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25	December 2019

ong afterward and just like that, the lead was up to 8

(SportsNetwork. Sabres Jerseys 2021 .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Watch the Kings vs. Maple Leafs live tonight on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto hopes to rebound after having a three-game winning streak halted in its last outing. The Maple Leafs were pounded 6-2 by the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, losing one night after beginning a five-game road trip with a 3-1 win in Anaheim. Jake Gardiner registered both Toronto tallies in Tuesdays loss, while James Reimer allowed all six goals on 48 shots for the Leafs. "I thought we did a lot of things that gave them a lot of opportunities, specifically turning the puck over," said Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle. Toronto, which fell to 13-13-7 as the road club this season, is still in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are one point ahead of Montreal and three in front of fourth-place Tampa Bay. L.A. has won two straight and three of the last four meetings against the Maple Leafs overall, but Toronto has claimed the past two encounters at Staples Center. The Kings have won eight games in a row and seven of those victories have come after the Olympic break. The time off in February apparently was productive for Los Angeles, which had dropped nine of 11 games before the league went on hiatus for the Sochi Olympics. Another victory tonight would give L.A. its first nine-game winning streak since Jan. 21-Feb. 6, 2010, but a former teammate could prevent that from happening as Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier gets set to make his return to the Staples Center. Bernier, who served primarily as Jonathan Quicks backup during his time with the Kings, was dealt to Toronto last summer in exchange for forward Matt Frattin, goaltender Ben Scrivens and a second-round draft pick. Frattin and Scrivens have since been traded by L.A., while Bernier is having a terrific debut season with the Leafs, going 25-16-7 with a 2.59 goals against average and .926 save percentage in 49 games. Originally a first-round pick of Los Angeles in the 2006 draft, Bernier had a 29-20-6 career record with six shutouts and a 2.36 GAA in 62 games with the Kings. He expects to get the start tonight and has a chance to end the Kings recent hot streak. Thanks to the recent surge, the Kings are sitting comfortably in third place in the Pacific Division, nine points ahead of Phoenix for the last of the divisions three automatic bids to the playoffs. L.A. is still nine points behind San Jose for second place and 11 points behind Anaheim for the top spot. The Kings are back home on Thursday after a perfect three-game road trip. Los Angeles is beginning a five-game homestand tonight and is 19-10-3 at Staples Center this season. The club capped its recent swing with Mondays 3-2 regulation win at Calgary. Anze Kopitar scored the eventual winner in the third period as Los Angeles survived a late push from the Flames to pick up the win at the Saddledome. Trevor Lewis and Justin Williams scored for the Kings, while Martin Jones made 24 saves in the win. "Good way to finish off the trip. We did what we wanted," said Los Angeles head coach Darryl Sutter. "If you score three on the road you should win the hockey game." Quick expects to get the start for L.A. on Thursday. The Kings No. 1 backstop is 2-1-0 with a 2.62 goals against average and .910 save percentage in three career games against the Maple Leafs. Kings forward Jordan Nolan is eligible to return tonight after sitting out the last game due to a suspension. Nolan earned the one-game ban for a sucker punch on Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu on Sunday. Wholesale Sabres Jerseys . The Jays responded to the three-spot Detroit placed on Casey Janssen the evening before with an attack on the Tigers Achilles Heel, its bullpen, tying the game in the ninth and winning the game in the 10th. The result absolved Marcus Stroman, brilliant once again, of a tough luck loss while at the same time robbing Max Scherzer, brilliant once again, of a deserved win. Buffalo Sabres Pro Shop . - In about six minutes, the Memphis Grizzlies had allowed their 23-point lead to be cut to seven. https://www.cheapsabres.com/ . The Philadelphia left fielder clubbed a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Phillies edged the Red Sox, 2-1, in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park.MIAMI -- Best player. Best game of his career. LeBron James clearly isnt ready to concede his MVP award to anyone yet. Dazzling from inside and out, James put on the best scoring show of his NBA life Monday night, pouring in 61 points -- a career high and franchise record -- as the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats 124-107. It was the eighth straight win for the two-time defending champions, who are starting to roll as the playoffs get near. James made 22 of 33 shots from the field, including his first eight three-point attempts. "The man above has given me some unbelievable abilities to play the game of basketball," James said. "I just try to take advantage of it every night. I got the trust of my teammates and my coaching staff to go in there and let it go." His career best had been 56 points, on March 20, 2005, for Cleveland against Toronto. Glen Rice scored 56 to set the Heat record on April 15, 1995, against Orlando. James had 24 points at halftime, then added 25 in the third quarter. The record-breaker came with 5:46 left, when James spun through three defenders for a layup that fell as he tumbled to the court. "There was an efficiency to what he was doing," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The rim looked like an ocean for him." Spoelstra walked into his postgame news conference with a confession: He nearly took James out after the third quarter. Good thing he thought better of that plan. "He was in a great groove, obviously," Spoelstra said. Al Jefferson had 38 points and 19 rebounds for the Bobcats, his huge night merely an afterthought. This was all about LeBron. "You take away his 61 points," Jefferson said, "and we still had a fighting chance there at the end." Yes, even the Bobcats were marveling at James. He was hitting from everywhere, even a pull-up three-pointer from about 30 feet -- Spoelstra joked it was from 40 -- late in the third quarter, as the crowd roared and the Heat bench jumped with joy. "Yeah, that was a designed play," Spoelstra deadpanned. "Weve been working on that one for a while." That was the moment, James said, when he knew he was in the midst of a special night. "I felt pretty good in the first half but halftime can always kind of derail things and slow things up," James said. "But I was able to get things going once again in the third quarter and I knew it could be one of those nights." Not "one of those nights." Even for James, this was like no other. Most points in a game. Most field goals in a game. Most points in any quarter in Heat history, with the 25 in the third. Most points in the second half, 37, by any Heat player ever. "Once he sniffed 60, we knew he was going for it," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "And the amazing part is the efficiency. Good Lord. Sixty-one on 33 shots, thats Wilt Chamberlain-esque. Thats pretty amazing. Incredible performance." When James checked out with 1:24 left, the enttire Heat roster met him near midcourt for high-fives and hugs, and the sellout crowd gave him a standing ovation. Sabres Jerseys 2020. A second huge roar followed when he waved to the crowd, as "M-V-P" chants rained down. Charlotte has allowed the two biggest single-game scoring totals in the NBA this season. Carmelo Anthony had 62 points for the New York Knicks against the Bobcats on Jan. 24. Chris Bosh scored 15 for the Heat, and Toney Douglas added 10. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Anthony Tolliver each scored 12 for Charlotte. "If hes going to shoot the ball like that from that range, theres nobody thats going to beat them," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. Miami was without guard Dwyane Wade, who got a night off to rest. Spoelstra stressed theres been no setback for Wade, who has been on a knee-maintenance program throughout this season and is averaging 23.5 points on 62 per cent shooting since the All-Star break. Wade probably didnt mind sitting for this one. It gave him a courtside seat for the show. James scored 11 in the first quarter, after which Miami led by three, and added 13 more in the second. His 24-point first half was the highest-scoring opening 24 minutes for the four-time MVP in nearly a year, helping stake the Heat to a 60-54 lead at the break. Jefferson was up to 26 at that point. He didnt cool off much after halftime, either. It just didnt matter. James, said Clifford, "was phenomenal." There was no way Jefferson or anyone else was keeping up with James, who had to listen to critics in recent weeks say that Kevin Durants scoring for Oklahoma City this season shifted the balance of MVP power. Not so fast. "Every night I go on the floor I want to be the MVP, of this league, MVP of this team, MVP for me, myself and my family," James said. "Ive set a high standard and I have to live by that." James made three three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the quarter -- he was 6 for 6 from beyond the arc at that point -- and when Charlotte bit on his head fake from the top of the key, James coolly found Douglas to set up another 3. A tip-in by James followed not long afterward and just like that, the lead was up to 83-63. Charlotte scored the next six points, but any notion that the game was slipping from Miamis control was quickly extinguished. James scored the next six himself, a pair of three-point plays to restore the 20-point edge and give him 43 points, already a season high. All that was left to see was what hed finish with. The answer was history. "I was happy I was able to make a few plays to help us win," James said. NOTES: Spoelstra won the Eastern Conference coach of the month award for February. Houstons Kevin McHale won in the Western Conference, and the Rockets host to Miami on Tuesday night. ... The Heat improved to 10-6 when Wade doesnt play. Theyre 33-8 when he does. ... Kemba Walker had eight assists for Charlotte. ... The Heat were 16 for 28 from beyond the arc. ' ' '