Fragen und Probleme » Rangers on the long flight back home to New York

SAN ANTONIO -- Led by a no-frills coach, the San Antonio Spurs have long stated the regular season means little to them. Yet even normally stoic San Antonio couldnt hide its emotion on the court, and the satisfaction afterward, of toppling the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. Tim Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs never trailed against the Heat, weathering a sluggish third quarter for an intense 111-87 victory Thursday. "Im sure this has some special meaning, to say something different would be silly," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said, "but we expect them to come out hard and play." In their first home game against Miami since losing a heart-wrenching, seven-game NBA Finals, the Spurs handed the Heat their worst loss of the season. The rematch brought out a raucous sold-out crowd and sparked high emotions from both teams. Players dived recklessly for loose balls and yelled at officials, while Popovich often screamed at his own players. "We needed a game like this," Manu Ginobili said. "Weve been talking (about it) all season long. Our record was probably 1-10, 1-8 or something like that against the top four teams in the league. So we needed a big one, and today we played well. . Its one of those wins that really gets you going." Tony Parker scored 17 points, including 14 in a wild first half, Boris Diaw added 16 and Kawhi Leonard had 11 for the Spurs (45-16), which has won five straight. Chris Bosh had 24 points, LeBron James added 19, Dwyane Wade had 16 and Michael Beasley 11 for Miami (43-16). James, who ditched the protective mask he was wearing early in the first half, was hounded by Leonard into shooting 6 for 18. The Spurs didnt do anything different defensively than they had in the past, James said, but the NBA did. The four-time MVP said the short-sleeved, tight-fitting "El Heat" jerseys Miami had to wear are not conducive for shooting. "Im not making any excuses, but Im not a big fan of the jerseys," James said. "So I have to figure something out next time I have to wear the short-sleeve jerseys. Every time I shoot, it feels like its just pulling right up underneath my arm. I already dont have much room for error on my jump shot anyways, so its definitely not a good thing." James got rid of the mask that protected his broken nose with four minutes left in the first quarter. "I dont like it," James said. "Its that simple; just got frustrated with it early on so I took it off. It didnt help me, taking it off. Its probably a game-to-game thing." He missed his first two attempts sans mask, tossing up a wild 14-footer that banged off the front of the rim and backboard, then botching a reverse layup. His first mask-free basket was a 5-foot running floater over Leonard with 6:26 left in the half. "(Leonard) was a pest," Duncan said. "Thats what we need him to be. He stuck his hand in there, knocked some balls away, got some steals, he contested shots. I think he did a great job overall in every aspect." The Spurs opened the fourth quarter on a 13-6 run, returning to the breakneck attack that led to a 17-point lead in the first half. Duncans 18-foot jumper gave San Antonio a 99-85 lead with 3:00 remaining, drawing a fist-pounding of the scorers table by Manu Ginobili as he waited to enter the game. The closing run was needed after the Heat kept the Spurs out of the paint early in the second half, to the point Popovich screamed, "Tony! Attack!" after his All-Star point guard walked the ball up midway through the third period. Miami turned up the heat defensively, closing quickly on every pass. San Antonio was 7 for 22 from the field in the third quarter. Miami was 10 for 18 in the quarter, with James, Wade and Bosh scoring six points each. Miami had cut the lead to 79-74 with 2:00 left in the third period, but could get no closer. "They are difficult to guard," Wade said. "They have a great system and they have a very unselfish team. That is why they are one of the better teams in the league. Thy stay true to their system and believe in it." Parker showed no signs of the lower body problems that sidelined him six games last month, driving unrestrained into the paint. Parker played all but the final two minutes of the first quarter, going 5 for 6 from the field in scoring 10 points and dishing out three assists. "Tonys our setup guy," Duncan said. "He runs our team, he sets our pace, sets our rhythm and he played the right way tonight." NOTES: The Spurs Jeff Ayres (sprained right hand) sat out for the second time in the last three games. Ayres has started 10 games. ... Miami received a rousing ovation when it took the court for pregame warmups, but was booed lustily during introductions. ... James glared at official Kevin Scott after drawing consecutive fouls, starting with a charge. He was mum when he drove headlong into Duncan for his third foul of the quarter and fourth overall. Cheap Cubs Jerseys . Lawrie was hit on the hand by Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto in the second inning of Sundays 4-3 loss to the Reds. Cheap Greg Maddux Jersey . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight. http://www.cheapcubsjerseysshop.com/?tag=cheap-ron-santo-jersey . Rockhold." Known as an aggressive striker, Belfort (23-10) instead paced himself as the engaged in the early going and showed restraint by not overcommitting against the larger Rockhold (10-2). But when the opportunity presented itself, Belfort delivered an incredible spinning heel kick that landed flush on Rockholds chin and sent him toppling to the floor. Cheap Kerry Wood Jersey .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Cheap MLB Jerseys . Granato was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last five seasons, and he was also part of Team USAs staff at the 2014 Olympics. WASHINGTON -- The Charlotte Bobcats have leapfrogged another team, increasing the odds that their return to the playoffs wont be a token appearance. The Washington Wizards have dropped a spot and are having issues. Or, as centre Marcin Gortat put it: "The way we play right now, we aint going to beat anybody, including Milwaukee." The Bobcats blew a 20-point, first-half lead to the Wizards on Wednesday night before winning 94-88 in overtime, moving Charlotte into position for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. "To go from basically the worst team going to the six seed, I mean, it shows a lot," said guard Kemba Walker, who scored the only field goal in overtime for either team. The win left both teams at 40-38 with four games remaining, but Charlotte won the season series 3-1 and therefore holds the tiebreaker. Both teams want to stay out of seventh or eighth to avoid a first-round series against the two conference powerhouses, the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. The Bobcats have been in the playoffs only once before, when they were swept in the first round in 2010. "We getting better as a team, we two games above .500," said Al Jefferson, who had 20 points and 18 rebounds. "But does it really matter where were at for seeding-wise? No, we just happy to be in the mix." Walker made a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the extra session, and Jefferson added two free throws to account for all of the Bobcats scoring. Charlotte went 1 for 7 from the field in overtime, while Washington was 0 for 8 and got its only point from a free throw by John Wall with 34 seconds remaining. Walker finished with 17 points and 12 assists for the Bobcats, who have their longest winning streak since March 2010. "Hes got courage," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "He wants the ball late and hes not afraid to take the big shot." Wall had a candidate for most underwhelming triple-double of the season -- 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists -- and Gortat finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who were nearly run out of their own building in the first half for the second straight game and are limping toward the finishh line of their first playoff season since 2008.dddddddddddd Among Washington coach Randy Wittmans reviews: "To have no more energy or drive or enthusiasm than we showed in that first half, its disappointing. ... I was just not expecting to come out and go through the motions. ... When you dont put effort in, youre not going to have (a) good showing." Added veteran Gortat: "I guess were immature and just not experienced enough and I guess everything starts in the practice. The first few minutes were walking and just fooling around and this is how you start a game." Such comments put the focus on young All-Star Wall, who went 6 for 18 from the field and committed five turnovers. Wall disagreed with his coachs "go through the motions" assessment. "I dont feel that way," Wall said. "I feel like we competed. ... The last couple of games we havent been able to knock down shots." Wall had called this game the most important of the year, but he also made a whirlwind overnight trip to Texas on Monday to watch Kentucky lose the NCAA championship game. He said that had "nothing to do" with his performance. "I practiced yesterday and had a good day," Wall said. "Came here and had a game today. Its not like I went the night before." Trevor Ariza, who has been battling the flu, went 0 for 6 from the field for the Wizards. Washington was 1 for 15 from 3-point range. The Wizards again made defence optional in the early going, echoing their beatdown by the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. But Washington hit its stride in the third quarter and took its first lead of the game on Bradley Beals 15-foot jumper with 5:28 to play. Jefferson forced overtime with a layup that tied the game with 3.2 seconds remaining. Wall didnt get a shot off as time expired in regulation. Notes: Wizards F Nene, back after missing six-plus weeks with a sprained left knee, was understandably rusty. He missed all four of his free throws and finished with 10 points in 17 minutes. ... It was Walls third career triple-double and second this season. ... Bobcats F Josh McRoberts returned after missing three games with a sprained left ankle. 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