways, Mason Jr.s contract becomes guaranteed for the remainder of the season on Tuesday. So, too, does Beasleys deal. His 17 points came in just 20 minutes. NOTES: Miami F Shane Battier (left quad strain) hoped to play Sunday but was inactive, along with C Greg Oden (knee rehab). F-C Tyler Hansbrough (sprained left ankle) was out for Toronto, only the seventh time the Raptors lost someone for a game because of injury this season. ... Instead of flying to Indianapolis after the game, the Raptors opted to stay another night in Miami because of the snow and extreme cold in the Midwest. Toronto plays at Indiana on Tuesday. ... It was James 250th regular-season game with the Heat. Hes reached double digits in scoring in every one. cheap nfl jerseys . The 25-year-old rookie forward scored the winner on his first career shootout attempt as the Philadelphia Flyers overcame an early deficit to earn a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. wholesale jerseys . "Our level of work has to go up," said Carlyle on Thursday. "Weve stated that and weve (told) our players that the message is going to start to be delivered in a different manner if were not going to get the results that were looking for. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Al Jefferson and the Charlotte Bobcats cant help but sneak a peek at the Eastern Conference standings every now and again. "I would be great to get in that sixth spot," Jefferson said. The reasoning if obvious: It would help the Bobcats avoid a potential first-round playoff series with Indiana or Miami. For now, the Bobcats are the seventh seed in the East, but theyre gaining ground. Charlotte took a big step on Wednesday night with Jefferson scoring 35 points and Kemba Walker adding a double-double in a 116-111 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The win pulled the Bobcats within 1/2 games of sixth-seeded Washington, which lost Wednesday night to Phoenix, and three games behind the fifth-seeded Nets. "I think if we continue to win games everything will take care of itself, everything will work out," Jefferson said. "At this point we should be happy and blessed to be in any (playoff) spot." Walker had 20 points and 12 assists, and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 16 points, including two big jump shots in overtime. Deron Williams finished with 29 points for Brooklyn after scoring 18 in the first quarter. Joe Johnson had 18. Josh McRoberts put the Bobcats ahead for good in overtime when he cut to the basket, received a pass from Jefferson and twisted his body in midair for a reverse dunk in traffic, bringing the crowd to its feet. Douglas-Roberts and Johnson traded 3-pointers before Walker hit a 19-footer over Williams to push the lead to 114-111. Shaun Livingston missed a driving layup with 35 seconds left and the Bobcats got the ball. McRoberts was blocked on the ensuing possession, but Douglas-Roberts tracked down the loose ball and made a 20-footer from the left wing to push the lead to five and seal the victory. "I thought the defence was great, but in the end, we come up with a blocked shot, the ball bounces, and you know CDR, he makes a shot with the shot clock winding down and so everybody executed," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "The ball just bounced their way tonight." Williams tied the game with 26.8 seconds left in regulation when he knocked down a 20-footer from the left wing. The Bobcats had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but the ball slipped out of Walkers hands as time expired. jerseys from china. Douglas-Roberts joined the Bobcats in December from the NBA Developmental League and has been a reliable contributor during the teams playoff push. He saw extra minutes off the bench with Gary Neal out with an ankle injury. "Im very confident when Im on the floor and I go in there knowing I have to contribute for this team," Douglas-Roberts said. Williams set a career-high with 57 points in this same building against the Bobcats on March 4, 2012. And early on he looked like he was aiming to better the mark. Despite missing the morning shootaround with an illness, he made seven of his first eight shots, including four 3-pointers to finish with 18 points in the first quarter. The Bobcats, who have surrendered 62 points to Carmelo Anthony and 61 points to LeBron James this season, seemed intent not to allow that to happen again. They shaded their coverage to Williams in the second quarter and he was limited to only two more points before halftime. In the meantime, Jefferson was starting to heat up, scoring 22 points in the first half on 9-of-14 shooting, using a variety of low-post moves and jump hooks. "We gave him some easy ones early," Brooklyns Mason Plumlee said. "... You cant give a great scorer easy buckets early." Brooklyns Jorge Gutierrez was ejected from the game with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant two foul against Cody Zeller. Zeller grabbed an offensive rebound and Gutierrez came down hard with both hands on Zellers shoulders, sending the 7-footer crashing to the hardwood. "I watched the replay and it looked pretty bad -- but that wasnt my intention to do that," Gutierrez said. "Coach always says Nothing easy. Make them earn it on the free throw line. I was just trying to do a hard play." NOTES: The Bobcats are 12-7 since the All-Star break. ... Grammy Award winner Nelly took in the game from a courtside seat. ... The Bobcats and Wells Fargo gave away a new home to former Marine Josh Morgan during the first half of the game as part of the Military Warriors Support Foundation. Morgan was injured in Afghanistan. wholesale nfl jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
