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. Brandon Morrow Cubs Jersey . Next week, hell try to add to the list. A Stanley Cup champion as a rookie, Seguin followed that up by becoming the youngest player to lead the Boston Bruins in scoring. Carlos Zambrano Cubs Jersey . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Willson-Contreras-Kids-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- The St. Jason Heyward Jersey . The first baseman hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Mets to a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Jason Heyward Cubs Jersey . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena.MIRABEL, Quebec – Airports are traditionally used for leaving home, but Andrew Ranger is right at home at Circuit ICAR in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 competition. Ranger, from Roxton Pond, Quebec, nabbed his second pole in a row qualifying at the 2.113-mile road course on the grounds of the old Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. He is also the two-time defending winner of the Jiffy Lube 100 presented by La Petite Bretonne. After he led the 29-car field in both practice sessions earlier in the day, the two-time series titlist posted a fast lap of 95.956 seconds (79.274 mph)) during qualifying for his 14th career pole, which now has him tied with J.ddddddddddddR. Fitzpatrick for the Canadian Tire Series all-time record. Marc-Antoine Camirand qualified second at 96.029 (79.214) and will join Ranger on the front row for Sundays third race of the season. Alex Guenette was third-fastest at 96.576 (78.765). L.P. Dumoulin and Alex Labbe completed the top five while Kerry Micks, Elie Arseneau, Alex Tagliani, Gary Klutt and Jason Hathaway rounded out the top 10 Defending series champion Scott Steckly qualified 11th followed by J.R. Fitzpatrick and D.J. Kennington. ' ' '