TORONTO -- Poor defence early and bad free-throw shooting late cost the Toronto Raptors dearly Friday night. 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. Rockies Jerseys 2020 .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. Colorado Rockies Shirts . With a win tonight, Buehrle will match Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors with 11. Buehrle is 10-4 with a 2.32 earned run average, but has lost his last three starts, including a 7-3 setback at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Custom Colorado Rockies Jerseys . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. Colorado Rockies Pro Shop . Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.WASHINGTON -- Right-handed starter Jordan Zimmermanns $24 million, two-year contract and shortstop Ian Desmonds $17.5 million, two-year deal were among a half-dozen agreements reached by the Washington Nationals on Friday to avoid arbitration. Zimmermann and Desmond are two homegrown cornerstones of the Nationals, who essentially bought out both players last two arbitration years. And both deals are worth much more in the second season: Zimmermann will make $7.5 million in 2014, then $16.5 million in 2015; Desmond gets $6.5 million in 2014, then $11 million in 2015. Other players agreeing to contracts with the Nationals, all for just 2014, included former closer Drew Storen, catcher Wilson Ramos and lefties Jerry Blevins and Ross Detwiler. Storen got a base salary of $3.45 million, with a chance to earn $1 million in performance bonuses based on the number of games he finishes. Ramos deal is worth $2.095 million, Blevins is worth $1.675 million, and Detwilers is worth $3 million. Two other Nationals players submitted salary arbitration figures: right-handed starter Doug Fister, who was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in a trade this off-season, and right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard. Fister, who made $4,075,000 while going 14-9 with a 3.67 ERA over 208 2-3 innings last season, assked that his salary more than double to $8.dddddddddddd5 million, while the Nationals offered $5.75 million. Clippard asked for a raise to $6.35 million from $4 million; the team offered $4.45 million. Clippard was 6-3 with a 2.41 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 71 innings in 2013. Zimmermann went 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA over 213 1-3 innings last season for the Nationals, who went 86-76 and finished second in the NL East, failing to reach the playoffs. Desmond hit .280 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs in 2013, along with a career-best .971 fielding percentage. He was an NL All-Star in 2012, when he hit 25 homers and helped Washington win its division. Ramos hit .272 with 16 homers in only 287 at-bats, missing time because of leg injuries. Storen was 4-2 with three saves and a 4.52 ERA in 61 2-3 innings in 2013, when he also was sent to Triple-A Syracuse in July for a brief stint in the minors. He had 43 saves in 2011, missed the first part of 2012 because of right elbow surgery, then switched to a setup role last season after Washington signed Rafael Soriano. Detwiler was 2-7 with a 4.04 ERA in 2013, splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. Washington got Blevins from the Oakland Athletics in a trade last month. He was 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA in a career-high 67 games in 2013. ' ' '