but have lost eight of their past

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MIAMI - During the dog days of the regular season, the Miami Heat often spoke about the need to not take any shortcuts on the way to the playoffs. And thats true. That doesnt mean they necessarily enjoyed the 82-game run-up to the best time of year. "None of us," Heat forward LeBron James finally confessed, "are here for the regular season." When this core of Heat players was assembled, the only stated goal was winning NBA titles, which also explains why even getting through the first two rounds of these playoffs basically unscathed only merited a short celebration. Miami is back in the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth straight season, and will visit Indiana in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon. The Heat got there by ousting the Brooklyn Nets in five games, the end of that series Wednesday night being briefly accompanied by a few hoots and hollers in the immediate moments after the clinching 96-94 win was completed. Before long, order was restored to the Heat locker room. Two series wins are nice, but they know the road only gets tougher from here. "Like LeBron said, to be in this position four years in a row, this is the reason we came together four years ago," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "Weve got a lot more work to do but were a team that doesnt take it for granted. Were a team that worked very hard to get to this point, so were going to go to the next round, the Eastern Conference finals and continue to do what weve done, play this game as hard as we can and try to continue to move forward." Indiana ousted Washington on Thursday night. The Heat and Pacers split four meetings in the regular season. "We know what Indianas capable of," Heat forward Chris Bosh said. "Best defence in the league. Despite their struggles, we still see the same opponent in those guys as we did last year and throughout this year." The Heat are now 32-7 in first- and second-round games in the last four postseasons, that stretch coinciding with the start of the "Big 3" era featuring James, Wade and Bosh teaming up in Miami. That first year, even that star-studded trio wasnt enough. More pieces were added, like Shane Battier a year later and Ray Allen two years later, and theyve all paid dividends since. Allen kept coming up big at big times in the Brooklyn series, hitting clutch free throws to seal Game 4 and then knocking down a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left to put Miami ahead for good in Game 5. Never mind that Allen had missed 11 of his last 12 3-point tries in the series. Just like last year when he saved Miamis season with the legendary desperation 3-pointer in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio, when the stakes were highest, Allen came through. "We did what we needed to do, when we had to do it," Allen said. "Total team effort." Miami had trailed for the entire second half of Game 5 against the Nets until that 3-pointer by Allen, a shot set up by Mario Chalmers seeing that Brooklyns Shaun Livingston was charging at him and somehow leaving the best long-range shooter in the history of the game wide open. That was the only break Miami needed. "The most important thing is to stay in the moment," Battier said. "And I dont there is anyone maybe in the history of the game who does it better than Ray Allen." Added Chalmers: "Thats a great option when you know you have the all-time greatest 3-point shooter to your left." A year ago, the Heat needed seven games to beat Indiana in the East finals, then seven more to top San Antonio for their second straight NBA title. Thursday was a rest day for Miami, maybe one of the last ones the Heat will truly have before the season ends. On Friday, the real work starts in earnest. "We still have some business to take care of," James said. "But its great to be able to put ourselves in position to get to where we want to go. We never shortcut the process. We understand that each and every game is going to be a challenge for us." Dre Kirkpatrick Youth Jersey . This week they discuss the decision to stop the NFL concussion settlement, the medias indifference to a big boxing match in Montreal, the maturity of Anthony Bennett and NHL outdoor games. Rey Maualuga Womens Jersey . -- The Oakland Raiders have traded away the final player drafted by late owner Al Davis. http://www.footballbengalsfanatics.com/authentic-dre-kirkpatrick-bengals-jersey/ . James Riley and Fredy Montero followed seconds later to douse Schmid -- appropriately one bottle of bubbly for each of the three U. Jake Fisher Womens Jersey . One night after scoring 43 points in a 100-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, James sat out the game with back spasms and the Heat lost for the first time in their three games without him this season. Marquis Flowers Jersey .Texas is set to acquire left-hander Ross Detwiler from the Washington Nationals for two minor league players, a baseball official familiar with the deal said Thursday night.(Sports Network) - The New York Rangers hope to inch closer to locking up the Atlantic Division title at home this evening, while the Montreal Canadiens play their first game after the firing of general manager Pierre Gauthier. Watch the game live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt or listen to the game on TSN Radio Montreal 990 and TSN.ca/Montreal starting at 7pm et/4pm et. Also catch the Vancouver Canucks against the Dallas Stars immediately following the Canadiens game on TSN and TSN Mobile TV. Gauthier had taken over as GM in February 2010 after Bob Gainey stepped down. He had been with the Canadiens since 2003, first as director of pro scouting and then as assistant general manager. "It goes without saying that were all very disappointed in our performance this season," said Canadiens owner Geoff Molson at a Thursday press briefing. "Everyone in this organization, including our players, expected better. Our fans care deeply about our team and want nothing more than a winning team, one that follows in the tradition of our storied past. This season did not deliver on those expectations. Our fans can trust that ownership will accept nothing less than a winning culture in this organization." The move came two days after the Canadiens suffered a 3-2 shootout defeat to the Panthers. Erik Cole and Louis Leblanc scored goals in regulation, but the Habs came up empty in the shootout. Carey Price made 34 saves through overtime, but did yield the game-tying goal with 7:12 left in the third period. "I just lost it. I was kinda soft on it and I should have stopped it," admitted Price of the costly letdown. "I thought our guuys played very well regardless.dddddddddddd A lot of guys are still working for jobs and contracts next year." Montreal has lost six of its past eight games overall, but aims for a third straight win over New York this evening. The Rangers won the first meeting 5-3 in New York back on Nov. 5, but the Habs outscored the Blueshirts 8-1 in a pair of encounters in Montreal. The Canadiens have won seven of their last nine versus the Rangers overall, but have lost eight of their past 11 trips to New York. With five games left to play, the Rangers own a five-point edge over the Pittsburgh Penguins for not only the lead in the division, but for the first seed in the Eastern Conference. New York is also a point back of St. Louis for the most in the NHL. The Rangers extended their lead over the Penguins after rallying for a 4-2 win over the Jets on Wednesday. Pittsburgh failed to make up the two points when it suffered a loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday. New York got goals from Brian Boyle and Derek Stepan in the third period versus Winnipeg, while Michael Del Zotto and Ryan Callahan also lit the lamp. Marian Gaborik had a pair of assists to give him five points in three games, while Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves to lift the Rangers to their fifth victory in six games. "It was tough to get anything going and then they got a two-goal lead on us," Callahan said. "I think our penalty-kill goal kind of lifted the team up and gave us momentum, and we began to take the game over." A victory for New York tonight would give the club 50 on the season, matching the 1991-92 club for the second-most in franchise history. cheap nfl jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys ' ' '