CLEVELAND -- As shot after shot dropped through the net, it became clear LeBron James was going to have one of those special nights. The kind he has every so often. The kind he has when Dwyane Wade sits. James scored 43 points -- 25 in a bewildering first-quarter shooting display -- and Chris Bosh added 21, leading the Miami Heat to a 100-96 win Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played their first game without injured All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. With Wade out resting his sore knees, James took it upon himself to carry the Heat. The same thing happened on March 3 and James responded by scoring a career-high 61 against Charlotte. "I dont know, its one of those zones," James said, trying to explain how he made 10 of 11 shot and five 3-pointers in the dizzying opening quarter. "When I started the game off, I felt like I could have gone for 50 or 60." James added two crucial blocks and dropped six free throws in the final two minutes, and Bosh had a key rejection to lead the Heat to just their third win in eight games. With Wade out, the Heats two other megastars picked up the slack. Jarrett Jack scored 22 and Dion Waiters added 17 and 11 assists for Cleveland, which was also without starting forward Luol Deng (sprained ankle). Irvings expected to miss two weeks with a strained biceps tendon, an injury that further damages the Cavs fading playoff hopes. Cleveland fell six games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot. "Our guys hung in there and they competed," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. After one quarter, it was: James 25, Cavs 25. And like the other 20,000 plus in attendance, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra marveled at James accuracy. "That had nothing to do with me," Spoelstra said. "Truth be told, its not like Im absolutely in love with those type of plays, but he had it rolling. So I took a step back for a little bit." The four-time MVP had 31 points at halftime and 37 after three quarters, but the Heat entered the final 12 minutes tied as they were unable to shake off the Cavs, who shot 60 per cent from the floor through three and had all five starters in double figures. With James content to distribute the ball, Bosh scored nine straight points to put Miami ahead 93-88 with 2:24 remaining. Cleveland cut it to three on a basket by Anderson Varejao and had a chance to get closer but James -- with an assist from Udonis Haslem -- snuffed a dunk attempt by Spencer Hawes. Just 11 seconds later, Bosh turned away Waiters and James made a pair of free throws to make it 95-90 with 1:06 remaining. After empty possessions by both teams, James blocked a drive by Waiters and Bosh split a pair of free throws, giving the Heat a 96-90 lead. Jack made two 3-pointers in the final 15.7 seconds, but both times James answered by hitting two free throws to close it out. Spoelstra was most pleased with Miamis defence down the stretch. "Probably my favourite play was the double block," he said. "U.D. and L.J. going for that. It should be a layup. It should be a dunk. To make that play, those are the things I like to see." James improved to 13-1 against the Cavaliers, the team he left after seven seasons as a free agent in 2010. James made his first six shots -- four of them 3s -- and showed most of his offensive repertoire in the first quarter. He hit fadeaways, runners and a thunderous breakaway dunk. The only shot James missed came on a "heat-check" 3-pointer from way beyond the arc. "Thats what makes LeBron unique in this league," Spoelstra said. "In todays age, there are players who would be looking for numbers with that type of start to see if you can go for 70. LeBrons just trying to play the game the right way. It takes great maturity. Hes selfless." It was James second visit to Cleveland in 10 days. He had been back on March 8, when former teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas had his jersey retired by the Cavs, who may one day raise the No. 23 James wore to the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena. Much pregame hype focused on the All-Stars future. James can opt out of his contract with Miami this summer and become a free agent, and one of his possible destinations could be Cleveland. Asked directly if he wants to play for his former team again, James was noncommittal. "As of right now, its too hard for me to think about," he said. "We have 20 or less games before we gear up for no sleep for two months, hopefully. So for me to try and take my mind somewhere else when I know whats on its way is almost impossible." NOTES: Wade will be re-evaluated Wednesday when the Heat visit Boston. ... James has yet to fill out his NCAA tournament brackets and didnt seem to be in a hurry to do it anytime soon. "Im terrible," he said. He was then reminded about the $1 billion Gilbert and tycoon Warren Buffett are offering for anyone who picks the games perfectly. Doesnt he want the billion? "No," James said. "Im just going to ask him for it." Its unclear whether he meant Gilbert or Buffett. ... Spoelstra intends to keep C Greg Oden in the starting lineup, a drastic change for Miami, which has favoured smaller, shooter-heavy lineups. Oden made his third start and finished with six points in 14 minutes. Wholesale Shoes Authentic . -- Sonny Grays fastball wasnt as sharp as it usually is, and the Oakland Athletics young pitcher even had a quirky replay go against him. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. https://www.wholesaleshoesusa.com/. With a win tonight, Buehrle will match Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors with 11. Buehrle is 10-4 with a 2.32 earned run average, but has lost his last three starts, including a 7-3 setback at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135. Fake Shoes 2020 . The Bulls seem to be getting along fine without him. D.J. Augustin scored 27 points in a start for Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson matched a career high with 26 filling in for Carlos Boozer as the Bulls improved to 7-2 since trading the popular Deng with a 98-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. OTTAWA -- Derek Stepan felt like he shed a huge weight Saturday afternoon. The New York Rangers centre had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators ending a 13-game goal-scoring drought. Stepans last goal was Dec. 20th. "Its a big relief," admitted Stepan. "I dont know for whatever reason throughout the year you go through these little dips and gullys and you have to find a way to just get through it. Its like the old saying of getting a monkey off your back." While the goal will definitely help Stepan feel better about his game, he said picking up the two assists were just as important. "It definitely helps with confidence," said Stepan. "Confidence is a tricky thing in this sport. When you seem to find a little bit of it you have to try and build off that momentum." Winners of five of their last six and holding a playoff spot have the Rangers feeling good about their game and they want to continue to improve. "Weve been talking about it as a group that points for the rest of the year are huge," said Stepan. "This one was no different." Brad Richards, Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Rangers (26-21-3). Cam Talbot was solid in goal stopping 27 shots for his 10th win of the season. Marc Methot scored the lone goal for Ottawa (21-19-9) as Craig Anderson stopped 26 shots. The loss put an end to the Senators eight-game (6-0-2) point streak. Ottawa is 1-4-2 on home ice when having to play midday. This one was no different. The last time the Senators won at home in the afternoon was Nov. 9 against the Florida Panthers, which also happens to be the last time they held a playoff spot. "I dont know what it is," said Clarke MacArthur. "To even talk about it is just an excuse. We have to be ready. The other teams come in here ready at two so we have to find a way to be better." Giveaways proved to be extremely costly for Ottawa as the Rangers scored twice on two terrible ones. "It happens to all of us once in a while," said Marc Methot of the giveaways. "Unfortunately it happened a few times (Saturday)." Zuccarello took advantage of a giveaway by Chris Philllips near centre ice and broke in alone on Anderson.dddddddddddd He caught Anderson out of position to make it 4-1 New York late in the third. While the Senators were managing to hold on during the game despite their sluggish play a late goal in the second proved to be the back breaker. With 11.5 seconds remaining Erik Karlsson went to pass the puck back behind his own net but put it directly on Stepans stick. Stepan beat Anderson shortside to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead and disappoint the 19,978 on hand at Canadian Tire Centre. "It was a momentum swing for sure," said Ottawas coach Paul MacLean of giving up the late goal. "Instead of getting out of the period down one, youre down two. It gives momentum to the other team going into the room and now you have to work even harder coming out of the room to start the period to get something going." MacLean said he didnt feel any need to talk to Karlsson as a mistake that blatant is sure to have an effect on any player. Earlier in the period Nash picked up his 12th of the season, as he broke in alone on Anderson and roofed the puck high. "It was a great play by Stepan," said Nash. "The puck rolled on me a bit, but youll take them any way you can get them." Ottawa had gotten off to a decent start with Methot scoring his fourth, tying a career high, to take a 1-0 lead, but midway through the period the Rangers tied it with a power-play goal. With a two-man advantage Stepan made a cross-crease pass to Richards who went high on a kneeling Anderson. "We started the game well and set ourselves up for a good hockey game," said Karlsson. "We just couldnt pull through for 60 minutes. We were a little bit too sloppy with the puck making plays." Saturdays game marked the first of three meetings between the two teams this season. Ottawa had claimed five straight overall against New York in the regular-season series, including the last three in Ottawa. Notes: D Patrick Wiercioch, D Joe Corvo and LW Matt Kassian were a healthy scratch for the Senators. RW Chris Neil returned to the lineup after missing the last six games with a lower-body injury. ... D Justin Falk was a healthy scratch for the Rangers. ' ' '