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SAN ANTONIO -- Led by a no-frills coach, the San Antonio Spurs have long stated the regular season means little to them. Yet even normally stoic San Antonio couldnt hide its emotion on the court, and the satisfaction afterward, of toppling the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. Tim Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs never trailed against the Heat, weathering a sluggish third quarter for an intense 111-87 victory Thursday. "Im sure this has some special meaning, to say something different would be silly," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said, "but we expect them to come out hard and play." In their first home game against Miami since losing a heart-wrenching, seven-game NBA Finals, the Spurs handed the Heat their worst loss of the season. The rematch brought out a raucous sold-out crowd and sparked high emotions from both teams. Players dived recklessly for loose balls and yelled at officials, while Popovich often screamed at his own players. "We needed a game like this," Manu Ginobili said. "Weve been talking (about it) all season long. Our record was probably 1-10, 1-8 or something like that against the top four teams in the league. So we needed a big one, and today we played well. . Its one of those wins that really gets you going." Tony Parker scored 17 points, including 14 in a wild first half, Boris Diaw added 16 and Kawhi Leonard had 11 for the Spurs (45-16), which has won five straight. Chris Bosh had 24 points, LeBron James added 19, Dwyane Wade had 16 and Michael Beasley 11 for Miami (43-16). James, who ditched the protective mask he was wearing early in the first half, was hounded by Leonard into shooting 6 for 18. The Spurs didnt do anything different defensively than they had in the past, James said, but the NBA did. The four-time MVP said the short-sleeved, tight-fitting "El Heat" jerseys Miami had to wear are not conducive for shooting. "Im not making any excuses, but Im not a big fan of the jerseys," James said. "So I have to figure something out next time I have to wear the short-sleeve jerseys. Every time I shoot, it feels like its just pulling right up underneath my arm. I already dont have much room for error on my jump shot anyways, so its definitely not a good thing." James got rid of the mask that protected his broken nose with four minutes left in the first quarter. "I dont like it," James said. "Its that simple; just got frustrated with it early on so I took it off. It didnt help me, taking it off. Its probably a game-to-game thing." He missed his first two attempts sans mask, tossing up a wild 14-footer that banged off the front of the rim and backboard, then botching a reverse layup. His first mask-free basket was a 5-foot running floater over Leonard with 6:26 left in the half. "(Leonard) was a pest," Duncan said. "Thats what we need him to be. He stuck his hand in there, knocked some balls away, got some steals, he contested shots. I think he did a great job overall in every aspect." The Spurs opened the fourth quarter on a 13-6 run, returning to the breakneck attack that led to a 17-point lead in the first half. Duncans 18-foot jumper gave San Antonio a 99-85 lead with 3:00 remaining, drawing a fist-pounding of the scorers table by Manu Ginobili as he waited to enter the game. The closing run was needed after the Heat kept the Spurs out of the paint early in the second half, to the point Popovich screamed, "Tony! Attack!" after his All-Star point guard walked the ball up midway through the third period. Miami turned up the heat defensively, closing quickly on every pass. San Antonio was 7 for 22 from the field in the third quarter. Miami was 10 for 18 in the quarter, with James, Wade and Bosh scoring six points each. Miami had cut the lead to 79-74 with 2:00 left in the third period, but could get no closer. "They are difficult to guard," Wade said. "They have a great system and they have a very unselfish team. That is why they are one of the better teams in the league. Thy stay true to their system and believe in it." Parker showed no signs of the lower body problems that sidelined him six games last month, driving unrestrained into the paint. Parker played all but the final two minutes of the first quarter, going 5 for 6 from the field in scoring 10 points and dishing out three assists. "Tonys our setup guy," Duncan said. "He runs our team, he sets our pace, sets our rhythm and he played the right way tonight." NOTES: The Spurs Jeff Ayres (sprained right hand) sat out for the second time in the last three games. Ayres has started 10 games. ... Miami received a rousing ovation when it took the court for pregame warmups, but was booed lustily during introductions. ... James glared at official Kevin Scott after drawing consecutive fouls, starting with a charge. He was mum when he drove headlong into Duncan for his third foul of the quarter and fourth overall. Cheap Lebron Shoes . The veteran fighter will be squaring off with Henderson in a five-round lightweight bout as part of another network televised card at the United Center on Saturday night. Lebron James Shoes In Order . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.c...x-97-shoes.html. -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Air Max 720 Outlet . New York (16-9-8) took over first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the league with one game remaining. Houstons five-game unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Dynamo (13-11-9) are sixth in the East with one game remaining. Vapormax Clearance Sale . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season.MINNEAPOLIS - In a season full of turmoil for the New York Knicks, Raymond Felton has dealt with more of it than any other player on the team. He struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness early in the season and was arrested on felony gun charges late last month. With all the trouble swirling around him, the point guard was just 7 for 32 in the five games since his arrest. Felton broke out of his slump with 18 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 33 points to help the Knicks snap a seven-game losing streak with a 118-106 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. "If youre not there mentally, it can really mess you up," said Felton, who made 5 of 8 shots and also had eight assists and four steals. "But Im not one to make excuses. I got a lot going on, but theres a lot of people in this world that are dealing with a lot. I cant make that excuse." Tyson Chandler had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Amare Stoudemire added 18 points and eight boards for the Knicks, who had not won since beating New Orleans on Feb. 19. Knicks coach Mike Woodson had a long chat with Felton on Tuesday, trying to gauge how focused his point guard was on the court with so much to deal with off it. "I wasnt going to take him out of the lineup, but I wanted to make sure that his head was in the right place for playing," Woodson said. "We just have to continue to help him and get him through this process." Kevin Love had 19 points and eight rebounds, but scored just one point in the second half as the Timberwolves returned from a successful West Coast road trip with a thud. Kevin Martin had 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting and the Wolves were 7 for 26 from 3-point range. "We cant give in and say that this is a killer," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "I know everybodys going to say that you cant lose to the Knicks, its a killer. ... We just have to go out and beat Detroit (on Friday). We lost this game. Its not going to be perfect. I dont worry about this being really damaging. I worry about the wayy we played.dddddddddddd" Timberwolves coaches had quietly worried about opening a homestand against a team that had been playing so poorly, fearing that the breakout was coming. They were right. The Knicks hit eight of their first 10 field goals Wednesday night and went 5 for 7 from 3-point range to open a 38-24 lead after one quarter. The lead swelled to 17 points in the second quarter as New York chewed up Minnesotas soft interior defence with pick-and-roll lobs to Chandler, a staple of their 54 victories last year. After such a flat first half, Ricky Rubio and the Wolves came alive in the third quarter, methodically carving into the Knicks lead. Nikola Pekovic asserted himself in the paint against Stoudemire and an emboldened Rubio scored nine points in the quarter to cut the deficit to 88-86 going into the fourth. But Pekovic had to sit out most of the fourth quarter because of a minutes restriction placed on him to reduce the wear and tear on a sore ankle that kept him out for most of February. "Its really frustrating because youre trying to win games, youre trying to stay relevant and everything," Adelman said. "He had it going that third quarter. We had it going with him on the floor and I had to take him out. Its just something we have to live with, but its really hard." Anthony and Stoudemire led a 15-2 charge to start the fourth quarter that sealed the victory. Felton hit Tim Hardaway Jr. for a soaring alley-oop moments later for a 107-92 lead. "Even though Im dealing with a lot of stuff off the court, I got a lot to play for right now," Felton said. "I just tried to clear my head tonight, come out and play, and have fun. This is a place where I can come and just be free." NOTES: Pekovic finished with 17 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes and Rubio had 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Wolves. ... New Yorks 66 points were its second-highest first half output of the season. ... J.R. Smith added 14 points, five assists and five rebounds for the Knicks. ' ' '