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OKLAHOMA CITY -- LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night. Nike Air Force Ones Sale . His Miami Heat teammates finished off a 103-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder without him on Thursday night. Miamis star forward went down with 5:50 remaining after he was struck by Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. James finished the dunk, but he was bloodied and he left the court with a towel over his face. "Im like everybody else, youre used to seeing him like Superman, get up and sprint back even after tough hits and tough falls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So we knew something was up." James landed the hardest blow long before that. He scored 16 of his 33 points in the first quarter to put the Thunder in a bind, and the Heat rolled to a lopsided win. James passed a concussion test, but some damage was done. "He has a swollen nose right now. Its bleeding," Spoelstra said. "Well evaluate him when we get back to Miami, but its sore." The Thunder were the ones shaken up after James made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first 4:11. "It was flawless," Wade said. "He was aggressive defensively, he was able to play passing lanes and be who he is. That was a great start on the road by our leader. It was something that we needed." Wade had 24 points and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh added 24 points for Miami, which won its fourth straight and avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City. It was a good step for the Heat, who are trying to catch Indiana for the top record in the Eastern Conference. "You can see the resolve," Wade said. "You can see the chemistry. You can see a team thats gearing up for the second half of the season." Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5. Durant has been the popular favourite to win the NBA MVP award, but Wade said James is still in the hunt. "Its not decided," Wade said. "I dont think that was a message. That was LeBron James being LeBron James. He loves the matchup, just like KD loves the matchup. The MVP is long, long from over." Russell Westbrook, who had missed the previous 27 games after having surgery on his right knee, started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He made 4 of 12 shots. "Im just going to keep getting him better, and as the season goes along, as he gets more comfortable in game shape, were going to see a better Russell every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. The Thunder overcame an early 18-point deficit on Jan. 29 to roll past the Heat 112-95 in Miami, and the home fans hoped for a regular-season sweep against the team that beat Oklahoma City in the 2012 finals. Instead, they saw a rare inefficient game from the Thunder. "When you dont have good rhythm, normally the three-ball can get you back into the game," Brooks said. "We didnt have shot makers tonight. Weve had them for a while now. We didnt have them tonight." The crowd erupted as Westbrook was introduced as a starter. His first minute of action was furious and had the fans on their feet. His first basket was a two-handed, fast-break dunk 37 seconds into the game, and he got a steal 17 seconds later. The excitement quickly evaporated. James scored 10 points in the first 3:11 and Miami made 13 of its first 14 shots to take a 28-13 lead. The Heat were ahead 34-17 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 19 points in the second quarter before the Thunder rallied behind Westbrook. He scored nine points in the final 1:55 of the first half, including a dunk in the closing seconds, to trim Miamis lead to 54-47 at the break. Miami took control early in the third quarter. James scored six points during a 10-0 run that helped the Heat take a 64-49 lead. The advantage grew to 75-53 on a 3-pointer by James with just over five minutes left in the frame. Durant scored seven points in the final 2:46 of the quarter to trim Miamis edge to 76-65 heading into the fourth. Miami reasserted itself in the opening minutes of the final period. Bosh hit a 3-pointer to bump the Heats lead to 19 with just under 10 minutes to go. The Heat won for the fifth time during their six-game road trip. Miami beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas before closing with a win against the team with the leagues best record. "Its good to finish it this way," Spoelstra said. NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson, who started while Westbrook was out, entered the game in the first quarter. ... Durant scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. ... Miami shot 76 per cent in the first quarter but made just 7 of 17 shots in the second and was outscored 30-20. ... Oklahoma Citys Kendrick Perkins left the game in the third quarter with a left groin strain and didnt return. Cheap Air Force 1 Shoes Wholesale . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Cheap Air Force 1 . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. http://www.airforceforsalecheap.com/ . Irving played 10 minutes Sunday night before going to the locker room. He had two points and four assists, missing all five of his shots. The All-Star game MVP is the top scorer among Eastern Conference point guards with 21.The Sacramento Kings got some much-needed depth at point guard and a possible backup plan if they lose starter Isaiah Thomas in free agency. The Kings and Darren Collison agreed to a three-year contract worth about $16 million Thursday, a person familiar with the deal said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because teams cant officially sign free agents until the NBAs moratorium on moves is lifted July 10. The Los Angeles Times first reported the agreement. Collison opted out of the final year of his contract with the Clippers that would have paid him $1.9 million next season. He averaged 11.4 points and 3.7 assists in 25.9 minutes last season, primarily as Chris Pauls backup. Collison has been a starter at times throughout his career since New Orleans drafted him 21st overall in 2009 out of UCLA, including 35 games last season while Paul was injured. He also played two seasons with Indiana and one in Dallas before helping the Clippers reach the second round of the playoffs. Clippers coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers had called Collison the teams No. 1 priority in free agency. Instead, Collison left for a big pay raise in Californias capital city and possibly even a chance to start. With so much money already committed to DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay next season, the Kings chances of keeping Thomas already were going to be tough thhis summer. Cheap Air Force Ones For Sale . Thomas, the last pick of the 2011 draft who has become a fan favourite in Sacramento, has worked his way into being a full-time starter who averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 assists last season. The market for ball-handling guards also has been a booming one this summer. Shaun Livingston left the Brooklyn Nets for a three-year, $16 million deal with Golden State. Kyle Lowry has a contract in place to return to Toronto reportedly worth $48 million over four years, and Kyrie Irving agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract extension with Cleveland. Because Thomas is a restricted free agent, the Kings can match any offer he receives. Whether they will -- or can afford to do so -- remains unclear. The Kings also are counting on some of their young guards to blossom. Last years second-round pick, point guard Ray McCallum, showed signs of improving when he played bigger minutes in the final weeks of the season. And Sacramento has drafted a shooting guard with its last two first-round picks, Ben McLemore (seventh overall) out of Kansas last year and Michigans Nik Stauskas (eighth overall) this June. Owner Vivek Ranadive, general manager Pete DAlessandro and coach Michael Malone have made as many moves as any team in the league since taking over the Kings last year, so its also possible Sacramento could shuffle its roster with more trades again this summer. ' ' '
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