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SACRAMENTO, Calif. Cheap Rockets Jerseys . -- The Miami Heat hoped to rest three banged-up regulars and lean on LeBron James to steal a road victory before visiting one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Instead, the Sacramento Kings spoiled those plans -- and James hurt himself in the process. DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 17 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 26 and the Kings rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the short-handed Heat 108-103 in overtime Friday night. "I thought our guys accepted the challenge," Sacramento coach Michael Malone said. James said he strained his right groin before finishing with 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Miamis six-game winning streak ended. Whether he plays at Portland on Saturday night is uncertain. "It aint feeling too good right now," James said. The two-time defending NBA champions played without Dwyane Wade (resting his knees), Ray Allen (right knee tendinitis) and Chris Andersen (sore back). James stayed mostly on the perimeter in the second half when his injury started to swell. The Kings capitalized on the opportunity. Isaiah Thomas had 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to help Sacramento (9-19) upend the Heat (22-7) a week after a blowout loss in Miami. Gay made a tying jumper in the final minutes of regulation, and the Kings quickly pulled away in the extra period to bring the sellout crowd of 17,317 roaring to its feet. "This is a new team, and for us to come out and perform against one of the best teams in the league, its a pretty good feeling," Cousins said. Malone even called out his players mistakes publicly following a loss to New Orleans on Monday. He gave his players a couple of days off around Christmas and asked them, "What type of team do we want to be this season?" "The biggest thing is we responded," Gay said. The Kings overcame 23 turnovers and some lacklustredefence at the start to pull off the comeback. Sacramento outshot Miami 49.4 per cent to 44.2 per cent and outrebounded the Heat 51-35. A day after winning The Associated Press 2013 Male Athlete of the Year, James helped the Heat build a big lead early but couldnt hold off a late Kings rally by himself. He also appeared to tweak his left ankle when he fell into the crowd after missing a layup in the second quarter, but he said his ankle felt fine. James set up Chris Bosh for a dunk, then made one of two free throws to put the Heat ahead 89-85 with 2:42 remaining in the fourth. A few plays later, Mario Chalmers was called for a flagrant foul after pushing Cousins to the ground. Cousins made both free throws, and Gay hit a tying turnaround jumper. After Gay forced a turnover by James, Thomas missed a running shot. James came down with the rebound, dribbled down court and missed a difficult 3-pointer over Gay at the regulation buzzer. Gay made a 3 and Thomas hit a pull-up shot at the start of overtime. After James made a driving layup, Thomas answered with another from beyond the arc to give the Kings a 97-91 lead. James still nearly rallied Miami from eight points down in the final minute. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers -- sandwiched between Sacramento scores -- to bring the Heat within three with 13.1 seconds left. But James and the Heat simply ran out of time. At the outset, James wasted no time putting Miami in control. He scored nine points and assisted on two of Shane Battiers three 3-pointers during a 23-6 run to open the game. With James on the bench, Sacramento sliced Miamis lead to seven in the second quarter. The four-time NBA MVP returned and restored order -- at least for a moment -- to help the Heat go ahead 55-45 at halftime. The Kings outscored Miami 29-18 in the third quarter behind big plays from Cousins and Gay -- with almost all of them directed by Thomas. Sacramento entered the fourth with a 74-73 lead to set up a furious finish. "The game turned in the third quarter," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Probably more than anything our offence got us in trouble. A lot of jump shots. And they stepped up their defence. You have to give them credit for that." NOTES: James passed Larry Bird (21,791 points) and Gary Payton (21,813 points) to move into 29th place on the NBAs career scoring list. ... Spoelstra said Greg Odens rehabilitation from various knee injuries is progressing, but the centre is not expected to play in Miamis lone visit to Portland on Saturday night. ... Cousins was called for his NBA-leading ninth technical foul after arguing with officials in the first quarter. ... The Heat entered with a 7-0 record against Western Conference teams this season. Gerald Green Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Clint Capela Jersey . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A. http://www.cheaprocketsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-carmelo-anthony-jersey . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons.Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs look to take down a power five conference team when they take on the Big Tens Illinois Fighting Illini in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which will be held at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 26. The Bulldogs finished as the top team in Conference-USAs West Division this season, going 8-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play. LaTech had a chance for the C-USA outright title, but lost to Marshall in the championship game, 33-26, back on Dec. 6. Illinois, meanwhile, is coming into the game thanks to a win in its regular- season finale against Northwestern, 47-33. The victory made the Illini bowl eligible at 6-6 and improved the teams conference mark to 3-5, which was fifth best in the Big Ten. LaTech sits in a good spot to pick up just its third bowl win in its seventh try (2-3-1). The Bulldogs recorded four more wins in 2014 than they did in head coach Skip Holtzs first season at the helm in 2013. The Bulldogs ranked fourth in most-improved scoring offense with a 102.1 percent improvement, going from an average of 19.2 points per game in 2013 to a current average of 37.5 points per game this season. Running back Kenneth Dixon leads the Bulldog offense. He rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns against Marshall to improve his season total to 1,238 yards and 21 touchdowns. For his career, Dixon has amassed 3,347 rushing yards with 52 touchdowns on the ground in 35 games. As a team, the Bulldogs offense averages 403.8 yards per game, going for 151.2 on the ground and 252.6 through the air. Redshirt senior quarterback Cody Sokol threw for 3,189 yards with 29 touchdowns and 13 picks this season. He was named the C-USAs Newcomer of the Year after transferring in from Iowa. It all starts with Cody Sokol, said Holtz. He came in and did a great job of getting players to buy in, setting a real example as a leader with his toughness and the way he plays the game. Sokols favorite target was sophomore wide receiver Trent Taylor, who hauled in a team-high 62 catches for 814 yards with nine scores. On the defensive side of the ball, Louisiana Tech is the national leader in points off of turnovers. With 14 points off of turnovers in the Marshall game, the Bulldogs have scored 164 points off turnovers in 13 games this season (12.6 points per game). Last season, Louisiana Tech scored only 64 points off turnovers the entire year (5.3 points a game). This will be a nice opportunity for starting defensive end Houston Bates, who transferred to the Bulldogs from Illinois. A fifth-year transfer to the Bulldog program, Bates is a previous All-Big Ten Conference selection. He started all 13 games for the Bulldogs with 28 total tackles to his credit including 10. Eric Gordon Jersey. .5 tackles for a loss of 55 yards, 5.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two pass break-ups and a team-leading 12 QB hurries. The Bulldogs last bowl win came in 2008 when they defeated Northern Illinois in the Independence Bowl. Illinois had to win three of its last five games to even become bowl eligible and the program had a real gut check to get there. There came a point in time right before we played Minnesota where we gathered up as a team and had to go one direction or the other, said Illinois head coach Tim Beckman. We could either step forward, meet the challenge and attack the Minnesota Golden Gophers or we could just give in. This football team was not going to do that. It was important for Beckmans squad to earn its first bowl bid since 2011, despite the lack of overall success this season. We needed to get to a bowl game, our program needs those types of things to move forward, Beckman added. I cannot tell you the excitement that is in Champaign and in our facility with our athletic department to earn a bowl game down here in Dallas. Offensively, Illinois boasts one of the top passing offenses in the Big Ten, ranking third in the conference in passing yards per game (243.2) and completion percentage (61.2 percent) and fifth in passing efficiency. Beckman has done it with a QB competition approach. Senior Reilly OToole was under center for the last two games, both wins, but Wes Hunt and Aaron Bailey are also getting action in practices leading up to the bowl game. OToole finished the season completing 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,049 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games. Lunt completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,729 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games. Despite who plays under center, wideout Mike Dudek appears to be everyones favorite target, hauling in a team-best 69 catches for 965 yards with six TDs. The Illini averages 26.6 points per game with Josh Ferguson leading the way on the ground. He has run for 685 yards and eight scores. Donovonn Young has added five TDs on the ground. This is a rematch of a 2012 meeting between the two schools that saw Louisiana Tech roll to a 52-24 win in Champaign, Ill. Louisiana Tech is 2-2 all-time against the Big Ten and has won its last two meetings against Big Ten opponents. Prior to Techs 52-24 win over Illinois in 2012, the Bulldogs topped Michigan State, 20-19, in East Lansing on Sept. 13, 2003. These school have a common opponent this year in Western Kentucky. Louisiana Tech dismantled the Hilltoppers, 59-10, on Nov. 1, while Illinois beat WKU, 42-34, on Sept. 6 in Champaign. ' ' '
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