will not be part of the national title game

MIAMI -- Their big early lead was gone, the Miami Heat were trailing with 3 minutes remaining and the two-time defending champions seemed very much in trouble. They didnt let Boston score again. Thats how to snap a defensive slump. LeBron James scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Chris Bosh added 16 and the Heat beat the Celtics 93-86 on Tuesday night -- finishing the game on a 9-0 run after trailing 86-84 with 3:08 left. "Its difficult doing what we do," Bosh said. "But thats why were the champs, to do the difficult thing again and get the job done. Tonight was a good start. We just have to build off of it." Chris Andersen scored 13 points and made all five of his shots for Miami, which had given up at least 100 points in four of its last six games. The Heat are 25-1 when allowing less than 100 points; 5-11 otherwise. Brandon Bass scored 15 points, Kris Humphries had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Jeff Green had 12 points for the Celtics, who enjoyed a 46-33 edge in rebounds but shot only 39 per cent. And when it was over, Celtics coach Brad Stevens had a simple assessment of the final 3 minutes. "LeBron James happened," Stevens said. James made seven free throws in the final 2:33, the only other points down the stretch coming on a jumper by Ray Allen that put the Heat up for good. James did the rest, while the Celtics missed their final four shots. Rajon Rondo, still coming around after returning from knee surgery, missed all eight of his shots, plus a pair of free throws with the Celtics down four with 44.4 seconds remaining. Avery Bradley, the Celtics other starting guard, was lost in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle. "LeBron got a bunch of calls down the stretch," Bass said. "We expect that. We just wished we could have kept him off the line." The Celtics rallied from a 10-point deficit to win 111-110 in their first trip to Miami this season. They seemed poised for a bigger comeback this time, steadily chipping away at a big Miami lead by getting it down to 11 by halftime, then four entering the fourth. And a dunk by Humphries with 3:08 left -- about a half minute after James tried a reverse dunk that rimmed out -- put the Celtics on top for the first time since the opening minutes. Thus ended Bostons offence for the evening. "Its the only way were going to be able to win games, if we defend," James said. As if playing without Dwyane Wade isnt difficult enough for Miami -- he was out for the 12th time this season -- the Heat found themselves facing a sticky situation at his position just 71 seconds after tip-off. Allen, who started in Wades spot, was called for two fouls in a span of 11 seconds. But the Heat rolled the dice and left him in until 4.3 seconds remained in the opening quarter, a move that paid off two ways. One, Allen didnt get in any deeper foul trouble. Two, Michael Beasley made those 4.3 ticks on the clock count. Without even time to work up a droplet of sweat, Beasley banked in a 35-footer at the horn of the first quarter to give Miami a 29-15 edge. And another beat-the-clock 3 -- this one by Bosh, with 2.0 seconds left and somewhat less dramatic than Beasleys -- put Miami up 51-40 at intermission. Boston used a 13-2 run to get to 42-35 late in the second. Thats when Greg Oden made his first home-court impact with the Heat. Oden -- playing in Miami for the first time since Nov. 12, 2008 -- blocked a dunk attempt by Green, then after a timeout had a follow slam of a miss by James to help snuff out the Boston rally. The Celtics just kept coming back. The Heat, though, had the final answer. "Erik sits over there and its been a long stretch for them, a hard stretch for them," Stevens said of Spoelstra. "Im sure the last 5 minutes he feels really good about what he can build on moving forward because that teams really good and they didnt even have Wade." NOTES: The Heat are 24-6 when Wade plays, 6-6 when he doesnt. ... Former Heat C Joel Anthony, who was traded to Boston last week, got a video tribute on the scoreboard and a standing ovation during the first quarter. The ovation was slightly less robust when he hit a jumper in the second quarter, though some still stood and clapped. ... James got his trophy for being Eastern Conference player of the month for December at halftime. Sadio Mane Liverpool Jersey . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend. Dominic Solanke Jersey . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Ro...verpool-Jersey/. Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. Dominic Solanke Liverpool Jersey . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards. Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool Jersey . Nine years later, he might have finally figured it out. He had only five rounds in the 60s in his previous eight trips.NEW ORLEANS - Cardale Jones came through again at the Sugar Bowl. Ezekiel Elliott ran all over mighty Alabama. And Urban Meyers quest to turn Ohio State into SEC North is one victory away from a national championship.Jones turned in another savvy performance in his second college start and Elliott ran for a Sugar Bowl-record 230 yards, leading the Buckeyes to a 42-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal Thursday night.Rallying from a 21-6 deficit, the Buckeyes (13-1) advanced to play Oregon in the Jan. 12 national championship game at Arlington, Texas. The Ducks routed defending national champion Florida State 59-20 in the other semifinal at the Rose Bowl.Jones threw for 243 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown to Devin Smith that put the Buckeyes ahead for good early in the third quarter. He also ran for 43 yards and converted a crucial third-down play with a spinning, 1-yard dive and Ohio State clinging to a 34-28 lead.On the next play, Elliott took a handoff, broke one feeble attempt at a tackle, and was gone for an 85-yard touchdown that essentially clinched the victory with 3:24 remaining.Alabama (12-2) was denied a shot at its fourth national title in six years, though the Tide didnt go down quietly.Blake Sims threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 1:59 remaining. The Buckeyes recovered the onside kick, but Alabama got it back one more time after some questionable clock management by Ohio State.The Tides final shot ended when Sims desperation heave into the end zone was intercepted by Tyvis Powell as time ran out.I feel like Im going to Disney World, a giddy Powell said.Not yet.The next stop is Jerrys World in Arlington.Meyer, who led Florida to a pair of national titles, left coaching for a year before taking over at Ohio State in 2012. He said his goal was to build the sort of Southeastern Conference powerhouse he had with the Gators, and he knew a faster, more athletic style would be needed to bring the Big Ten school up to par.Now, after just three years on the job, hes one victory away from fulfilling his ultimate goal.Were good enough, Meyer said. That was a sledgehammer game. That was a classic. So, we are good enough.Jones started fall practice as Ohio States third-string quarterback, moved up the depth chart when star Braxton Miller sustained a season-ending shoulder injury, and became the starter for the Big Ten championship game after J.T. Barrett went down with an injury.A 59-0 rout of Wisconsin showed that Jones was up to the job. His performance against Alabama gives him a chance to go down as one of the greatest replacement players in college football history.Alabama hardly looked like the defensive powerhouse that coach Nick Saban is used to ssending out, giving up 537 yards to the Buckeyes.dddddddddddd Elliott scored on a 3-yard run with 2:55 left in first half to spark the comeback, and he wound up averaging a staggering 11.5 yards on 20 carries to earn the award as the most outstanding offensive player.Hes probably the most underrated back in the United States, Meyer said.For the second year in a row, Alabamas season ended at the Sugar Bowl.This one was especially painful, costing the Tide a chance to advance in college footballs first playoff. It also means the SEC will not be part of the national title game for the first time in nine years, the surest sign that the guard is changing.Im proud of this team, Saban said. They excelled all year long and kept Alabama at the forefront of college football.But he never liked the feel of the game, even after Alabama raced to its early lead, taking advantage of a pair of turnovers and coming up with a pair of red-zone stops.We really werent stopping them. We had the momentum of the game because of the turnovers, Saban said. We did not control the football game like we usually do.Shaking off an interception, Jones led one of the biggest drives of the game at the end of the first half. He completed three straight passes for 37 yards, then broke off a 27-yard run up the middle when his receivers were covered. After a timeout with 19 seconds remaining, Ohio State pulled out a trick play — and Michael Thomas pulled off one of the most spectacular catches of the season.It started with Jones handing off receiver Jalin Marshall on an apparent end-around to the right. But Marshall flipped it to Evan Spencer coming the other way. Spencer suddenly pulled up and threw toward Thomas, who leaped up to make a twisting catch and somehow get his left foot down just inside the line for a 13-yard score that gave the Buckeyes all the momentum going into halftime.Ohio State kept right on going in the third quarter, scoring two more touchdowns to complete a stunning 28-0 spurt that pushed the Buckeyes ahead 34-21.Taking advantage of an Alabama secondary that was vulnerable at times, Jones went deep to Smith for a go-ahead touchdown that looked downright easy when the defender fell down.Sims, who had played so well after waiting four years for his chance to start at Alabama, handed Ohio State its next score by failing to recognize defensive end Steven Miller dropping into coverage on a third-down play. The pass went straight to the 255-pounder, who rumbled down the sideline with the return for a 41-yard touchdown.Sims finished 22 of 36 for 237 yards with a couple of touchdowns.Derrick Henry led the Tide on the ground with 95 yards and a score.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '