Wichtiges » but well go for talent in the draft. Bu

OKLAHOMA CITY -- LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night. His Miami Heat teammates finished off a 103-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder without him on Thursday night. Miamis star forward went down with 5:50 remaining after he was struck by Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. James finished the dunk, but he was bloodied and he left the court with a towel over his face. "Im like everybody else, youre used to seeing him like Superman, get up and sprint back even after tough hits and tough falls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So we knew something was up." James landed the hardest blow long before that. He scored 16 of his 33 points in the first quarter to put the Thunder in a bind, and the Heat rolled to a lopsided win. James passed a concussion test, but some damage was done. "He has a swollen nose right now. Its bleeding," Spoelstra said. "Well evaluate him when we get back to Miami, but its sore." The Thunder were the ones shaken up after James made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first 4:11. "It was flawless," Wade said. "He was aggressive defensively, he was able to play passing lanes and be who he is. That was a great start on the road by our leader. It was something that we needed." Wade had 24 points and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh added 24 points for Miami, which won its fourth straight and avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City. It was a good step for the Heat, who are trying to catch Indiana for the top record in the Eastern Conference. "You can see the resolve," Wade said. "You can see the chemistry. You can see a team thats gearing up for the second half of the season." Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5. Durant has been the popular favourite to win the NBA MVP award, but Wade said James is still in the hunt. "Its not decided," Wade said. "I dont think that was a message. That was LeBron James being LeBron James. He loves the matchup, just like KD loves the matchup. The MVP is long, long from over." Russell Westbrook, who had missed the previous 27 games after having surgery on his right knee, started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He made 4 of 12 shots. "Im just going to keep getting him better, and as the season goes along, as he gets more comfortable in game shape, were going to see a better Russell every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. The Thunder overcame an early 18-point deficit on Jan. 29 to roll past the Heat 112-95 in Miami, and the home fans hoped for a regular-season sweep against the team that beat Oklahoma City in the 2012 finals. Instead, they saw a rare inefficient game from the Thunder. "When you dont have good rhythm, normally the three-ball can get you back into the game," Brooks said. "We didnt have shot makers tonight. Weve had them for a while now. We didnt have them tonight." The crowd erupted as Westbrook was introduced as a starter. His first minute of action was furious and had the fans on their feet. His first basket was a two-handed, fast-break dunk 37 seconds into the game, and he got a steal 17 seconds later. The excitement quickly evaporated. James scored 10 points in the first 3:11 and Miami made 13 of its first 14 shots to take a 28-13 lead. The Heat were ahead 34-17 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 19 points in the second quarter before the Thunder rallied behind Westbrook. He scored nine points in the final 1:55 of the first half, including a dunk in the closing seconds, to trim Miamis lead to 54-47 at the break. Miami took control early in the third quarter. James scored six points during a 10-0 run that helped the Heat take a 64-49 lead. The advantage grew to 75-53 on a 3-pointer by James with just over five minutes left in the frame. Durant scored seven points in the final 2:46 of the quarter to trim Miamis edge to 76-65 heading into the fourth. Miami reasserted itself in the opening minutes of the final period. Bosh hit a 3-pointer to bump the Heats lead to 19 with just under 10 minutes to go. The Heat won for the fifth time during their six-game road trip. Miami beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas before closing with a win against the team with the leagues best record. "Its good to finish it this way," Spoelstra said. NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson, who started while Westbrook was out, entered the game in the first quarter. ... Durant scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. ... Miami shot 76 per cent in the first quarter but made just 7 of 17 shots in the second and was outscored 30-20. ... Oklahoma Citys Kendrick Perkins left the game in the third quarter with a left groin strain and didnt return. Vapormax Bianche In Offerta . Its great to be back for another season in Banditland, and Im looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates, said Tavares. Nike Vapormax Scontate . Burkes Flames are one of several teams involved in heavy trade speculation going into next Wednesdays 3pm et deadline, with the most prominent name in play being forward Michael Cammalleri. http://www.vapormaxscontateoutlet.it/vapormax-plus-scontate-outlet.html . -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says he isnt going to change what he does on the field. Nike Vapormax Nere Scontate . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Vapormax Nere Scontate . Footballs governing body said Tuesday that of the 2,577,662 tickets allocated for this years tournament, 1,041,418 have gone to people in Brazil. The U.TORONTO - After auditioning roughly 60 prospects, including nine Canadians, in 11 sessions spanning over nine workout days this spring, the Toronto Raptors are putting the finishing touches on their wish list heading into Thursdays NBA Draft. For most of the last week, Masai Ujiri and his scouting staff have been mulling over 10 targets they anticipate will be available with the 20th overall pick, their first of three selections, hoping to narrow that list down to five by Tuesday. With three days to go, does he have someone in mind? "Hes around like the back here," said the former scout, gesturing to the back of his head just before the Raptors concluded their final pre-draft workout Monday afternoon. "But he hasnt made it to the front yet. Hes working his way." No, Ujiri wont tip his hand, not with so many variables at play. Fourteen teams occupy the 19 slots that precede the Raptors and will determine who is available to them. They have a list of about 13 players that are expected to be off the board by the time Toronto is on the clock. The pick will be Ujiris first as Torontos primary decision maker - the Raptors did not have a selection in last years draft - and should immediately put his keen eye for talent to the test. Since Ujiri took control of the Raptors, a franchise that has mostly been accustomed to selecting in the lottery, he has emphasized the importance of drafting well regardless of where youre situated in both the first and second rounds. For only the third time in franchise history, and first in 12 years, the Raptors are positioned outside the top 19 in the drafts opening round. Although its not an advantageous spot to find cant miss, NBA-ready talent, history has shown it can be done. In 2000, with the 20th overall pick - the teams lowest ever first-round selection - they found one of their best and most reliable contributors in long-time Raptor Morris Peterson. In 2011, then with the Nuggets, Ujiri used the 22nd pick to snag emerging forward Kenneth Faried. As Ujiri knows, the key is preparation aided by a little bit of luck and the subsequent development that is required to turn a late first-round pick into an impact player at the games highest level. "Its a huge bonus," Ujiri said of finding a diamond in the rough on draft night. "You look at the programs that have done well in the NBA, they just strike with picks like that. Its takes constant study, and really knowing players, believing in players and a system." "I think a big thing is you kind of have to be realistic on the expectations of the players," added Dan Tolzman, Torontos director of scouting, who was also a member of Ujiris front office staff in Denver. "I think everyone wants to find those diamonds and the guys that will be all-stars and MVPs and this and that but those guys are pretty hard to find outside of the lottery and the top-five even." "So I think the idea is if you can find guys at 20 or 37 or wherever that have careers," he continued, "that are eight-year players and theyre role players on your team and theyre doing good things to help you win, thats a successful draft pick. You might get lucky and hit a guy thats going to be a big time contributor and hes pushing for all-stars and that kind of thing, but thats not really what youre looking for when youre outside of the top-five or the top-10.dddddddddddd" Over the last four weeks, the Raptors brass have seen around a dozen players that figure to be selected in the latter half of the first round, or early in the second. According to team sources, there are roughly five prospects of interest that were either unable or unwilling to come in for a workout. While the workouts are not the be all and end all - the team has scouted them all in live action - they can go a long way in getting the coaching staff and trainers on board with a potential pick. Should a player fall to them unexpectedly, Ujiri will keep his options open and hasnt ruled out the possibility of trading up, if the price is right. Still, the focus is on making their make at 20. "Those trades and talks, people dont understand," said the Raptors GM. "We talk about like maybe 100 trades and then two happen. Thats the nature of our business. We will be aggressive but our energy is focused on 20, rather than wasting our time on [something else]." In addition to their first-round pick, the Raptors also own a pair of second rounders, 37 and 59 - the second to last pick in the draft. Regardless of whether or not theyre able to address their needs in the draft, Ujiri has prioritized his offseason to-do list. "We need a big wing at the three position," he said. "We [also] need some kind of shot blocking big. We have good, skilled bigs, we have a shooting big, we have a big down low, but we want to figure out how we can protect the rim a little bit. That may come now, it may come later but its something we know we need on our roster. So those two positions look like something we need." His top priority has not changed. "Were going full force after Kyle Lowry," Ujiri said, speaking of the teams coveted free agent point guard. "And if theres a talented point guard in the draft we know that its going to be tough to come and contribute to where our team is off the bat, but well go for talent in the draft. But Kyle Lowry is our target and well try to get that done." In just over a week, the Raptors - and other teams for that matter - can begin negotiating with Lowry, unable to officially sign him or announce a deal until the moratorium period ends on July 10. Until then the focus will be on the draft, one of the most chaotic events on the basketball calendar and an invaluable opportunity to add young talent, provided youre well prepared for it. The Raptors have done their homework. "I was walking into the conference room where our guys were meeting and I was like okay, no news that will throw me off right now," Ujiri joked. "Because you know its going to keep coming. There will be something tonight and something else tomorrow morning. Thats just the nature of the draft. I heard something yesterday that threw us off a little bit. But it will keep coming and coming and coming until that last minute. Thats the joy of it, I mean you love it. Thats why we do it. There is always action. As long as we come out on top, then were fine." ' ' '