Gruselkabinett » cost the Lightning and allowed the Habs to st

MIAMI -- Best player. Best game of his career. LeBron James clearly isnt ready to concede his MVP award to anyone yet. Dazzling from inside and out, James put on the best scoring show of his NBA life Monday night, pouring in 61 points -- a career high and franchise record -- as the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats 124-107. It was the eighth straight win for the two-time defending champions, who are starting to roll as the playoffs get near. James made 22 of 33 shots from the field, including his first eight three-point attempts. "The man above has given me some unbelievable abilities to play the game of basketball," James said. "I just try to take advantage of it every night. I got the trust of my teammates and my coaching staff to go in there and let it go." His career best had been 56 points, on March 20, 2005, for Cleveland against Toronto. Glen Rice scored 56 to set the Heat record on April 15, 1995, against Orlando. James had 24 points at halftime, then added 25 in the third quarter. The record-breaker came with 5:46 left, when James spun through three defenders for a layup that fell as he tumbled to the court. "There was an efficiency to what he was doing," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The rim looked like an ocean for him." Spoelstra walked into his postgame news conference with a confession: He nearly took James out after the third quarter. Good thing he thought better of that plan. "He was in a great groove, obviously," Spoelstra said. Al Jefferson had 38 points and 19 rebounds for the Bobcats, his huge night merely an afterthought. This was all about LeBron. "You take away his 61 points," Jefferson said, "and we still had a fighting chance there at the end." Yes, even the Bobcats were marveling at James. He was hitting from everywhere, even a pull-up three-pointer from about 30 feet -- Spoelstra joked it was from 40 -- late in the third quarter, as the crowd roared and the Heat bench jumped with joy. "Yeah, that was a designed play," Spoelstra deadpanned. "Weve been working on that one for a while." That was the moment, James said, when he knew he was in the midst of a special night. "I felt pretty good in the first half but halftime can always kind of derail things and slow things up," James said. "But I was able to get things going once again in the third quarter and I knew it could be one of those nights." Not "one of those nights." Even for James, this was like no other. Most points in a game. Most field goals in a game. Most points in any quarter in Heat history, with the 25 in the third. Most points in the second half, 37, by any Heat player ever. "Once he sniffed 60, we knew he was going for it," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "And the amazing part is the efficiency. Good Lord. Sixty-one on 33 shots, thats Wilt Chamberlain-esque. Thats pretty amazing. Incredible performance." When James checked out with 1:24 left, the entire Heat roster met him near midcourt for high-fives and hugs, and the sellout crowd gave him a standing ovation. A second huge roar followed when he waved to the crowd, as "M-V-P" chants rained down. Charlotte has allowed the two biggest single-game scoring totals in the NBA this season. Carmelo Anthony had 62 points for the New York Knicks against the Bobcats on Jan. 24. Chris Bosh scored 15 for the Heat, and Toney Douglas added 10. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Anthony Tolliver each scored 12 for Charlotte. "If hes going to shoot the ball like that from that range, theres nobody thats going to beat them," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. Miami was without guard Dwyane Wade, who got a night off to rest. Spoelstra stressed theres been no setback for Wade, who has been on a knee-maintenance program throughout this season and is averaging 23.5 points on 62 per cent shooting since the All-Star break. Wade probably didnt mind sitting for this one. It gave him a courtside seat for the show. James scored 11 in the first quarter, after which Miami led by three, and added 13 more in the second. His 24-point first half was the highest-scoring opening 24 minutes for the four-time MVP in nearly a year, helping stake the Heat to a 60-54 lead at the break. Jefferson was up to 26 at that point. He didnt cool off much after halftime, either. It just didnt matter. James, said Clifford, "was phenomenal." There was no way Jefferson or anyone else was keeping up with James, who had to listen to critics in recent weeks say that Kevin Durants scoring for Oklahoma City this season shifted the balance of MVP power. Not so fast. "Every night I go on the floor I want to be the MVP, of this league, MVP of this team, MVP for me, myself and my family," James said. "Ive set a high standard and I have to live by that." James made three three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the quarter -- he was 6 for 6 from beyond the arc at that point -- and when Charlotte bit on his head fake from the top of the key, James coolly found Douglas to set up another 3. A tip-in by James followed not long afterward and just like that, the lead was up to 83-63. Charlotte scored the next six points, but any notion that the game was slipping from Miamis control was quickly extinguished. James scored the next six himself, a pair of three-point plays to restore the 20-point edge and give him 43 points, already a season high. All that was left to see was what hed finish with. The answer was history. "I was happy I was able to make a few plays to help us win," James said. NOTES: Spoelstra won the Eastern Conference coach of the month award for February. Houstons Kevin McHale won in the Western Conference, and the Rockets host to Miami on Tuesday night. ... The Heat improved to 10-6 when Wade doesnt play. Theyre 33-8 when he does. ... Kemba Walker had eight assists for Charlotte. ... The Heat were 16 for 28 from beyond the arc. Air Max 90 Outlet Uk .com) - Sergio Agueros 63rd-minute goal was enough to lift Manchester City to a 1-0 win over 10-man Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. http://www.airmax90outletuk.com/. Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. Air Max 90 Cheap Uk .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday.TAMPA, Fla. -- After the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning combined for 11 goals in four regular-season meetings, Dale Weise didnt expect them to score eight in the first 60 minutes of Game 1 Wednesday night. "But thats playoffs, anything can happen," he said. Anything, including Weise scoring his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal and first NHL overtime winner to give the Habs a 5-4 victory at Tampa Bay Times Forum and a 1-0 lead in the Atlantic Division semifinal series. "I cant remember the last time I had an overtime goal, so that one feels real good," Weise said. It was the kind of back-and-forth affair that bred unpredictability. The Lightning scored four times against Carey Price on 16 shots in regulation, and it seemed like any and every shot could go in. In overtime, the margin for error was almost non-existent. But thats exactly what playoff star Daniel Briere wanted to embrace. "You have to be ready, and thats the beauty of overtime," said Briere, who set Weise up for the winner 18:08 into overtime. "You cant make any mistakes. One shot can end it all." Tampa Bays Teddy Purcell and Montreals Max Pacioretty were close to doing it, but were thwarted by a diving Josh Gorges and the clank of the left post behind Anders Lindback, respectively. Ultimately, that shot belonged to Weise, who earlier in overtime might not have been in position to take it. "We had about two or three similar chances just before and the last shift I kind of backed off on a play. I didnt want to get caught," Weise said. "I came to the bench and (assistant coach Gerard Gallant) said, Dont be afraid to jump in on that one, and thats what I did. (Michael Bournival) and Danny make a great play there, and I wont miss too many from there." Weise and Briere were the heroes, but the games previous 78 minutes had plenty of players putting on an offensive show. Steven Stamkos scored twice to go along with Tampa Bay goals by Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn, while Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, Lars Eller and Thomas Vanek scored for the Habs. The goals were even at four apiece at the end of regulation, but the shots were far from it. The Habs had 35 to the Lightnings 16, taking it to a Tampa Bay team that was so good at puck possession during the regular season. Michel Therriens team just wanted to play a "solid road game" and got thatt job done.dddddddddddd "We kept our composure. We didnt want to get out of our game plan," Therrien said. "The guys stuck to the game plan and they got rewarded at the end. Thats the way I see it." The game didnt go the way some envisioned, specifically after these teams had such low-scoring matchups before. Price said he was not surprised but instead was frustrated he allowed four goals. "Every games different and you never know whats going to happen out there," Price said. "Its tough as a goaltender when teams are capitalizing on scoring chances and theyre getting so few." Price was at his best in overtime when he stopped all nine Lightning shots. Tampa had more shots in overtime than in any of the three previous periods but couldnt cash in. "I thought probably overtime was one of our better periods we played in that game," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "(But) we kept shooting ourselves in the foot time and time again." Mistakes made it a fun game, as eight Lightning players were making their playoff debut at the NHL level. The Habs had only one in Bournival. The inexperience of youth was noticeable at times. "We came out tentative and didnt want to make mistakes, but as the game went on we got more comfortable," Killorn said. "The turnovers at the blue-line cost us." At the end of the night, one defensive-zone mistake cost the Lightning and allowed the Habs to steal the first game on the road. Naturally it was Briere who knew what to expect in overtime and record his 110th playoff point in his 109th career playoff game. "You just have to stay focused," Briere said. "I had the feeling that something good was going to happen. Our line had too many scoring chances that at some point we were going to get a good result." NOTES -- Brandon Prust returned to the Habs lineup after missing the final 12 games of the regular season with a shoulder injury. ... Defencemen Douglas Murray and Jarred Tinordi and forwards George Parros, Alex Galchenyuk, Travis Moen and Ryan White were scratched for Montreal. ... Lightning forward Ondrej Palat did not take a shift after one early in the third period because of an upper-body injury. Cooper said he would be re-evaluated Thursday. ... Gaspe, Que., native Cedric Paquette made his playoff debut after playing his first NHL game, Tampa Bays 81st of the regular season. ' ' '