TORONTO -- Poor defence early and bad free-throw shooting late cost the Toronto Raptors dearly Friday night. China Jerseys NFL . Still they made a game of it against the surging Miami Heat, cutting a 20-point deficit to two before falling 90-83 to the NBA champions. It was the Heats ninth straight win. "Missed opportunities," lamented Toronto coach Dwane Casey whose team trailed 57-43 at the half. Toronto went 2 for 10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. And there were other stumbles as the clock wound down. "It was a lot of opportunities that we didnt cash in on," said Casey. LeBron James scored 27 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 as Miami hung on for the win. DeMar DeRozan had 25 and Rudy Gay 21 for Toronto (6-9), which has lost two in a row and four of its last six. The Raptors led once -- 8-7 in the first quarter. Miami led 57-43 after a half that saw Toronto shoot 37.5 per compared to the Heats 57.1 -- thanks to 30 points in the paint from the visitors. It also helped that the Heat made 6-of-12 three-pointers in the first half while Toronto was good on only 4 of 17. Toronto, down by 20 in the third and trailing 78-70 going into the final quarter, made it close with its late rally but Miami survived a frenetic fourth that saw desperate defence from both sides. Wade saw the win as a confidence- and character-builder, a game "where everything is going great for you and then it doesnt." "How can you hold on, how can you figure out a way through all the adversity to continue to believe in the game plan and find a way to win?" The Heat (13-3) has lost just once in 13 outings since opening the season at 1-2. Miamis mastery over the Raptors now stands at 13 straight games. Torontos last win against the Heat was a 111-103 decision on Jan. 27, 2010, at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors current all-time losing streaks against an opponent are the Bulls (15), Suns (14) and Heat and Pacers (13). Wade and James combined to score the first 13 points-- and 15 of the first 17 -- for Miami in the second half as the Heat stretched its lead. But Torontos DeRozan and Gay gradually chipped away at the lead, cutting it to eight as the third quarter ended. Toronto outscored Miami 27-21 in the third and 13-12 in the fourth. James synopsis of the game was simple. "We made our run and then they made theirs. At that point, its how you counter that. For us as a veteran ball club, its going to happen. We would have loved to push that huge lead up in the third, just keep it going. But theyve got some good players. They got stops, we turned the ball over, we didnt execute and they got back into the game. But we finished it up." And Toronto failed to take advantage at the free-throw line. James was nursing a sore finger, back and leg by the end of the night. "I got pretty banged up today. Im glad we got a day off (Saturday), I can try to get back in order." Baskets were hard to come by as the fourth quarter began with Chris (Birdman) Andersen flying though the air to block a DeRozan shot. A Kyle Lowry three-pointer made it 80-75 as Miami went cold. James returned to the fray but Toronto kept coming with a DeRozan jump shot cutting the lead to 83-79. A Gay layup reduced the deficit to two, at 83-81 with 4:22 remaining. Former Raptor Chris Bosh fouled out with 1:37 remaining with four points, five rebounds and one assist. Wade and James combined to score the first 13 points-- and 15 of the first 17 -- for Miami in the second half before Toronto launched its run. Casey saw positives in the loss "The way we played the second half, and I told the team in there, shows we can play with anybody. Thats the best team in the league and they were throwing their best haymakers down the stretch. "But theres two halves. We cant play one half and expect to beat anybody." Heat coach Erik Spoelstra hinted his team was frustrated at the officiating in the second half. "But we gathered ourselves the last two and a half minutes and played through it and were able to execute and come away with the win." "Clearly we were a different team once we were up 20 from where we were going down the stretch the last 10-12 minutes," Spoelstra added. "Thats something we constantly have to work at. Stay on edge. Most of it is mental, most of it with us and thats the challenge." Fridays game featured an unlikely matchup of division winners, with two-time defending champion Miami leading the Southeast and Toronto topping the less-competitive Atlantic. Miami led by as much as nine in the first quarter but Toronto, showing some muscle under the basket, closed the gap to two before Miami responded. The Heat led 27-22 after a quarter that saw the two teams combine for 12 turnovers. Bosh was booed during introductions but quieted the crowd with an early dunk. Wade dipped into his bag of tricks several times early on. DeRozan had Torontos first six points. James didnt try a shot until almost six minutes into the game but it was worth the wait -- a reverse slam dunk from a long pass from Wade that had the crowd gurgling while giving Miami a 16-8 lead. Even when the Heat failed, as during a 24-second violation in the first quarter, they entertained with their ball movement. A 7-0 run early in the second quarter and some flashy baskets from Wade padded the Miami lead to 13 with James on the bench. James returned in style midway through the quarter, with an ally-oop from Bosh for his second bucket. He then made a three-pointer and came up limping after being fouled by Tyler Hansbrough, making one of two subsequent free throws. James celebrated another ally-oop, this time from a Ray Allen feed, after a dazzling DeRozan run at the basket just kissed. The highlight-reel play put James into double figures for the 511th straight game. The Raptors conclude their four-game homestand Sunday against Denver, Toronto GM Masai Ujiris former team. Wholesale Jerseys Outlet . It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak. Cheap NFL Jerseys . The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before. http://www.jerseysnflcheap.us/ . It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will forgo his senior season with the No. 18 Cardinals and enter the NFL draft. Projected as a first-round selection and possibly the first QB taken this spring, Bridgewater completed 71 per cent of passes for 3,970 yards and a school-record 31 touchdowns this season, including a career-best 447 yards with three TDs in Saturdays 36-9 rout of Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Bridgewater said in a release that the decision "was extremely difficult," but added that attending Louisville "was one of the best decisions I could have ever made." With Bridgewater starting, the Cardinals won 27 games and tied a school record with this years 12-1 finish. Despite some lacklustre efforts following a loss to Central Florida, Louisville entered the bowl game with the nations 18th-ranked passing game at nearly 303 yards per game and 34th in total offence at 453.1. Bridgewaters career highlight was last years 33-23 Sugar Bowl upset of Florida in which the 6-foot-3, 196-pound Miami native earned MVP honours after passing for 266 yards and two TDs. His decision wasnt surprising considering he began the season as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate before those prospects dropped with the October loss to UCF that also ended the Cardinals chances of winning the inaugural American Athletic Conference championship. Howeveer, Bridgewaters pro stock remained steady and even gained steam down the stretch after he rallied Louisville past Cincinnati with a gutsy 14-yard scramble on fourth-and-12 and an off-balance 22-yard TD pass to Damian Copeland in the fourth quarter. NFL Jerseys USA. The Cardinals won 31-24 in overtime to clinch the Russell Athletic bowl bid. Bridgewater consistently remained coy about his future, even after leading the Cardinals to their second consecutive bowl win. Late in the season, Louisville coach Charlie Strong even suggested the possibility that his star quarterback might return for his final year. But after talking with his family and Louisvilles coaching staff, Bridgewater chose the option that was long expected. He leaves as Louisvilles No. 3 career passer with 9,817 yards and 72 TDs against 24 interceptions. His 68.3 per cent completion rate is a school record. "These past three years have allowed me to mature as a person and leave the university as better person and with my degree in hand, which was one of my goals," Bridgewater said in the statement. "I will cherish every moment on the field and off the field, and every bond that I built. I will forever represent the university with the utmost pride and respect." Waiting in the wings to succeed Bridgewater are redshirt freshman Will Gardner, freshman Kyle Bolin, and junior Brett Nelson. ' ' '