WASHINGTON -- Raise your hand if you had Greg Oden as the Miami Heat MVP. Or if you had any inkling the Washington Wizards were capable of taking a 34-point lead against the two-time defending champs. Or if you thought LeBron James and Co. would follow a White House visit by dropping their third straight against the heart of the middling Eastern Conference. Oden played his first game in more than four years Wednesday night, and that might have been the only positive for the Heat. He played all of 8 minutes, 24 seconds and made a pair of dunks to help start a rally that had loads of promise -- until it fell flat in the fourth quarter of a 114-97 loss to the Wizards on Wednesday night. "They came here, whatever. Went to the White House, whatever," Wizards forward Nene said. "We just came here to play." John Wall scored 25 points, and Bradley Beal and Nene had 19 apiece to lead seven players in double figures for the Wizards, who had their lead cut to nine before closing with a 17-9 run. They had dropped seven of eight at the Verizon Center, having blown a fourth-quarter lead to the Houston Rockets on Saturday in a game twice delayed because water was leaking onto the court through a hole in the roof. Chris Bosh scored 26 points, and James had 25 for the Heat, who had been off since Friday and therefore had time to be feted by President Barack Obama on Tuesday for winning a second consecutive NBA title. For one half, the Wizards made Miami look like a team that will never again be invited to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington went on a 20-0 run in the first quarter. James had three of the Heats six first-quarter turnovers. The Wizards, with their first sellout crowd of the season, taunted the Heat fans in attendance with the "Bandwagon Cam" that mocked those wearing the visitors colours. Washington didnt even commit a foul until the 8:48 mark of the second quarter. "They was playing at another speed," James said. "They was playing at, like, 15 and we was playing at, like, seven." James paused, then corrected himself. "Dont even gonna give us that much of a credit," he added. "We was playing at, like, five." James said he even lost his voice during the second or third quarter. He was still hoarse after the game. "We love adversity more than anything. Were definitely at that point," he said with a smile as his voice cracked. "As you can tell, my damn voice is gone. I gotta try to find it, too." At least the Heat found Oden, who stepped onto the court for his first regular-season game since Dec. 5, 2009. He scored six points, going 2 for 3 from the field with a pair of dunks. He made both of his free throws and grabbed two rebounds. It was Oden, of all people, who helped get the Heat going after the Wizards led 43-18 at the end of the first quarter and 64-30 during the second. Wearing No. 20 and with both knees heavily wrapped, he entered with 6:03 remaining in the first half and made an immediate impact: an offensive rebound, a dunk and a foul in 30 seconds. By halftime, the score was 69-48. Oden also started the second half and played four minutes before sitting for the rest of the game. "In a short amount of minutes tonight," James said, "he was pretty good for us." It was Odens first appearance in a regular-season game since fracturing his left kneecap while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers against the Rockets. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft also missed what would have been his rookie year because of a right knee injury. He has had three microfracture surgeries on his knees. Oden said the Heat have "come up with something to keep me playing, not just to get me out there and get injured." "So this is the plan and its got me this far," he said. "It got me in the game." Norris Coles jumper pulled the Heat within single digits -- 84-75 -- with less than a minute to go in the third, but they never got any closer than nine. The Wizards had nine turnovers in the third quarter but only one in the fourth, and an alley-oop from Wall to Martell Webster put Washington up by 17 with 3:02 to play. "We knew they were going to make a run," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "Thats still the best team." NOTES: The Wizards began the day 1-14 against teams with winning records. ... The Heat hadnt lost three in row since the 2012 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. Their last regular-season three-game skid was Jan. 10-13, 2012. ... The loss ended the Heats 22-game winning streak vs. Southeast Division opponents. ... Miami played without F Chris Andersen, who "landed awkwardly on his knee," according to coach Erik Spoelstra. G Mario Chalmers (strained right Achilles) missed his fourth straight. F Shane Battier was in the starting lineup after missing five games with a strained left quadriceps. G Dwyane Wade was back after resting his sore knees for one game. ... Washington shot a season-high 55 per cent. Green Bay Packers Store . When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. Packers Jerseys 2021 . Marcus Olsson, 23, joins Blackburn on a free transfer from Swedens Halmstads. He made 139 appearances and scored 17 goals in his four years with the club. He earned his first caps for Sweden this month, featuring against Bahrain and Qatar. https://www.packersjerseysale.com/. Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five. Packers Jerseys China . The third-seeded Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., was coming off a semifinal appearance at the French Open. She took the opening set before the unseeded American came back for the 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. Green Bay Packers Pro Shop . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson.BROOKLYN, NY -- On the Toronto Raptors bus ride to practise Saturday, talk wasnt about the upcoming game against the Brooklyn Nets. It centred around the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Donald Sterling. The NBA is investigating a report of an audio recording in which a man identified as Sterling tells his girlfriend not to bring black people to games. "Guys more than anything are saying, Something has to addressed, something has to be said," said Raptors forward Steve Novak, who spent two seasons (2008-10) with the Clippers. The league said it is in the process of authenticating the validity of the recording posted on TMZs website. In the recording, the man questions his girlfriends association with minorities. TMZ reported the woman, V. Stiviano, who is of black and Mexican descent, posted a picture of herself with Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson on Instagram -- which has since been removed. "Theres definitely not a place for it in the NBA, in this game," Novak said. "What makes it so strange is hes been an NBA owner for that many years (33), hes not someone who isnt associated with African Americans, someone whos benefited that much from African Americans. . . theyve been such a positive part of his life. "Sometimes theres very successful people who arent very good people," Novak added about the American business magnate. The man in the recording asked Stiviano not to broadcast her association with black people or bring black people to games. He specifically mentioned Magic Johnson on the recording, saying "dont bring him to my games, OK?" "I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner," Johnson responded on Twitter. He also said the alleged comments are "a black eye for the NBA" and felt bad that friends such as Clippers coach Doc Rivers and point-guard Chris Paul had to work for Sterling. "I dont blame him. I wouldnt either," DeMar DeRozan said of Johnsons decision to boycott games. DeRozan, who grew up in Compton just south of downtown Los Angeles, said he felt for the Clippers players, who lead their Western Conference playoff series against Golden State 2-1. "Honestly, especially right now in the playoffs, theyre trying to win their series so its going to be interesting to see (how the players handle the situation),&quuot; DeRozan said.dddddddddddd Landry Fields added: "Right now theyre kind of in a tough position. Theres still playoffs to be played. But it is sad that now this has become an issue rather than Clipper basketball." DeRozan was asked if he could play for an owner like Sterling. "I dont know man, I dont know. I dont know," the all-star said with a shake of his head. "Me personally, I dont stand for nothing like that. It would be tough, itd be tough." Added Raptors coach Dwane Casey: "If its true, its a sad commentary on our society . . . on our society as a whole, being an African American myself." Novak said the allegations are no surprise, players have known about previous discrimination cases against Sterling. He said the NBA must take action. "I think its personal to each and every guy," Novak said. "More than anything I dont think the league can sit back and say it didnt happen, if it did. "Theres no way that should be tolerated. I dont think in any workplace in the world you can speak that way about anybody, and in our league especially." New NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a press conference before the Grizzlies playoff game in Memphis that the audio is "disturbing and offensive." "All members of the NBA family should be afforded due process and a fair opportunity to present their side of any controversy, which is why Im not yet prepared to discuss any potential sanctions against Donald Sterling," Silver said. "We will, however, move extraordinarily quickly in our investigation." Novak added its a huge black eye to the NBA ownership group. "The owners in the NBA are such an impressive group of people," he said. "Look at all the owners and what theyve done, and all the good things that they do, and so for something like that to come out, to be grouped as an NBA owner type-thing is unfortunate." Sterling has been involved in several lawsuits over the years. Novak played for the Clippers when the owner was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2009. Sterling agreed to pay US$2.73 million to settle allegations by the government that he refused to rent apartments to Hispanics and blacks and to families with children. Sterling is the longest-tenured owner in the NBA since Lakers owner Jerry Buss died last year. ' ' '