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. 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. Odell Beckham Jr Jersey . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. David Njoku Jersey . Arsenal had already scored its goals in the third round fixture when the fierce rivalry turned ugly in the final ten minutes as Walcott was being carried off on a stretcher. http://www.officialclevelandbrownspro.com/ . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. Baker Mayfield Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers. Nick Chubb Jersey . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire.DETROIT - Three times he went to the playoffs with Pittsburgh, once with Florida when he won the World Series and this is the fourth time to the postseason managing the Tigers. Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. "We had a very good rotation in Florida in 97 when we were fortunate enough to win the World Series but it wasnt as good as this one," said Leyland. "This is the best that Ive had. Im not talking about other teams, other organizations, but for me, yes, its the best postseason starting rotation Ive ever had." It could be that Leyland recalls fondly the guys he had on that Marlins team. That starting staff, which prominently featured the likes of Kevin Brown, Alex Fernandez, Al Leiter, Tony Saunders and the emergence of then-rookie Livan Hernandez, pitched to a 3.76 ERA for the regular season as the Marlins won 92 games and the National League wild card. In the postseason, however, Florida didnt win the World Series on the strength of its rotation. The group combined to allow 56 earned runs over 93 1/3 innings for a 5.40 ERA. What that rotation was able to do was work deep into games despite giving up runs. Brown and Hernandez each had a complete game in the NLCS against the Braves and on nine occasions in the playoffs Leylands starter pitched at least six innings. Compare the numbers of Leylands 1997 playoff rotation to those of his 2013 Tigers and its an understatement to suggest his staff is the best hes had.dddddddddddd Detroits starters have allowed 13 earned runs in 59 2/3 innings over nine playoff games so far. Thats a 1.96 ERA. Only Sanchez, in Game 3 of the ALDS against Oakland, has failed to pitch at least six innings. In the ALCS against Boston alone, Tigers pitchers have struck out 53 Red Sox hitters, allowing three runs on 14 hits. Yet the series is tied, 2-2. Blame the Tigers bullpen, or credit David Ortiz depending on your perspective, for Bostons Game 2 comeback and offer a tip of the cap to John Lackey for working pitch for pitch with Verlander in Game 3. The Tigers rotation is on a potentially historic playoff pace and it still may not be enough to vault the club into its second consecutive World Series and third in eight years. "Just how things go this time of year," said Scherzer. "This is postseason. This is what happens when the two best teams face each other. Youre going to face a battle. Series is going to be tied." Sanchez and the Red Sox Jon Lester are set to square off in Game 5. There is no mathematical must-win for either team but the starting pitching, for what its been worth, leans in favour of the Tigers. Lose Game 5 and the Red Sox, despite being home, face the prospect of having to beat Scherzer and Verlander in back to back games on Saturday and Sunday. 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