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| MIAMI -- LeBron James leaped onto a courtside table as the postgame celebration was starting, thumped his chest and punched the air. Next stop: The Eastern Conference finals. Again. James scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 28 and Ray Allen delivered two huge plays in the final seconds as the Heat rallied to beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-94 on Wednesday night, winning the second-round matchup 4-1. "Its always been like that for us," James said. "Its never easy. Its never easy for us." Sure looks easy, though. It was the 10th straight series win for the two-time defending NBA champions. "When we met the first day for prep we said the No. 1 key, overwhelmingly the No. 1 key in this series, was great mental stability," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Thats what it was down the stretch ... incredible focus." Incredible defence, too, when it was needed most. Down by eight with less than five minutes left, the Heat forced Brooklyn into nine straight missed shots while peeling off a 12-0 run to take the lead. Allens 3-pointer off an assist by Mario Chalmers with 32 seconds remaining was the go-ahead moment, and the Heat wouldnt trail again. Allen disrupted Joe Johnsons dribble on the games final play, James then swatted the bouncing ball out of everyones reach, time expired -- and the Heat advanced. "Give the Heat credit," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "They were attacking there in the fourth quarter. We were attacking. Both teams were attacking. They made plays, they made shots and we didnt." Chris Bosh scored 16 and Allen finished with 13 for Miami. Johnson had 34 points, Paul Pierce scored 19 and Deron Williams had 17 for the Nets. Its the sixth trip to the East title series in the last 10 seasons for Miami, which is bidding for a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals -- something only the Lakers and Celtics franchises have accomplished. James is heading to the East finals for the sixth time in eight seasons, the first two of those trips coming with Cleveland in 2007 and 2009. The Heat will next face either fifth-seeded Washington or top-seeded Indiana. The Pacers lead that series 3-2, one win away from setting up a rematch with Miami that seemed like an absolute certainty for much of the season. "Obviously, we thought this was a game we should have won," Johnson said. Brooklyn led 49-42 at the half, with Miami missing 15 of its first 16 tries from 3-point range. The Nets closed the half on an 8-0 run and the lone bright spot in the opening 24 minutes for Miami was Wade, who had 20 points -- more than any other two players to that point combined -- on 7-for-12 shooting. "He has a way, right? Hes a playoff warrior," Spoelstra said. Eventually, barely, Miami broke through. But it took most of the second half to get there, since whenever Miami tried to put together a run Brooklyn found a way to keep things together. -- A layup from James late in the third got the Heat within three; a minute later, the margin was eight again. -- A free throw from James with 9:03 left cut Brooklyns lead to 77-73; less than a minute later, it was 82-73 after a 3-pointer by Pierce. -- A 3-pointer by Bosh made it a four-point game again; two Brooklyn possessions and zero Miami stops later, it was 86-78 after a sensational step-back jumper by Johnson. And when Johnson connected on another tough shot with 4:49 left, it was 91-83 and the Nets could sense that the night would be theirs. Then the Heat scored the next 12 points, and that was enough. Barely, but enough. "For us, it was just about getting stops," Wade said. "We knew offensively that we needed to execute, but we knew we werent going to win the game unless we got some stops." For the Nets, more than $180 million in salary and luxury tax was supposed to bring a championship. Instead, billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov got only a trip to the second round as his return on a massive investment. Brooklyn lost centre Brook Lopez to a broken foot after 17 games, struggled through the first two months of the season, then turned it on after Jan. 1. "We fought back and hung in there this year," Williams said. "A lot of people counted us out." Some big decisions -- mainly regarding the futures of Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- will have to be made by the Nets. Pierce will be a free agent; Garnett has a year left on his deal, though its been speculated he will consider retirement. Garnett left without comment. "Emotions are too fresh right now," Pierce said. Miamis future is more clear. The East finals await. NOTES: Wade had 12 points in the first quarter, his highest-scoring output from an opening period in his last 179 regular-season and playoff games. ... Both of Johnsons 30-point games in these playoffs came on the road. He had 32 at Toronto on April 30. Cheap Air Max 720 Uk . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay. Nike Air Max 270 Cheap Uk . Bell Medias 12-year partnership with the Ottawa Senators includes five major components: - English-language regional television broadcast rights for TSN – a minimum of 52 regular season and pre-season games - French-language regional television broadcast rights for RDS – a minimum of 40 regular season and pre-season games - English-language broadcast rights for TSN Radio 1200 – all games - French-language radio broadcast rights – all games - Telecommunications and retail sponsorship and activation rights "We recognized early on that our regional broadcast rights coming up for renewal was a very important asset," said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/best-max-90-trainers-cheap-uk.html . - Jesse Shynkaruk scored a hat trick as the Moose Jaw Warriors snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in Western Hockey League action on Saturday. Authentic Air Max 90 .com) - The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium. Buy Nike Tn Trainers Uk . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. Kluwe said he wont receive any money as part of the settlement. "This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said. NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are making their move in the AL playoff race -- thanks in large part to all the wins they are piling up against Toronto. Pettitte pitched six effective innings, and Curtis Granderson homered to help the surging Yankees win 5-3 on Thursday after a 3 1/2-hour rain delay, their 10th straight victory over the Blue Jays. New York took advantage of a missed call by the umpires to win its fifth consecutive game and 10th in 12 overall. "Were feeling good about ourselves, and you knew this was going to happen," Pettitte said. "It was just a matter of when, and you hope its not too late." Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run single for the Yankees, who improved to 12-1 against Toronto this season with their second four-game sweep of the Blue Jays. New York moved within 3 1/2 games of the second AL wild-card spot heading into a weekend series at Tampa Bay. "Weve got a good shot," Granderson said. "We still control our destiny." The Yankees have won 13 home games in a row against Toronto, their longest streak against one team since a 14-game run vs. Kansas City from August 2002 to April 2006. The last-place Blue Jays have lost five straight and 11 of 15. The only other opponent to sweep a pair of four-game series from them in one season was the 1978 Milwaukee Brewers. Toronto had a lead in every game of this series, just as it did during New Yorks four-game whitewash at Yankee Stadium in late April. The Blue Jays have dropped 22 of 24 in the Bronx, dating to 2011. Their 10-game skid vs. New York is their longest against one team in a single season since losing 11 in a row against Boston in 2002. "Its hard. Yankee Stadium is a tough place. The sad part is were in every game, basically all year. We just couldnt put them away with a lead," said manager John Gibbons, ejected in the fifth. Rodriguez made a pair of important defensive plays at third base and worked a walk that started a rally. Pettitte (9-9) gave up four hits and three walks to win his second consecutive start after going 0-3 in his previous five. His only blemish was J.P. Arencibias leadoff homer in the fifth. With his 254th victory, the 41-year-old lefty tied Jack Morris and Hall of Famer Red Faber for 42nd place on the career list. After the Blue Jays scored twice off Shawn Kelley in the seventh, Boone Logan struck out pinch-hitter Adam Lind with two on to preserve a 5-3 lead. Preston Claiborne, just recalled from the minors, worked a scoreless eighth, and David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth for his second save. Mariano Rivera was rested after appearing in three games over the previous two days. "Each day youre able to make up a little ground, it seems more attainable -- and thats good for the guys in that room," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. The start was delayed for 3 hours, 332 minutes -- though it wasnt raining when play was supposed to begin.dddddddddddd Light, steady showers fell throughout much of the delay, and the game didnt start until the storm front cleared. The sun broke through as Pettitte trotted out to the mound to begin his warmups. Aided by an incorrect call, the Yankees took a 2-1 lead against J.A. Happ (3-3) on a confusing play in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Vernon Wells hit a sinking liner to centre that was caught by a tumbling Rajai Davis just before it hit the ground. But the umpires ruled it a trap as Nunez scored the go-ahead run. Thinking the ball had been caught, Chris Stewart tried to scramble back to second and was thrown out by Davis -- after he fumbled the transfer. Gibbons came out to argue the ball was caught. Instead, Wells was credited with an RBI on an 8-4 fielders choice. "We scored a run, thats all that matters," he said. Gibbons was ejected, for the fifth time this season, by first base ump Scott Barry. Toronto pitcher Mark Buehrle was tossed by third base umpire Ted Barrett for yelling from the bench. "We looked at the replay and it looked to us like it bounced, but probably inside his glove," said Barrett, the crew chief. "So on replay, probably would have been ruled a catch." One inning later, Rodriguez drew the first of three straight Yankees walks before Nunez delivered a two-run single. Toronto third baseman Brett Lawrie made an outstanding play on Stewarts RBI groundout that made it 5-1. Rodriguez charged in to throw out Lawrie on a slow bouncer in the fourth, saving a run. The third baseman, who returned this month from hip surgery and a strained quadriceps, also grabbed a sharp grounder and stepped on the bag to start an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the fifth. "Just smoked, right down the line. I mean, I just put my glove down. That ball caught me, almost," he said. "That was a big play." Granderson led off the bottom half and homered into the second deck in right, tying it at 1. NOTES: Yankees CF Brett Gardner was rested. He entered for defence in the ninth. ... New York OF Ichiro Suzuki doubled off third base for his 4,001st hit between the majors and Japan. ... Rodriguez was back in the lineup after a night off Wednesday. He got his second stolen base of the season. ... SS Derek Jeter (strained right calf) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... RHP Hiroki Kuroda (11-8, 2.41 ERA), who leads the AL in ERA, faces Rays rookie Chris Archer (6-5, 2.95) on Friday night. ... Due to the long delay, the Yankees offered free seats for the Sept. 2-4 series against the Chicago White Sox to fans holding tickets for Thursday. ... Gibbons said CF Colby Rasmus, on the DL since Aug. 11 with a strained left abdominal muscle, will begin baseball activities Monday. ' ' ' |
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