es Mike Gillis, who was fired as Vancouvers preside

MIAMI -- Something about facing the Miami Heat still brings out the best in Paul Pierce. Jason Kidd isnt half-bad against them, either. Pierce scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and delivered two crucial scores late, Shaun Livingston created a turnover on the games final play and the Brooklyn Nets topped the Heat 96-95 on Wednesday night -- moving to 3-0 this season against the two-time defending NBA champions, two of those wins coming by a single point and the other in overtime. "We havent had any success," Kidd said of Brooklyns perfect mark against the Heat. "Weve just been lucky to win some games." Maybe, maybe not. In Kidds past 24 games against the Heat as a coach or player, his teams are 19-5. And this was just the latest entry in Brooklyns surge, with the Nets now an Eastern Conference-best 23-9 since Jan. 1. Mirza Teletovic scored 17 off the bench. Livingston finished with 13 points and Andray Blatche scored 11 for the Nets. Chris Bosh scored 24 points for Miami, giving him 15,003 for his career. Dwyane Wade scored 22, LeBron James finished with 19 and Mario Chalmers scored 14 for the Heat, who gave up 22 points off turnovers and were hit with two technicals (on Wade and Chalmers) for arguing calls within a 92-second span of the third quarter. "Its competition," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team has dropped four of its past five games. "Its survival of the strongest right now. ... We still feel confident about our game. We just need to put it together." Miami had a chance at the end. Deron Williams missed a jumper with about 8 seconds left, and Wade grabbed the rebound. He took a couple steps downcourt, then called time out with 3.5 seconds remaining, and Miami had to burn another one in order to advance the ball into the frontcourt for the final play. Whatever Spoelstra drew up never got off the ground. Bosh tried to get the ball to James in the lane, but Livingston knocked it away and time expired. "Losing four of five," James said, "thats pretty bad." Pierce was 5 for 5 from the field, 3 for 3 from 3-point range and got fouled on another try from beyond the arc in the third quarter, his biggest-scoring period of the season. "Im sure his antenna is raised in games like this, against us," Spoelstra said. Chalmers made a 3-pointer to get Miami within 84-81 with 6:57 left, but Teletovic -- who hadnt had a double-digit scoring game in exactly a month before Wednesday -- answered from several feet beyond the arc on the next Brooklyn possession to restore a six-point lead. Miami never got the lead back. Pierce had a 3 to make it 90-86, then a drive to snap a 92-all tie with 1:45 remaining. "Pauls got too much left in the tank to be a role player," Williams said. The Nets were without Kevin Garnett (back) and Andrei Kirilenko (ankle). Garnett is expected to miss at least one more game, while Kirilenko tested his ankle in a morning shootaround practice before the Nets figured he wasnt ready to play. Miami beat every other team in the league last season, and still could repeat the feat this year. The Heat entered Wednesday having beaten 26 of the 29 opposing clubs, the three holdouts being Houston (who visits Sunday), Memphis (who Miami hasnt faced yet) -- and the Nets, who won the first two meetings against the Heat this season in Brooklyn. Now theyve won in Miami as well, and are 31-1 when leading after three quarters. "If we had the answer, we would have won," James said. The Heat fell two games behind Indiana in the East race, as well as one game behind the Pacers in the loss column. It was also the fifth straight game where Miami failed to shoot better than 50 per cent from the field, and the Nets kept James from getting any shots from the field in the fourth quarter. "We do need to execute down the stretch," Wade said. "We need to be able to at least get the ball up to the rim, so were going to have to work on that a little bit. Weve got something to work on as a team. Thats not a bad thing." NOTES: James took a pair of free throws 3:07 into the game. He didnt take any in games earlier this week against Chicago and Washington. ... Joe Johnson had a 22-point first quarter against Miami in January; he was held to eight Wednesday. ... Brooklyn was staying in Miami overnight, a perk since it doesnt play again until Saturday in Washington. Rock Ya-Sin Colts Jersey . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. Ben Banogu Jersey . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/ . Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to backstop the Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Flames, handing Calgary its team record sixth consecutive home regulation loss. Andrew Luck Youth Jersey . His chance at winning a Stanley Cup in Philadelphia is over. Same with Jeff Carter. And Brian Boucher. Throw in Ville Leino and Dan Carcillo. Margus Hunt Jersey . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks have named Jim Benning as their new general manager. Benning is the first significant hire made by new Canucks president of hockey operations Trevor Linden, who was handed the franchises reins after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in six years following a disastrous 2013-14 campaign. Benning spent the last eight seasons with the Boston Bruins, including seven as the clubs assistant general manager. A former Canucks defenceman during his playing days, the 51-year-old Benning is the 11th general manager in franchise history -- a post he has never held with an NHL club. "Jim brings a wealth of hockey experience as a builder and talent evaluator that will benefit this team for years to come," said Linden in a statement. "We are aligned on how we want to build this team and Jims level of commitment to building a championship team is exciting. I look forward to re-introducing him to Vancouver on Friday." The Edmmonton native replaces Mike Gillis, who was fired as Vancouvers president and general manager a day after the club was eliminated from playoff contention with three games left in the regular season.dddddddddddd Bennings first order of business with the Canucks will be to hire a new head coach after Linden axed John Tortorella earlier this month following one tumultuous campaign. Benning will also have to prepare for next months NHL draft and assess a roster that Tortorella accused of being "stale" at his end-of-season press conference. Apart from helping to shape a Bruins team that defeated the Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup final, Bennings managerial resume also includes 12 seasons with Buffalo Sabres, with eight of those spent as that clubs director of amateur scouting. Selected sixth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1981 NHL draft, Benning played nine seasons with Toronto and Vancouver, collecting 52 goals and 191 assists in 610 career games. ' ' '