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. 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Nmd Billig Kaufen Schweiz . A rainy day saw the former champion Djokovic handle 14th-seeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) under the roof on the famed Centre Court.ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Tucked in the warmth on the surrounding grounds of the Big House, Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis made one point urgently clear as he announced the signing of Torontos captain through 2021. "We signed Dion to this deal because he deserved it," said Nonis on the eve of Wednesdays Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. But the success of the seven-year extension between the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf wont just be about the 28-year-old defender, but the ability of Nonis and the organization to surround him and the Toronto core with capable talent. Right now that core includes at least six players; Phaneuf along with Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson and Tyler Bozak – all signed until at least 2017. And while that group must remain productive – and increasingly so from a generally disappointing first half – the overall team success is likely dependent on the quality of talent the club adds in the coming years. "Weve added these pieces because we think that they can help us win long-term," said Nonis of that core group. "Its now going to be up to us to add players around them. We feel we have some pieces coming, but were not where we need to be yet. We still need to add some pieces around players like Dion and Phil and [Lupul], JVR. Those are players that will help any team in this league win, but we need to continue to add to that group." No team has done a more efficient job of surrounding their impressive core than the Chicago Blackhawks (though the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins could make equal argument). "I think theyre a model for the league, not just our hockey club," Randy Carlyle said of the defending Stanley Cup champions earlier this season. Chicagos core is among the more dynamic in the league – much of it built through the draft – but the organization has done well in surrounding that group with wave upon wave of helpful young players and outside talent. In recent years, the likes of Andrew Shaw (fifth round pick), Marcus Kruger (fifth round), Bryan Bickell (second round), Corey Crawford (second round) and Brandon Saad (second round) all proved invaluable toward the Blackhawks capturing their second Cup in four years last season. For the Leafs that means improved drafting and development. It means finding more capable assets through the draft, ever an important tool in todays cap age. "Theres still only three ways to do [build around the core] – trade, free agency or the draft," said Nonis. "We have to do a better job in all three areas. But the draft is going to be more and more important as players start to earn six, seven, eight, nine, 10 million – who knows what the numbers are going to end up being. "If you have players that are entry-level players or just coming out of entry-level that are earning substantially less that can contribute youre going to have a better chance of winning. We need to try to find some of those players." Not only does that mean the continued development of young players like Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland and Jonathan Bernier, but success here and there from a solid and yet unspectacular prospectt pool that features Matt Finn, Connor Brown, Petter Granberg, Dominic Toninato, and Josh Leivo.dddddddddddd It also means finding more useful players to contribute right now. Chicago found help for example in the form of veterans like Johhny Oduya and Michal Handzus. Uneven all season, Torontos patchwork defence – which featured no major additions last summer – is a source requiring definite upgrading in the summer of 2014 and beyond. As for Phaneuf, he may be an imperfect first defender, but is a capable first defender no less in a league where commodities of such kind are difficult to find and then keep. More and more teams are locking up their most talented players long-term leaving the free agency pool increasingly weak and short of high-impact options, especially on defence. Among the top unsigned defenders for the summer of 2014 are 37-year-old Dan Boyle, 35-year-old Andrei Markov, and 29-year-old Dan Girardi. Internally, the Leafs have promising long-term options for the top of their defence in the 19-year-old Rielly and 23-year-old Gardiner, but neither is near ready to assume the difficult duties Phaneuf holds at the moment. And while the likes of Finn, Granberg, Stuart Percy, and Tom Nilsson offer prospective hope further on down the line, they are suitably unknown commodities. "If youre signing players because you dont have anyone to replace them youre making mistakes," said Nonis. "Hes going to play at this level and beyond, I feel, for seven years and maybe beyond that. Its not that you dont have anyone to replace Dion, its that hes done enough to prove to us that he is a player that is near the top of the league in terms of how he stacks up against the top defencemen." The difficulty of his minutes is easy to overlook. His role on a generally unstable Toronto defence requires him to match up nightly against the most difficult competition in the league. In Wednesdays Winter Classic for example, that tall challenge will include large quantities of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. "I dont think you can look beyond the situations and positions that Randy puts him in," said Nonis. "Theyre not always the best situations. He plays some pretty tough minutes." In fact, no defender in the league has faced more challenging competition in the past two seasons than the Leafs captain, this according to ExtraSkater.com. And though hes struggled to produce offence this season – 15 points in 39 games – Phaneuf has ranked amongst the top-20 at his position in offensive production in each of the past two seasons. The Leafs were in a surprise in 2013, finishing fifth in the conference while nearly upending the eventual Cup finalist Bruins in the first round. But theyve fallen under considerable strain this season – just four regulation wins since Nov. 1 – and have proven a poor defensive contingent again after struggling in that regard a year ago. Phaneuf is more solution than problem. The Leafs simply need better players around him. "You see some of the best players around the league," said Nonis, "if you put them on a team by themselves theyre going to have a hard time winning. We think were adding pieces that will help us win." ' ' '