MIAMI -- LeBron James watched from the bench in a stylish grey suit, and with the game deadlocked at halftime, he took off his necktie. Soon the tie on the scoreboard was gone, too. Stout defence plus Chris Boshs outside shooting and a boost from Miamis reserves helped the Heat overcome the absence of their MVP on Sunday to beat the Chicago Bulls 93-79. "We were missing a pretty big man," Dwyane Wade said. "Theres nothing we can do to replace the best player in the world, but we just had to go out there and play team basketball on both ends of the floor." James was a late scratch after he broke his nose in Thursdays win at Oklahoma City, and his teammates picked up the slack. Former NBA No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden replaced James for his first NBA start since December 2009, and reserves Chris Andersen, Michael Beasley and Ray Allen helped the Heat pull away in the second half. "You dont want to see guys out," said coach Erik Spoelstra, who earned his 300th career victory. "But when guys are out, Im always curious to see how you respond as a team. Weve have several of these games that could have been excuse games, but guys have stepped up." Bosh tied a career high with four 3-pointers and had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Wade added 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Mario Chalmers contributed 12 points and nine assists. Defence did the rest against the offensively challenged Bulls. "Were starting to put it together defensively," Bosh said. "We got off to a slow start early in the season, but I think right now were starting to get it, starting to click." Like the Heat, the Bulls were also short-handed, with starter Jimmy Butler a late scratch because of bruised ribs. They shot 36 per cent, went 6 for 21 from 3-point range and were called for a 24-second violation at least six times, including twice in a row. "We werent playing with a good enough thrust," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "We were slow getting into our stuff. We didnt make quick decisions, and we got stuck fighting the clock." Joakim Noah had 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Bulls, who had won five in a row. "Those guys have ended our seasons a lot," Noah said. "Youve got to hate playing those guys, and every time we play them our intensity has to be high. We did it in spurts, it wasnt good the whole time, and thats whats disappointing." Miami, playing at home for the first time in 20 days, extended its winning streak to five games. Wade sealed the victory by sinking a jumper with less than three minutes left, giving the Heat their first 18-point lead. Earlier two of his points came on free throws after he improvised a backward somersault when fouled hard in the lane. Otherwise there werent a lot of acrobatics from the typically high-flying Heat, who shot 42 per cent and had only seven fast-break points. Contributing to the workmanlike effort was the 7-foot Oden, playing his 11th game after being sidelined by knee trouble for 3 1/2 years. He had five points and five rebounds in 13 minutes. "Greg was great," Spoelstra said. "Hes an active player for somebody that big, and hes very intelligent. He has a good grasp of what we want to do." The stoic Oden shrugged off the milestone of returning to the starting lineup. "Im starting to feel a little more comfortable out there, and I think guys are starting to feel more comfortable with me," he said. "Its something we can build on. Being able to put me in that starting lineup showed some confidence in me." James, missing a game for only the second time this season, drew a big ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard during an early timeout. During another timeout in the fourth quarter, when the Heat had built a big cushion, he danced to music blaring over the public address system while his teammates huddled. They scored on seven consecutive possessions during a 16-2 run at the end of the third quarter that put them ahead 65-52. The catalysts were unlikely: In quick succession, Andersen dunked on an alley-oop, Allen hit a runner and Beasley banked home a basket. "It doesnt matter if LeBrons out," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Theyre a good team. That team has other players. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade -- those are All-Stars, too. The bench is deep. Thats a championship team." NOTES: Spoelstra earned his 300th victory in his 448th game. Only five coaches reached the milestone more quickly, including his boss, Pat Riley, who did it the fastest at 416 games. ... Wades seven offensive rebounds were a career high. ... The Bulls fell to 24-6 when leading after one quarter. ... Miami improved to 8-1 in February. . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013. . Hall had a goal and three assists in a 5-4 loss to San Jose on Tuesday, had an assist in each of Edmontons next two games the capped the week with a goal and two assists in the Oilers 4-2 win over Anaheim on Sunday.
http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Stee ... is-Jersey/. Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag. . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009. . LOUIS -- The Atlanta Braves used a two-run rally in the ninth to end their road trip with a win.Serena Williams likes to make one thing clear: She is never satisfied, no matter how many matches and tournaments she wins. Driven as ever, Williams won plenty this year. She went 78-4 with 11 titles, including at the French Open and U.S. Open, raising her Grand Slam championship total to 17. She compiled a 34-match winning streak. She earned more than $12 million in prize money, a record for womens tennis. In February, she became the oldest No. 1 in WTA rankings history and never left that perch. Thanks to all of that, Williams was honoured Wednesday as The Associated Press 2013 Female Athlete of the Year. Its the third AP award for Williams, following 2002 and 2009. Only two women have been chosen more often as AP Athlete of the Year since the annual awards were first handed out in 1931. "Whenever I lose, I get more determined, and it gives me something more to work toward," Williams told the AP in an interview shortly before the start of the U.S. Open. "I dont get complacent, and I realize I need to work harder and I need to do better and I want to do better — or I wouldnt keep playing this game." The vote by news organizations was about as lopsided as many of Williams matches this season. She received 55 of 96 votes, while Brittney Griner, a two-time AP Player of the Year in college basketball and the No. 1 pick in Aprils WNBA draft, finished second with 14. Swimmer Missy Franklin was next with 10. The Male Athlete of the Year recipient will be announced Thursday. Williams, who grew up in Compton, Calif., and turned 32 in September, produced the finest womens tennis season in years. According to the WTA: — her .951 winning percentage was the best since Steffi Grafs .977 in 1989; — her 11 titles were the most since Martina Hingis 12 in 1997; — her winning streak was the longest since her sister, Venus, had a 35-match run in 2000. "She just continues to be an inspiration to American tennis," said Gordon Smith, the executive director of the U.dddddddddddd. Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open. "Her year this year? Unforgettable." By adding a fifth career U.S. Open championship, and a second French Open title, Williams also moved within one Grand Slam trophy of the 18 apiece won by Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. The record is 24 by Margaret Court. Pretty heady company. Evert is one of the only two women with more AP awards than Williams. Evert won four from 1974-80, while Babe Didrikson collected a record six — one for track in 1932, and five for golf from 1945-54. "Serena already has provided significant contributions to taking our sport to the next level. ... She is chasing records and no doubt will break many records before shes finished," WTA Chairman Stacey Allaster said. "That obviously just brings a lot more attention to our sport." Two particular moments in 2013 stuck out to Allaster. One came at Qatar in February, when Williams cried after assuring herself of returning to No. 1 for the first time since 2010, the year the American needed two operations on her right foot and got blood clots in her lungs. "You could see the joy, the tears of joy. It meant so much to her, from everything she had been through, to be able to be back at the top of the sport, a sport that she does truly love," Allaster said. The second moment came during Wimbledon, when Williams joined other women who have been ranked No. 1 at a celebration of the WTAs 40th anniversary. "It was an opportunity to see her in a leadership position. ... She did a remarkable job at speaking on behalf of all those great athletes and speaking to future players," Allaster said. "Theres a little girl, perhaps out there in Compton, who is dreaming of playing on the WTA, and Serena said, Were waiting for you, and we cant wait to meet you." ' ' '
