of calls go their way," Harden said. "Its tough. Clearly, it was a win Miami

Greece, Japan eye improvement - 6pm et/3pm pt (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) Natal, Brazil - Two teams hoping to rebound from tough opening-game losses will meet when Greece clashes with Japan in Group C action Thursday at Estadio das Dunas. Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. The Elephants picked up serious momentum in the second half, though, scoring in the 64th and 66th minutes to pull ahead and grab a 2-1 victory. Both teams will be looking to hang onto their hopes of pushing through to the knockout stage with a crucial three points. Greek midfielder Georgios Samaras insisted there was reason for his side to remain positive moving forward after being held without a goal. "We have more to give at this tournament, but I think we showed something today," he said. "It was a strange game. For the first five or six minutes, we didnt seem to be 100 percent in it and we conceded a bad goal. But after that, we had a lot of possession, a lot of pressure, and created some quite good chances." Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni claimed his men gave their all but were not quite cohesive enough. "We werent aggressive enough and we need to improve on that because weve been playing better than that," he said. Honda had his own take on where things went wrong, believing that Japan didnt have enough possession. "Possession, that is our strength," said Honda. "When we have the ball we just need to keep the ball and not give it away easily. When we do lose the ball we should press immediately. That is our philosophy. The last game we lost the ball too easily so that is how we spent a lot of energy in the first half, that is the point. That is why we must concentrate on keeping the ball." Given the defensive lapses that contributed heavily to these teams opening- match defeats, Greece will be looking to build on those aforementioned positives, while Japan will be hoping to stay composed for a full 90 minutes and do better on the ball. Both teams will also be hoping for a draw in the match between Colombia and Ivory Coast, the two teams looming overhead at the top of the group. Samuel Girard Avalanche Jersey . However, it wasnt a problem on Monday night. Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his 56th career shutout in the New York Islanders 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. Mikko Rantanen Jersey . Perhaps as important, shes sending a message to 17-year-old gold medal favourite Sara Takanashi of Japan. Iraschko-Stolz relegated Takanashi, who has 10 World Cup victories this season, to second place in two of three training jumps Saturday. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-john-wensink-avalanche-jersey/ . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal. Teemu Selanne Jersey . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners. Peter Forsberg Avalanche Jersey . The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. MIAMI -- Ray Allen was somewhat surprised to see how open he was. So was Dwyane Wade, who even took an extra dribble before believing his eyes and sending a 50-foot pass to the best 3-point shooter in NBA history. Moments later, the Miami Heat were back on track. Allen scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter on a milestone day for the veteran, Wade and LeBron James each added 24 points and the Heat closed with a flourish to beat the Houston Rockets 113-104 on Sunday and snap their worst stretch of results since 2011. "When Ray gets into a rhythm, hes the best 3-point shooter of all-time," said Heat forward Chris Bosh, who scored 18 points to help Miami win for just the second time in its last seven games. Miami trailed 97-92 following a 3-pointer by James Harden midway through the fourth, then finished the game on a 21-7 run. Allen had 11 points during that late stretch, including a 3-pointer that allowed him to pass Allen Iverson for 21st on the NBAs scoring list. It was also the 750th regular-season win that Allen was a part of in his career. "I dont know how I get open," said Allen, who took about 1,000 shots on a practice day Saturday by Heat coach Erik Spoelstras estimate. "When I am, I have to be ready to shoot it." Harden finished with 30 points for Houston, which got 21 points and 14 rebounds from Dwight Howard. Patrick Beverley added 15 points and Terrence Jones scored 12 for the Rockets, whove dropped three straight. "We just didnt play well down the stretch," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. And that all started when no one seemed to want to guard Allen. Houston led by five when Wade sparked the late run with a 50-foot assist after a timeout that set up a 3-pointer from the left corner by Allen. "A critical possession," Wade said. Allen also made three technical-foul free throws to help his late rhythm. One came after a defensive three-second violation, another following Houstons second delay-of-game whistle on the afternoon, and the third when Beverley was hit with a technical in the final minute. James hit a pair of free throws with 46 seconnds left for his first points of the final quarter, and that sealed it for Miami, which moved back within three games of Indiana for the No.dddddddddddd 1 spot in the Eastern Conference. Allen now has 24,370 points, two more than Iverson. Afterward, he was all about the win. "Tonight we came out and finished the game," Allen said, "as opposed to letting it slip away from us." The first surprise of the day came about 20 minutes before tip-off, when the Heat announced Greg Oden -- who appeared in his 100th career game, nearly seven years after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft -- would be starting at centre. It was the second start of the season for Oden, who also opened a game against Chicago last month in part because James was unavailable while dealing with a broken nose. Oden had three rebounds in the games first three minutes, and the Heat never trailed in the first half, going into the break with a 57-54 lead. Harden and Howard combined for 15 in the third, and Houston led 81-79 entering the final 12 minutes. "It was a couple of mental mistakes for us down the stretch and they had a couple of calls go their way," Harden said. "Its tough. Clearly, it was a win Miami needed. Wades fiancee, Gabrielle Union, was on her feet to yell and cheer midway through the fourth, and James wife, Savannah, was nearby doing the same thing, almost as if it was a playoff game. Like all other Heat fans, they finally left a game happy. "They see the way weve been acting at home in between games," James said of his wife and Wades fiancee. "We came in with a mindset that we wanted to get this win. It was good to see us have to gut one out." NOTES: Allen appeared in his 1,287th game, breaking a tie with Sam Perkins for 15th on the career list. He could pass Mark Jackson (1,296) and Elvin Hayes (1,303) later this season. ... Houstons Chandler Parsons became the 15th player to log at least 5,000 minutes over the last two seasons. ... Jeremy Lin has been on teams that have played at Miami eight times; theyre 0-8 in those games, though hes appeared in only three of those contests. ' ' '