Die User » eek 17 - there is at least one game

MIAMI -- Their big early lead was gone, the Miami Heat were trailing with 3 minutes remaining and the two-time defending champions seemed very much in trouble. They didnt let Boston score again. Thats how to snap a defensive slump. LeBron James scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Chris Bosh added 16 and the Heat beat the Celtics 93-86 on Tuesday night -- finishing the game on a 9-0 run after trailing 86-84 with 3:08 left. "Its difficult doing what we do," Bosh said. "But thats why were the champs, to do the difficult thing again and get the job done. Tonight was a good start. We just have to build off of it." Chris Andersen scored 13 points and made all five of his shots for Miami, which had given up at least 100 points in four of its last six games. The Heat are 25-1 when allowing less than 100 points; 5-11 otherwise. Brandon Bass scored 15 points, Kris Humphries had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Jeff Green had 12 points for the Celtics, who enjoyed a 46-33 edge in rebounds but shot only 39 per cent. And when it was over, Celtics coach Brad Stevens had a simple assessment of the final 3 minutes. "LeBron James happened," Stevens said. James made seven free throws in the final 2:33, the only other points down the stretch coming on a jumper by Ray Allen that put the Heat up for good. James did the rest, while the Celtics missed their final four shots. Rajon Rondo, still coming around after returning from knee surgery, missed all eight of his shots, plus a pair of free throws with the Celtics down four with 44.4 seconds remaining. Avery Bradley, the Celtics other starting guard, was lost in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle. "LeBron got a bunch of calls down the stretch," Bass said. "We expect that. We just wished we could have kept him off the line." The Celtics rallied from a 10-point deficit to win 111-110 in their first trip to Miami this season. They seemed poised for a bigger comeback this time, steadily chipping away at a big Miami lead by getting it down to 11 by halftime, then four entering the fourth. And a dunk by Humphries with 3:08 left -- about a half minute after James tried a reverse dunk that rimmed out -- put the Celtics on top for the first time since the opening minutes. Thus ended Bostons offence for the evening. "Its the only way were going to be able to win games, if we defend," James said. As if playing without Dwyane Wade isnt difficult enough for Miami -- he was out for the 12th time this season -- the Heat found themselves facing a sticky situation at his position just 71 seconds after tip-off. Allen, who started in Wades spot, was called for two fouls in a span of 11 seconds. But the Heat rolled the dice and left him in until 4.3 seconds remained in the opening quarter, a move that paid off two ways. One, Allen didnt get in any deeper foul trouble. Two, Michael Beasley made those 4.3 ticks on the clock count. Without even time to work up a droplet of sweat, Beasley banked in a 35-footer at the horn of the first quarter to give Miami a 29-15 edge. And another beat-the-clock 3 -- this one by Bosh, with 2.0 seconds left and somewhat less dramatic than Beasleys -- put Miami up 51-40 at intermission. Boston used a 13-2 run to get to 42-35 late in the second. Thats when Greg Oden made his first home-court impact with the Heat. Oden -- playing in Miami for the first time since Nov. 12, 2008 -- blocked a dunk attempt by Green, then after a timeout had a follow slam of a miss by James to help snuff out the Boston rally. The Celtics just kept coming back. The Heat, though, had the final answer. "Erik sits over there and its been a long stretch for them, a hard stretch for them," Stevens said of Spoelstra. "Im sure the last 5 minutes he feels really good about what he can build on moving forward because that teams really good and they didnt even have Wade." NOTES: The Heat are 24-6 when Wade plays, 6-6 when he doesnt. ... Former Heat C Joel Anthony, who was traded to Boston last week, got a video tribute on the scoreboard and a standing ovation during the first quarter. The ovation was slightly less robust when he hit a jumper in the second quarter, though some still stood and clapped. ... James got his trophy for being Eastern Conference player of the month for December at halftime. Cheap Old Skool Vans Wholesale . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000. Cheap Old Skool Vans . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right. http://www.cheapoldskool.net/. - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Old Skool Vans Wholesale . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D. Old Skool Vans China . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers.How far can the Dallas Cowboys go? Well because it is so simple you can say as far as any team that enters the playoffs. In watching the 42-7 win over the Colts you notice the Cowboys have five different running plays that they run their entire offence out of - only five. Often a defence knows a certain run play is coming but because it is executed so well you still cant stop it. Basically, Dallas is a pure power running team and the comparisons to the Jimmy Johnson days of success are very relevant. When you have a limited number of run plays it is easy to adjust if a surprise defence appears pre-snap. What is difficult is when your play book is three inches thick going into every game and you playing a defence that has multiple and many stunts fronts and adjustments. It creates too much thinking and not enough just playing. Sometimes offensive coordinators out-think themselves because they are trying to earn their paycheck and be productive. But the best offences match talent with plays and the talent that Dallas has matches the plays. It is the same on defences - simple. Four man front with basic blitzes and coverages. The difference? Effort. Many comments have been made about Cowboys effort on defence and it is true. Rod Marinelli as a defensive coordinator has his guys so aware of effort on every play they dont think as much as go, and thats good. Effort on defence wears an offence out when sustained for four quarters and every play. It works. Simple plays that make sense and great effort. Dallas has found that balance between complexity and simplicity and in the 42-7 win it showed. -- In Arizona, after a while I was really pulling for Ryan Lindley at quarterback. Sometimes the best make it look easy and Lindleys inability to throw the deep ball was painfull to watch. Every 10 yards downfield the throws become harder and more difficult because the window between receiver and defensive back and linebacker is easier to close because the ball stays in the air longer. I have asked quarterbacks and offensive coaches if accuracy is something you can teach to perfection or a gift that can only be refined. For the most part it is a gift. That is usually the response. Even by drilling it over and over you can improve but only so much, I have been told. It looks like Logan Thomas will start against the 49ers for Arizona at Levis Stadium. Thomas is a fourth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech and is a 6-foot-6, 248 lbs. monster of potential. They are hoping he is the next Colin Kaepernick athletically but does he have accuracy andd, most importantly, accuracy under pass-rush pressure.dddddddddddd. Joe Montana was not a big guy, neither are many NFL quarterbacks, but theyre accurate. It is more important than anything else. -- In Detroit, I have no idea what Dominic Raiola was thinking. He stomped on the ankle of Ego Ferguson, the defensive tackle of the Bears, in an open area easy to see by all. Why? Something must of been said or something done to respond but look at the consequences. Raiola suspended for a game and the game is in Green Bay for the NFC North title and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Also Ziggy Ansah, who put Jimmy Clausen out for next week on a play that looked like targeting to the head. Ansah is going to be a star but again was it accidental or intention? We will never know. -- In Cleveland, the season is over for Johnny Manziel and it was a disaster. You have to wonder if the hype clouded sensibility when the Browns drafted him way back in May of last year. He did play at a high level in collage and maybe, maybe next year will show Russell Wilson skills - the composure, the maturity, the intelligent elusiveness and accurate throws - consistently. The good news is that it will never get any tougher than the year most recently experienced and all players tend to improve significantly from their first to second year. It just shows how much of the NFL draft is an educated guessing game. There were those of respected opinion that were convinced Manziel was the next great thing in the world of football. Next year will be the year where patience and teaching have to be seen on the field in performance and consistency. -- Every week - and were entering week 17 - there is at least one game that makes no sense. A game that when you look at the final score you have to look twice because it destroys everything anticipated. How Houston beat Baltimore 25-13 I do not understand. Houston needed everything to work out to be a playoff team and for Baltimore it was win three and you should be in. Joe Flacco had to throw 50 times and only had 195 yards. Case Keenum, who was signed Monday, did enough to move the Texans to 8-7. It Makes no sense. -- And finally, Monday night football - Denver at Cincinnati. Andy Dalton went into the game 2-9 in high profile or playoff games. Well after the Bengals victory he is 3-9 and if he wins next week in Pittsburgh he would be 4-9. If the Bengals can win their first playoff game, make it 5-9. Playoffs start now for Cincinnati and Andy Dalton. ' ' '