Winger Jerry DAmigo, called up earlier in the day from miao1234's blog
CLEVELAND -- Miamis winning streak was in danger of disappearing -- in the most unimaginable setting. cheap nfl jerseys . LeBron James wouldnt give up. "That guy right there doesnt want to lose in this building," teammate Dwayne Wade said, nodding toward James. "Not tonight." James scored 25 points as the Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Once believed to be untouchable, the mark is now within reach. James and his teammates have insisted the record isnt one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter. But behind the irrepressible James, who added 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 42 minutes, the Heat inched closer to history and matched the NBAs biggest comeback this season, according to STATS. "This was one of the most bizarre, unique days of my life with everything that happened," said James, referring to a homecoming in which a fan ran onto the floor and the opening tip was delayed 35 minutes by a leaky scoreboard. "It also was one of the best comebacks Ive ever been a part of." James had 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in the fourth as Miami rallied to win for the second game in a row. The Heat were down 17 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and stormed back to beat Boston 105-103 on Monday and surpass the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second-longest streak in NBA history. "I knew there was a lot of time, so we never panicked," James said. "We were down 27 with 18 minutes left. Thats a lifetime in basketball." Although the Cavs were missing All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao -- their top three scorers -- they pushed Miami to the limit. It wasnt until James, playing his fourth game back in Cleveland since leaving as a free agent in 2010, made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left that Miami could relax, but just a little. The Cavs had one last chance to tie it, but C.J. Miles was long with a 3-pointer in the final second, letting Miami off the hook. Following the game, James stopped to sign a few autographs as he made his way to Miamis locker room. This was much tougher than he and the Heat could have imagined. The win also completed a five-game road trip, dubbed "The Reunion Tour" by James because Miami visited Wades home in Milwaukee, Chris Boshs former team in Toronto and Ray Allens in Boston. "The streak wasnt on my mind, but us getting blown out was," James said. "I was going to be the only guy to take an L on the reunion tour." Mario Chalmers added 17 points and Wade had 11 for the Heat, who outscored the Cavs 30-18 in the fourth quarter and 64-40 in the second half. Wayne Ellington had 20 points and Tristan Thompson 18 for Cleveland, which went from a stunning upset to blowing the biggest lead in a loss in franchise history. "We knew it was coming," Thompson said of the Heats comeback. "They were the NBA champions last season. Theyre not going to lay down. Champions dont lay down even when theyre down by 27. We knew they were going to make a push. Guys went out and made plays, so you have to give them credit." Down by nine to open the fourth, the Heat were up 95-86 with 3:02 left and seemed to have the Cavaliers on the ropes. But Cleveland bounced back and closed to 96-95 on Thompsons two free throws with 44 seconds to go. Wade then missed a jumper, but Ellington misfired on a step-back 23-footer with 5.2 seconds to go. James was fouled and the reigning MVP, with a sellout crowd of 20,562 roaring, stepped to the line and dropped both free throws to make it 98-95. Miles was contested on his final shot, and once it clanked off the rim, the Heat headed home with a chance to extend their streak to 25 on Friday against Detroit. This game had a little of everything, including a fan running on the floor in the fourth quarter. The young man was wearing a T-shirt that said: "We Miss You, 2014 Come Back," a reference to James possible free agency and return to Cleveland, where he played seven seasons. James went out of his way and patted the fan on the head as security rushed him off the floor. "He said he missed me and come back, please," James said. "It happened once before in (Madison Square) Garden, so I wasnt worried. There are metal detectors here, so we were OK. I embraced it." The start of the game was delayed because of a spill on the floor caused by condensation from a carbon dioxide container inside the scoreboard. James scored eight straight points to open the fourth, hitting a 3-pointer to tie it 77-all. He then turned toward the crowd and delivered an icy stare, his way of saying, OK, enough is enough. "When he made that one and turned to the crowd," Wade said, "you knew it was coming." NOTES: Starting with the Cavs, Miamis next 10 games are against opponents with a combined winning percentage of just .399. ... The Heat play the Pistons and Charlotte at home before going to Orlando, Chicago, New Orleans and San Antonio. ... It was the first time Miami overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to win. ... The Cavs will wait a week before they evaluate Waiters, who has loose cartilage, and decide whether he needs surgery. Cleveland coach Byron Scott hopes his young guard comes back in the final month. "If he gets back, Ill be thrilled to death," Scott said. ... Miamis three wins over Cleveland this season have been by a total of nine points. wholesale jerseys . The All-Star outfielder and the Yankees agreed Friday to a $45 million, three-year contract, two people familiar with the deal said. wholesale nfl jerseys . Gee shook off the rough patch in an otherwise strong outing, Lucas Duda backed him with a homer and single to drive in four runs, and the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Saturday night.TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs didnt make it easy on themselves, but their losing streak is over. Again they were badly outshot and a late penalty almost did them in, but Trevor Smith scored in overtime as Toronto beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 Thursday night at Air Canada Centre to end the skid at five games. Relief was the primary emotion after giving up 50 shots and winning for the first time since Nov. 23. "Im happy we won because there seems to be a lot of pressure on our group, and hopefully this helps flush some of the things that are going on out there that we can feel a little bit of room to breathe what we went through," coach Randy Carlyle said. "By no means that we think were out of the woods, but it feels good to win a hockey game." The Leafs (15-11-3) won in large part because goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 48 saves, including six in overtime before Smith beat Kari Lehtonen with 42 seconds to go before a shootout. Bernier conceded this did feel like a night during which he saw 50 shots and that it made him tired. All in a days work for a Leafs goaltender given that this was the 10th consecutive game they were outshot. Bernier called being outshot -- this time 44-22 in regulation and 50-24 total -- this teams "style." "My job is to go out there and give my team a chance to win," Bernier said. "I thought my last couple of games I wasnt very good. I needed to come here and play the way I can play and go shot-by-shot." Bernier earned first-star honours for his play, but his performance didnt shock Carlyle or his teammates. "Im not that impressed any more because hes done this night in and night out," said centre Nazem Kadri, who scored twice. "Its almost expected of him now. Hes been a great contributor to this team even throughout those tough stretches when they had us pinned in our end. Our goalie needs to make a couple big saves for us to get the win, and thats exactly what happened." Bernier earned praise from Stars coach Lindy Ruff. "I give their goalie a lot of credit. I give their team a lot of credit. They found a way to win," Ruff said. "Kudos to them." But even Bernier wasnt perfect. Erik Cole beat him with a goal on the rush early in the third period when the Leafs got caught on a bad line change, and then former Edmonton Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff tipped a shot in on the power play to tie the score late in regulation. Horcoff almost had a similar goal at the 9:42 mark of the third when he redirected a power-play point shot past Bernier. But the referees waved it off right away and video review upheld the no-goal call. "I was hoping theyd count it, but I felt like it was a little bit high," Horcoff said. "I knew the next one was OK." When Kadri scored his two goals of the night, there was no doubt. His first came thanks to some sharp passing from linemates Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk 58 seconds into the second period. Kadri added another, his ninth of the season, 6:58 into the third. He didnt grab that puck but did call Thursday night a "memory" because the game was dedicated to his late grandfather, who died earlier this week. "Its definitely something that he wouldve loved to see," Kadri said. "In the last couple yyears there hasnt been a game hes missed. cheap jerseys from china. Hes going to be dearly missed by our family." Kadri had no other choice but to return to hockey after missing Tuesday nights loss to the San Jose Sharks to attend his grandfathers funeral in London, Ont. When he came back, he was on the first line between van Riemsdyk and Kessel because Tyler Bozak is out indefinitely with an oblique strain. Another player who has made the most of his opportunity is Smith, who scored his fourth goal of the season 4:18 into overtime. Smith, who was named captain of the AHLs Toronto Marlies, was playing on what could be called the Leafs second line against the Stars (13-10-4). On a team thats lacking in secondary scoring and has grown accustomed to being outshot, Smith put two on net in regulation and then scored the winner. "Overtime, thats a lot of fun," Smith said. "Real exciting looking up at the crowd after scoring." It probably shouldnt have gotten to overtime. With the Leafs clinging to a 2-1 lead, their best penalty-killer, Jay McClement tripped up Tyler Seguin, who was returning after missing two games with a concussion. Horcoff scored with four seconds left on that penalty. It was the ninth power-play goal Toronto had given up in its past six games, including at least one each night. "Its a big part of when youre struggling and things not going your way as far as handling pucks and pressure," Carlyle said. "We were four seconds away, but we still had two chances to clear the puck. It would have been over. But that little bit of adversity hurt us for a period of time." Had the Stars managed to score again in regulation or overtime or win in a shootout, it would have hurt more. The losing streak was starting to take its toll. "We had to break it," Smith said. "We havent been playing well, and I dont think we put together 60 minutes at all tonight. But with Bernier playing over his head for us and giving us a chance to win, thats all we can ask for." Led by Bernier, Smith and Kadri, the Leafs go to Ottawa for Saturday nights rivalry game against the Senators unburdened by the pressure of this skid. "Hopefully they feel good in there and we can flush whats been going on because theres been a lot of things going on," Carlyle said. "And we just think that its time for this group to take a deep breath and lets go to work tomorrow and get ourselves ready for Saturday." NOTES -- The Leafs held a pre-game moment of silence to honour the death of Nelson Mandela. His name along with his dates of birth and death were put on the scoreboard along with a profile photo of the South African leader. ... Winger Jerry DAmigo, called up earlier in the day as the Leafs placed Bozak and enforcer Colton Orr on injured reserve and Jerred Smithson cleared waivers, made his NHL debut playing on the fourth line and finished with 4:02 of ice time. Stars defenceman Trevor Daley left the game with a lower-body injury after getting tangled up with van Riemsdyk on the play that led to Kadris first goal. Daleys left leg got caught up with the Leafs winger, and he slid into the boards. ... Defenceman Morgan Rielly was a healthy scratch for the Leafs as Cody Franson returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury. cheap jerseys from china ' ' '
The Wall