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Sports 1B Wednesday March 3, 2010 Wednesday NBA — Warriors at Magic, 4 p.m., CSNBA NBA — Kings at Rockets, 5:30 p.m., CSNCA NCAA — Connecticut at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ESPN NCAA — Duke at Maryland, 6 p.m., ESPN NCAA — Oklahoma State at Texas A&M, 6 p.m., ESPN2 Soccer — United States at Netherlands, 11:30 a.m., ESPN2 Little League Opening Night The Red Bluff Little League will host its annual sea- son opening ceremony on Friday, March 12. This year the event will be held at night, without the festivities scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Jackson Heights Little League facility. The ceremony will start at 6:30 p.m. and is for all boys and girls playing in Little League. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be served. The first games of the season are slated to start the following day, Saturday, March 13. The public is invited. North Valley Rapids info The North Valley Rapids ASA competition softball 14-and-under team will hold a meeting for candidates and those interested in being a candidate at Thursday, 7 p.m. at the Don Smith Pavilion at the Tehama District Fairgrounds. Please attend for more information call Mel Clatty at 567-6528 or John Fox at 514-3437 Warriors can't hold off Heat Oakland's Whitney just keeps playing, waiting for his shot PHOENIX (AP) — Matt Whitney was a big shot in high school, an All-American third baseman and a can't-miss prospect. These days the former first-round draft pick is with his third big-league organization and remains a prospect, though per- haps it's not such a sure thing. No matter. Whitney, who was assigned Barry Zito's number 75 this spring after signing a minor-league deal with the Oakland Athletics last Novem- ber, loves the game and says he'll play until teams stop call- ing. He reached Triple-A for the first time last year and all indications point to him starting there this year. ''Being able to get the chance to make a team every year is all I can ask for,'' Whitney said Tuesday. ''I want to go out, play my game, and show them what I can do and hope for an opportunity at some point.'' He doesn't surf or dabble in eastern philosophies like Zito. Heck, he's not even left-handed. But he shares a pas- sion for the game, and a determination to reach the highest level. Whitney, who also plays first base, has been dealing with high expectations, disappointments and setbacks since the Cleveland Indians made him their compensation pick after the first round in the 2002 first-year player draft. ''I'm pretty relaxed,'' Whitney said. ''Whether I strikeout or hit a home run I stay even-keeled. I try to stay low-key. I figure we all have some little quirks that makes us crazy. I relax and have fun. I try not to get caught up in what might happen; I try to stay day to day and do as much as I can.'' Whitney just turned 26 and is starting his ninth profes- sional season — he missed 2003 with a broken left leg — and remains optimistic despite a series of injuries that limit- ed his development. ''I always like the persevering type stories,'' A's manager Bob Geren said. ''With 30 teams the opportunities are greater that you can break in at a later age. A guy like (Jack) Cust kept fighting to get a chance and he's put together a pretty good major-league career.'' Whitney has plenty of competition. The A's also signed former Anaheim Angels corner infielder Dallas McPherson and third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and traded for infield- er Jake Fox. ''It can be hard because I know who the guys are in front of me,'' Whitney said. ''I can't even remember when I first started playing. Baseball has been my life for so long I can't see myself shutting it down and going into the real world.'' Notes: IF Kevin Kouzmanoff was hit in the shin by a line drive during Monday's batting practice and may need anoth- er day before getting back into full swing. ... OF Coco Crisp will not play in the outfield the first week of spring games but will hit as a DH. Bumgarner trying to lock up No. 5 spot in rotation SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — This is supposed to be a joyous occasion for Madison Bumgarner. Many around the San Francisco Giants' camp say the fifth spot in the starting rotation is his to lose. The 20-year-old left-hander is due to follow starter Tim Lincecum in Wednesday's spring opener against the Seattle Mariners in Peoria. But he will be pitching with his family on his mind after the death last week of his half-sister, Dena Byrd, in North Carolina. He left the team to attend the funeral on Sunday, returned to camp Monday morning and went right to work, throwing a bullpen session. Bumgarner is steadfast in his vow to maintain his focus. He still has a job to do. ''I feel good about the chance to pitch in that first game,'' he said. ''I know I still have to go out and earn the job. I'm not guaranteed anything. All I can do is ask for a shot, and I have it. I just want to do whatever I can to help us win.'' Since hearing his name called as the tenth overall pick by the Giants in the 2007 draft, Bumgarner has had a meteoric rise through the minor leagues. He has a 27-5 record, a 1.65 earned-run average and 256 strikeouts in 273 innings, start- ing 48 of his 49 games. He was called up to the big club in September and made his debut on Sept. 8 against the San Diego Padres. Lincecum was to start the game, but back spasms caused the medical staff to remove him. Bumgarner was told about three hours before game time that he would be the replace- ment. He became the youngest pitcher since the franchise moved from New York in 1958 to start in his major-league debut. Bumgarner gave up a pair of solo home runs, but was not tagged with the loss. He went on to appear in three other See No. 5, page 2B MIAMI (AP) — Afterward, Dwyane Wade could only exhale. ''There's no easy wins in the NBA,'' Wade said. These days, that especially rings true for the Miami Heat. Wade finished with 35 points and 12 assists, Quentin Richardson hit two huge 3-pointers in the final minutes, and the Heat snapped a four-game slide by digging deep to beat the under- manned yet spirited Golden State War- riors 110-106 on Tuesday night. Richardson and Michael Beasley each scored 15 points for Miami, which got 14 points and 12 rebounds from Jermaine O'Neal and 14 more points from Carlos Arroyo, who came off the bench to play 34 minutes at point guard. ''Where we are, any win is a good win for us,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''It wasn't a great game for us, but we got the win, so we'll take it. The only thing that matters right now is that we stay in this fight. However. By whatever means to get it done, we just need to stay in the fight and keep on swinging.'' In other words, take a cue from the Warriors. They're now 25 games under .500 and long out of the Western Confer- ence playoff picture. Someone forgot to tell Don Nelson's club — which dressed only eight players, the NBA minimum, and that was after they signed a D-Leaguer earlier in the day — that it's merely playing out the string. Nelson spent most of the game pac- ing the sidelines, showing an intensity that typically gets reserved for a play- off Game 7. Ronny Turiaf literally smacked teammates on their backsides in the final minutes, trying whatever he could to spur them along. It almost worked. ''We made them play, didn't we?'' Nelson said. ''We've got no com- plaints. We played our behinds off. We were able to stay in the game and have a chance to win. We'll take it.'' Anthony Morrow scored 24 points, C.J. Watson had 20 and Stephen Curry added 18 for Golden State, which had a chance to tie the game with 5 seconds left — but Curry's pass skipped off Turiaf's hands, Arroyo followed with two free throws, and Miami escaped. Turiaf finished with 15 for the Warriors, who signed Reggie Williams to a 10-day contract after calling him up from the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Williams scored 10 points in 20 minutes. ''Teams like that are definitely sketchy teams to play against, when they don't have many players and they're out there just playing kind of free and knowing they're going to get a certain amount of minutes,'' Richard- son said. ''That gives you a certain amount of confidence. And every- body's in the league for a reason.'' Miami is still a game under .500 at 30-31, but moved a half-game clear of Charlotte for the No. 8 seed in the East- ern Conference playoff picture. The Heat are now just two games back of Toronto, which will enter Wednesday holding the No. 5 spot in the East. ''It'll be a dogfight,'' Wade said, ''all the way to the end.'' So was this game. The Warriors were without leading scorer Monta Ellis (sore back) and center Andris Biedrins (sports hernia), both of whom are expected to miss at least the next four games as well. It all meant Golden State used its 35th starting lineup of the season, and like most of the other 34, this one simply didn't have enough to win. That's not for a lack of trying. ''They're undermanned,'' Williams said, ''but they are not looking at it like that.'' Down 95-94 after Morrow hit a 3- pointer with 6:00 left and silencing a half-empty building, the Heat looked to Wade for a burst, and once again, he delivered. A 15-footer — his longest made jumper of the game to that point — gave Miami the lead, and then he set up Richardson for a 3-pointer and a 99- 95 lead. Wade to Richardson for another 3- pointer 59 seconds later, and it was 104-97. Exhale? Not yet. Curry made a jumper from the foul line with 1:01 left to get the Warriors within two, and Morrow had an open look at a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left that would have put Golden State up by one. It clanged off the rim, and when Arroyo came up with the ball that got away from Turiaf 5 seconds later, only then did Miami know it was over. ''We've been known for this lately, having seven or eight young guys go out there and just try to compete,'' Curry said. ''This is a playoff caliber team in the East. For us to come into their house, take it to the wire and have three chances to win, that's a good sign for us.'' The Heat felt the same way. ''We knew we had to fight it out,'' Wade said. ''And at the end, we could win it.'' NOTES: Both coaches drew techni- cals for arguing non-calls, with Spoel- stra drawing his with 55 seconds left in the opening quarter, Nelson getting his with 8:48 remaining in the third. ... Curtains were drawn across the ends of the arena's highest level, lowering the capacity to 16,500. That won't be the case Thursday when Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers visit. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant had 39 points and 10 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 13 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder finished a perfect three- game homestand by beating the pesky Sacramento Kings 113-107 on Tuesday night. The Kings were still within three after Carl Landry hit two free throws with 2:15 to play, but Nenad Krstic lobbed the ball to Durant for a two-handed alley-oop slam at the oppo- site end. Landry had a follow dunk to make it 111-107 with 34 seconds left, but Sacramento opted not to foul and the shot clock ran all the way down before Durant missed a baseline jumper. Francisco Garcia missed a contested 3-pointer in the final 5 seconds for the Kings. Durant corralled the rebound and iced the game with two free throws. Rookie Tyreke Evans led Sacramento with 27 points. Landry added 17 points, and Beno Udrih and Garcia scored 13 apiece. The Kings played without reserve Andres Nocioni, who was suspended after he pleaded no contest to a drunken dri- ving charge. Oklahoma City shot a sizzling 67 percent in the first half but couldn't shake free from the Kings on one of their hottest shooting nights of the season. Sacramento shot 54 per- cent and became only the seventh team to make more than half of its shots against the stingiest defense in the NBA. It was the second- highest shooting percentage this season against the Thunder, who had been holding opponents to only 43.7 percent. Jeff Green had 15 points and Krstic finished with 14 points and nine rebounds as Oklahoma City held a 43- 32 advantage on the boards. The Thunder turned 17 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. The Kings charged back from 10 points down by scoring 11 in a row to go up 29-28 on Donte Greene's 3- pointer in the opening minute of the second quar- ter. James Harden made a 3- pointer at the end of the first quarter that didn't count because he released it just after time expired, and the Kings were able to carry over their momentum from an 8-0 run to finish the quar- ter. Once the Sacramento lead reached 37-32, Durant and Westbrook returned early from their customary rest and the Thunder scored the next five points to tie it. Durant had a pair of two- handed jams off West- brook's alley-oops in a three-possession span as Oklahoma City built a seven-point lead, and West- brook made it 65-58 with his running 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. NOTES: Thunder coach Scott Brooks, a former Kings assistant, interviewed for Sacramento's head coaching job after Eric Musselman was fired fol- lowing the 2007 season and says he was ''pretty close'' to getting it instead of Reg- gie Theus. ''At that time, it was a disappointment. I had an opportunity to coach a team that was 45 miles from where my mom and broth- ers and sisters live. ... Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs gave me an opportunity. They put me on the map to be known as a potential head coach.'' Before that, Brooks said he hadn't interviewed for a job since his mother hired him at an auto dealership — and then fired him because he was late biking there after school twice. ... The Thun- der sent G Kyle Weaver and C Byron Mullens to their NBA D-League affiliate in Tulsa. Weaver hasn't played since having surgery on his separated left shoulder on Nov. 30. Durant, Oklahoma City outlast Kings MCT photo Golden State's C.J. Watson fouls Miami's Dwyane Wade.