Releases » , 19-12. In qualifying for core team status i

NEW YORK -- Two losses in Miami didnt faze Paul Pierce, nor did 16 quick points by LeBron James. The post-season, Pierce said repeatedly, is no time to panic. And the Heat, apparently, are nothing to fear. "Were not scared of them," Pierce said. Joe Johnson scored 19 points, Andray Blatche had career playoff highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets handed the Heat their first loss this post-season, 104-90 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Pierce scored 14 points, Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett bounced back from awful offensive efforts, and the Nets withstood James 16-point first quarter and held him to two baskets over the final three quarters. "Tonight was the type of urgency were going to need for the rest of the series," Pierce said. Brooklyn, which swept Miami in the regular season, can tie the series with a victory at home Monday night in Game 4. "I think this is a must-win coming up Monday," Garnett said. "If we want to give ourselves any type of room ... any type of chance, I think that weve definitely got to take care of home." James scored 28 points for the Heat, who hadnt even faced a fourth-quarter deficit in these playoffs before having their eight-game winning streak in the post-season snapped. It was their first loss since Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The two-time defending champions were having an easy path to another finals, winning their last four games by double digits. But the Nets shook off the Heats sizzling start, then held them to 33 points over the middle two quarters to take control. "Ive been part of a lot of series and understand that the series is never won in two games or in three games," James said. "And you move onto the next one and you learn from the previous one how you can get better." Mirza Teletovic and Shaun Livingston each scored 12 points for the Nets in their first home post-season victory ever against the Heat. Teletovic made four of Brooklyns 15 3-pointers. Williams, 0 for 9 in Game 2, shot just 3 for 11 but finished with nine points and 11 assists. Garnett, just 2 for 10 for four total points in Miami, shot 5 of 6 for 10 points and seven rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 20 points and James grabbed eight rebounds, but his night fell well short of what it could have been after his ferocious first quarter. He made a free throw to bring Miami to 59-56 in the third quarter, but Teletovic made a 3-pointer, followed by baskets by Blatche, Johnson and Livingston to make it 68-56. Teletovic made two more 3s and Williams knocked down another before the end of the quarter, which ended with the Nets ahead 77-63. Teletovic opened the fourth with another 3, and Alan Anderson hit a pair later in the period while also getting in a skirmish with Ray Allen that led to double technical fouls. The Nets held Allen to two baskets after he hurt them in both games in Miami. The Nets shot 53 per cent from the field, 60 per cent from behind the arc, and outrebounded the Heat 43-27. Brooklyn outscored Miami 53-41 in the second half, making 20 of 33 shots. "To sum it up, they outplayed us. They outplayed us, particularly in that whole second half," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Williams ended his slump with the games first basket, but Miami made eight of its first 11 shots, including one by James while Pierce was trying to wrap him up and was called for a flagrant foul. James was 6 of 7 in the period, and the Nets were lucky to be down only 30-29 when Livingston threw in a 36-footer just before the buzzer. James then took just one shot in the second, a missed 3-pointer, and the Nets pulled ahead late in the period and took a 51-49 lead into halftime. Notes: The Nets improved to just 2-10 in the post-season against the Heat, who swept them in the 2005 first round and beat them in five games in the 2006 Eastern Conference semifinals. ... Rapper Busta Rhymes, from Brooklyn, announced the Nets starting lineup. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Jerry Seinfeld, Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudekis were among the other entertainers in the crowd. Darcy Tucker Maple Leafs Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Kasperi Kapanen Maple Leafs Jersey . CSKA received the heavier punishment of playing its next European home game behind closed doors, after its supporters displayed racist and far-right symbols in the Czech Republic during a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen on Dec. http://www.mapleleafsteamstoreonline.com/authentic-travis-dermott-maple-leafs-jersey/ . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. Tie Domi Maple Leafs Jersey . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. Morgan Rielly Jersey . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox.HONG KONG -- John Moonlight scored a pair of tries as Canada defeated Portugal 35-7 Friday in its opening match at the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament. The Canadian men improved their career record against Portugal to 15-9-0. Canada, which is currently ninth in the series standings, is coming off three impressive performances in the U.S., New Zealand and Japan, where it qualified for the quarter-finals of the elite Cup competition each time. Nanyak Dala, Conor Trainor and Sean White also scored tries Friday for Canada, which will face No. 8 Argentina and No. 4 England on Saturday. Captain Nathan Hirayama, who missed the final day of action in Tokyo last time out due to injury, converted all five Canadian tries. Pedro Bettencourt had the lone try for No. 14 Portugal. Moonlight opened the scoring with a try just 39 seconds into the match. Hirayama then converted tries from Dala and Trainor to put Canada up 21-0 by the 7:20 mark of the first half. Bettencourt got Portugal on the board late, cutting Canadas lead to 21-7 at the break. Moonlight struck quickly to open the second half with a try 50 seconds in. That was all the scoring until Whites try in extra time. In other games, Fiji opened its title defence by blowing away Wales 42-7. In a pool matchup of last years finalists, Fiji ran in six tries to one to put a smile on the face of coach Ben Ryan. "Lets not get carried away. We havent qualified for anything as yet," Ryann said.dddddddddddd "We have a far way to go before we can think of defending our title." Fiji, the most successful side at the mecca of sevens rugby, is bidding for a third successive title to go along with hat tricks in 1990-92 and 1997-99. England was the last team to win three in a row, 10 years ago. The Pacific Islanders, coming off victory in Tokyo last weekend, led the charge of all the big guns on the opening night. World series leader South Africa defeated France 31-7, and New Zealand brushed aside Scotland 33-0. Of the top four seeds, England had the hardest time having to ward off a feisty challenge from Argentina, 19-12. In qualifying for core team status in next seasons series, Japan was the most impressive in romps over Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago, thanks to wingers Yoshikazu Fujita and Kenki Fukuoka, who were released by 15s coach Eddie Jones. Host Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Italy and Russia also emerged unbeaten in the 12-team second-tier competition. The winner of that tournament will join the core teams in the first-tier series next year. Also Friday, the Canadian women defeated France 24-0 to win their second consecutive Hong Kong Invitational Sevens title. The event was a tuneup for the Womens Sevens World Series tournament next week in Guangzhou, China. Canada is currently third in the womens series with 48 points. Australia and New Zealand each have 56. With files from The Associated Press ' ' '