pside beyond that if he can make a smooth transition. Lehtera is signed for two years, at a total cost of $5.5-million, a very r

ATLANTA - Jeff Teague says he never doubted the Atlanta Hawks would be in the playoffs. Jose Reyes Rockies Jersey . Even with Al Horfords season-ending injury in December and a 1-14 stretch in February and March, the Hawks made the Eastern Conference field with two games remaining. "Im happy for all the guys," Teague said. "We worked so hard all year. Injuries and everything that can happen to a team happened. We were able to still make it to the playoffs." Teague scored 25 points, Lou Williams had 18 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Hawks earned the Easts final playoff spot with a 98-85 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday night. Atlantas third straight victory eliminated the New York Knicks from playoff contention. Williams scored the Hawks last 12 points. LeBron James finished with 27 points and Dwyane Wade, in his first game since missing nine straight with a sore left hamstring, scored 24 for Miami. The two-time defending champion Heat, who have lost three of four, gave up the ground they gained in the standings Friday by beating Indiana at home and taking a one-half game lead over the Pacers. Miami and Indiana are now tied atop the Eastern Conference with 54-26 records. The Heats 85 points were their third-fewest this season. "Its not finished," James said. "I see the standings. Theres a couple games left and the seeding is changing every day." James and Chris Bosh returned to the floor with 6:42 remaining and Miami trailing 81-72, but DeMarre Carroll stole the ball from Bosh and Mike Scotts fastbreak dunk put Atlanta ahead by 11 with 6:09 remaining. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called timeout to settle down his team, but James missed a jumper and Teague hit a free throw to make it 84-72. James hit a 3 two possessions later, but Teague drove to the rim again for an 11-point lead, and Miami never got closer than eight the rest of the way. Wade finished the first half with 16 points, going 7 for 7 from the field in just 11 minutes. He began the third quarter with an offensive foul, a missed jumper and hit one of two free throws, but he finished strong before sitting out the final 5:46 to rest. "It was good, better than I can envision," Wade said. "When youre out so long, youre just thinking of getting your wind back. I think the best thing that happened was the first play of the game, getting that block and then LeBron kind of holding up and letting me get the first dunk. From there, I kind of was into the game." The Hawks never trailed after Teagues 12-footer made it 53-51 early in the third. Carroll finished with 17 points, and Paul Millsap added 11. Scott scored 12 points in a reserve role, joining Williams to help Atlantas bench outscore Miamis 35-8. Bosh finished with 11 points. "Needless to say that was a tough second half," Spoelstra said. "We couldnt get it going on either side of the court. Its disappointing to have this type of performance on the road." Miami visits Washington on Monday and end the regular season at home Wednesday against Philadelphia. The Pacers host Oklahoma City on Sunday and visit Orlando on Wednesday to close the regular season. Atlanta hosts Charlotte on Monday and visits Milwaukee on Wednesday. As the No. 8 seed, the Hawks will play either Miami or Indiana in the first round of the playoffs. "Im happy that we get to play more games and I get to talk more about improving and getting better each practice," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We want to build something here. Miami has been in the Finals for three years in a row. There are a lot of teams that have had a lot of success. It takes time to build your habits." NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game following the death Friday of Lou Hudson, the six-time All-Star with the Hawks who retired in 1979 and still ranks as the franchises third-leading scorer. ... The Hawks are wearing a black stripe on their uniform to acknowledge Hudsons passing. ... The Heat dropped to 22-18 on the road. ... The Hawks improved to 24-16 at home. ... Atlanta is in the playoffs for the seventh straight year, longest active streak in the East. Jorge De La Rosa Rockies Jersey .com) - It appears both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls will reach the playoffs, but the two squads are coming off losing efforts. Trevor Story Rockies Jersey .C. -- The shot that would have beaten No. http://www.baseballrockiesproshop.com/ian-desmond-rockies-jersey/ . "That was a great lift for the staff," Padres manager Bud Black said. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Chase Headley drove in three runs, as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Friday night.The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues all augmented their free agent classes by signing some European free agents. Numbers Game examines the signings of Petri Kontiola, Leo Komarov, Jiri Sekac and Jori Lehtera. The Maple Leafs Sign: C Petri Kontiola and LW Leo Komarov. Komarov is a familiar face for the Maple Leafs, a 27-year-old winger who was a regular in the Leafs lineup in 2012-2013 before returning to the KHL for a nice payday last season. Komarov had a strong year in the KHL, with Moscow Dynamo, leading the team with 34 points in 52 games, and he played for Finland in both the Olympics and the World Championships. Komarov didnt score much in his first go-round with the Leafs, tallying nine points in 42 games, but there may be more offence to his game than that. Usage would play a big part in whether or not Komarov is ever a factor offensively, but hes being brought back to Toronto more for his attitude than production. Komarov is a relentless pest, who hits a lot and gets under opponents skin. To his credit, he did have solid relative possession stats for the Leafs a couple of years ago. Heres the issue with Komarov, though. If he is capable of contributing offensively, and could fill a top-nine role, then it could justify the four-year, $11.8-million contract he received. If hes the same energetic fourth-liner that he was a couple of years ago -- a distinct possibility -- then hes vastly overpaid. Kontiola is a 29-year-old who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004 and played a dozen games with the Blackhawks in 2007-2008, registering five assists and, in that small sample, putting up great possession stats. In two AHL seasons, Kontiola scored 140 points in 159 (regular season plus playoff) games, before heading to the KHL, where he has scored 152 points in 204 games over the past four seasons, the last three with Chelyabinsk Traktor. He had 14 points in 16 games playing for Finland at the Olympics and in the World Championships. With that track record, its possible that Kontiola could contribute some offence for the Maple Leafs but, as a 29-year-old who has barely seen NHL action, he could also be a spare part. The good news is that, signed to a contract for $1.1-million for one season, hes a low-risk investment. If he wins a spot in the lineup and contributes, they can work on an extension; if he doesnt, no big deal. The Canadiens Sign: RW Jiri Sekac. 22-year-old Jiri Sekac was suddenly a hot name on the free agent market this spring after a nice season in the KHL, scoring 11 goals and 28 pointss in 47 games for Prague Lev, leading his team in points per game (0. Todd Helton Jersey. .60). As a junior, Sekac played a little in North America, earning zero points in eight games with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL as a 17-year-old before joining Youngstown of the USHL, where he scored 56 points in 96 games. Understandably, with that production, he wasnt considered a hot NHL prospect and went to the KHL, where he scored 21 points in 83 games over two seasons before breaking out last season. Signed for two years, at an entry-level of max of $925,000 per season (plus bonuses), Sekac is rapidly-improving and his potential drew lots of interest throughout the league, but it would be premature -- considering hes had basically one productive scoring season in three years -- to put big expectations on his scoring significantly for Montreal next season. However, if Sekac found a spot in Montreals top nine, maybe he could contribute some offence as a rookie. The Blues Sign: C Jori Lehtera. Lehtera, 26, was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2008 and has played all of 14 (regular season plus playoff games) in North America since, managing three points with Peoria in the 2008-2009 season. Since then, however, Lehtera has been very productive as a playmaking centre. In the past three seasons, playing for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL, Lehtera has tallied 39 goals and 118 points in 125 games (with zero goals and eight points in 13 playoff games). The 6-foot-2 centre had 12 points in 10 games at the World Championships this year, as well as four points in six games at the Olympics, not looking the least bit out of place against high-level competition. Coming to North America may require some adjustment, but Lehtera is going to have an opportunity to put up points right out of the game, slated to skate on the Blues second line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko on his wings. With quality playing time on a strong team, Lehtera could make an impact right away. 50 points seems a reasonable expectation, but theres upside beyond that if he can make a smooth transition. Lehtera is signed for two years, at a total cost of $5.5-million, a very reasonable price if he ends up fulfilling a top-six role for the Blues. His presence, along with Paul Stastny, allows the Blues to move David Backes and Patrik Berglund to the wing, giving the team outstanding depth up front. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Jerseys Store Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Camo China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Authentic Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '