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NEW YORK -- Paul Pierce drove his shoulder right into LeBron James, a post-season foul in a preseason game. A message to the NBA champions? "Its a message to the league," Pierce said. The Brooklyn Nets showed the defensive toughness Pierce said will be their identity, smothering the Miami Heat 86-62 on Thursday night after retiring coach Jason Kidds number. Brook Lopez scored 14 points for the Nets on a night that peaked with the pregame. Kidds No. 5 was lifted to the Barclays Center rafters during a ceremony a few minutes before the tip, honouring him for leading the franchise to its greatest NBA success. The game itself could have used the jolt Kidd provided when the Nets acquired him in 2001. Except for a few James highlights, it was typical exhibition play, with starters resting and subs misfiring for much of the night. But theres already a hint this could become a rivalry when the games do count, as Miami-Boston was before the Celtics traded Pierce and Garnett to Brooklyn. A day earlier, James noted that those two shouldnt have been so hard on Ray Allen when he opted to leave the Celtics for the Heat, since Pierce and Garnett ended up leaving themselves -- though Allen was a free agent and the pair was traded. "Tell LeBron worry about Miami," Garnett said when asked about James comments. "He has nothing to do with Celtic business." James and Chris Bosh each finished with 16 points for the Heat, who shot 32 per cent and did next to nothing in the 20 minutes James wasnt on the floor. "Weve got so many guys out, were just trying to get better and not waste an opportunity to get better," James said. "I think we did that at phases. Obviously, we dont have all our guys playing, but when guys were in the game, they played, worked hard." The Nets believe their acquisition of Pierce and Garnett, along with a number of other moves, has given them a roster that can compete with the Heat in the Eastern Conference. All that could really be told from this game was that the Nets appear to have a better back end of their bench. Miami managed just 12 points in the second quarter, when it went mostly with reserves and fell behind 44-28. Dwyane Wade sat out for the Heat and Deron Williams is still sidelined by a sprained ankle for the Nets, but the exhibition at times had a playoff feel to it thanks to the rivalry among some of the veterans. James was dribbling quickly up the floor in the first quarter and Pierce simply threw his shoulder into James for a foul that stopped the fast break. Garnett played only 10 minutes. Kidd led the Nets to consecutive NBA Finals as a player and became the sixth member of the franchise to have his number retired. A few former teammates attended the ceremony, while taped messages from Kenyon Martin, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson were shown during breaks in the game. Key reserves Allen and Chris Andersen also sat out for the Heat, while the Nets remained without Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko from their bench. The teams will meet again in Brooklyn on Nov. 1 in the Nets home opener. Cheap Minnesota Vikings Jerseys Online . Betancourt was 2-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 16 saves for the Rockies last season before tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow. He considered undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy to fix his arm, but announced in August his decision to have Tommy John surgery. Cheap Minnesota Vikings Gear . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. http://www.cheapvikings.com/. General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. Custom Vikings Jerseys . Its the second of three meetings between these teams this season. Vancouver was a 2-1 winner on home ice December 22nd. Stitched Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Derek Norris figures the only difference between starting and coming off the bench is the need to bear down a little quicker when hes asked to pinch-hit. Norris delivered a pinch-hit homer and drove in five runs, Stephen Vogt went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and the Oakland Athletics roughed up Yu Darvish again in beating the Texas Rangers 10-6 Tuesday night. "He has a knack," As manager Bob Melvin said about Norris. "Hes ready for the situation." Norris, a career .500 hitter against the Rangers, is 4 for 11 with five RBIs as a pinch-hitter. "I dont know what that means," he said. "I mean, I like starting, too." Six of the catchers eight home runs this year have come with at least two runners on base. "Five RBIs off the bench; thats something special," Norris said. "Ultimately, the credit goes to the team for getting on base. I dont get any more or less aggressive whether someone is on or no one is on. I just try to put the barrel of the bat on the ball." Tommy Milone (5-3) won his fifth consecutive decision, matching his career best, as the As won their third in four games. Milone gave up three runs and five hits over 5 2-3 innings, improving to 5-0 in his last eight starts. He walked one and struck out three. "Every game I just try to stay within myself and not do too much," Milone said. "Im trying to get those guys out and so far its been working. When were scoring runs, pitchers in general just attack the zone and throw strikes." Darvish (7-3) dropped his eighth straight to the As, and the Rangers lost for the second time in six games. "For some reason, they have really good numbers against me," Darvish said through a translator. "I just have to prepare myself for the next start." Darvish allowed seven runs -- four earned -- and eight hits over five-plus innings. He walked five and struck out eight, including Brandon Moss in the first for career strikeout No. 600. "He was out there searching, which he always does," Rangers manager Ron Washington saiid.dddddddddddd"Usually he finds something, but tonight he just didnt find it. He just couldnt find anything to get them out with." Roughned Odor homered, tripled and drove in three runs for the Rangers. Aaron Poreda, recalled from Triple-A Round Rock earlier in the day, took over for Darvish with two runners on in the sixth and got two outs before giving way to Shawn Tolleson, who gave up Norris home run. Adrian Beltre gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first with his two-out RBI single. The As scored twice in the second. Jed Lowrie, Vogt and Alberto Callaspo hit consecutive singles to open the inning. Lowrie scored on Callaspos hit, and Vogt came around to score on right fielder Alex Rios throwing error. Vogt added RBI singles in the third and fifth. Coco Crisp hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Norris hit a three-run shot, his fourth career pinch-hit homer, in the sixth. "It seems like all the catchers are producing, even when they are all in the lineup," Milone said. "Its a lot of fun right now." Odour hit a solo homer in the fifth and added a two-run triple in the seventh. Rios hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Daniel Robertson drove in a run in the seventh. Norris added a two-run double in the eighth. NOTES: Robbie Ross was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to make room for Poreda. ... The Rangers signed veteran 1B Carlos Pena to a minor league deal. ... Darvish owns a 7.59 ERA in four career starts at the Coliseum in Oakland. ... RHP Nick Tepesch (2-2, 3.94 ERA) starts for the Rangers in Wednesdays series finale. Hes won three straight over AL West opponents. RHP Sonny Gray (6-3, 2.93) goes for the As. He has lost his last two. ... As LHP Drew Pomeranz was placed on the 15-day DL with a broken right hand. He was injured when he punched the back of a chair in frustration Monday night after losing to Texas in his shortest outing of the season. ... As RHP Evan Scribner was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. Oakland also obtained LHP Brad Mills for cash in a trade with Milwaukee. 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