points finishes in three of the first four races of 2016, Ha

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Even without another scoring outburst from Russell Westbrook, the Oklahoma City Thunder easily handled Miami.Westbrook had just 14 points -- 19 below his season average entering the game -- but the Thunder still beat the Heat 97-85 on Monday night.Enes Kanter had 24 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 10 of 12 in 21 minutes off the bench. Victor OIadipo scored 17 and rookie Domantas Sabonis had a season-high 15 points to go with 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City.Westbrook finished with 11 assists, and his control of the action helped the Thunder build a 22-point lead after three quarters. He didnt play in the fourth.Hes always looking for his teammates, Kanter said. Hes looking to score, but he knows that hes going to get double-teamed, triple-teamed. They cannot guard him. Theres no one guy in the league that can guard him 1-on-1. Hes making himself better, and hes making everybody else better on the team.Oklahoma City improved to 6-1, the best seven-game start for the franchise since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008.Miamis Hassan Whiteside, who entered averaging 20 points and 14.2 rebounds, finished with five points on 1-for-9 shooting and 12 rebounds.Westbrook said Thunder center Steven Adams played well against Whiteside.Steven did a good job of buckling down, using his size, using his ability to be able to use his body and his strength to match, Westbrook said.James Johnson led the Heat with 18 points. Miami shot just 36.9 percent from the field.You have to give them credit defensively, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Theyve shown this year theyre long, theyre athletic, they make multiple efforts.The Thunder led 55-47 at halftime, despite Westbrooks 2-for-10 shooting.The Heat chopped their deficit down to four before Westbrook went off. He converted a three-point play, a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer to spark a 20-0 run that put the game out of reach.Hes a great player, so hes going to have his fingerprints on the game one way or another, Spoelstra said. Its a matter of time, and you have to find a way as competitors to overcome all of that, and we didnt.---TIP-INSHeat: Former Thunder player Dion Waiters was cheered loudly during pregame introductions. He scored two points on 1-for-9 shooting. ... Whiteside had no points or rebounds in the first quarter. ... Double technicals were called on Kanter and Miamis Josh Richardson in the third quarter after an altercation. Heat C Willie Reed was called for a flagrant foul on Kanter late in the third quarter.Thunder: Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said before the game that reserve point guard Cameron Payne is healing from his broken right foot, but there remains no timetable for his return. ... Adams banged his right thumb in the first quarter, but returned to play with it wrapped.HEAT UNIFORMSThe Heat wore patches bearing the names of deceased military members on the front of their uniforms for the first time, a tribute that will continue for four more games. The Home Strong uniforms -- which have been worn before, without the soldier-name patches -- feature military insignia and patriotic symbols. Heat President Pat Riley founded the program to honor returning soldiers in 2006, and the franchise has been active with several veterans programs since. Its just a very small part that we can play in this, to let them know that their lives did have significance, Spoelstra said.QUOTABLEWestbrook on Sabonis performance: I was very, very happy for Domas. He stayed aggressive all night long. He missed some shots early, but he stayed consistent.STAT LINESThe Thunder held Miami to 7-for-24 shooting in the third quarter to take an 83-61 lead at the end of the period.UP NEXTHeat: Miami hosts former teammate Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Wade won three NBA titles with Miami. That will be a special moment, Spoelstra said. It means a lot to all of us, including myself. We know how to compartmentalize.Thunder: Faces one of the best teams in the East on Wednesday night when they host the Toronto Raptors.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP Stitched NFL Jerseys . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. China NFL Jerseys . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. 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Guenther Steiner says the starts were aligned for Haas after both Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez made it into Q3 during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.The American outfit made it through to the final part of qualifying with both cars for the first time, having only made two previous Q3 appearances so far in its debut season at Melbourne and Monza. Grosjean will line up eighth for Sundays race, while Gutierrez rounded out the top 10. Steiner admitted the result was a pleasant surprise.Our dreams came true, the Haas team principal said. It was a good session, we are very happy with it obviously, I couldnt say any different. FP3 we knew that if we could get the lap together we would be pretty good, but we didnt think we would get two cars into Q3, that was a too ambitious thought you know. But it all happened.We used the new front wing that we brought to Singapore, we used it the first time here what I call properly, with testing, because we had all these issues and if you start the weekend on FP1 and they have mechanical issues, you dont have time to evaluate the data.It was the first time we could use it and understand it and I think that is one of the main things. Im sure our car for this type of track, is also better suited than other tracks, on slower ones. Everything came together, the sstars were aligned.ddddddddddddAfter recording points finishes in three of the first four races of 2016, Haas has only managed points on one occasion since, at the Austrian Grand Prix in July. The team has struggled in recent races, most notably in Singapore -- where Romain Grosjean was particularly critical over team radio -- and with a double retirement in Malaysia.Steiner says Haas performance in Suzuka can act as encouragement after a difficult run, and hopes the team can capitalise on the opportunity to take a big points haul away from Japan.You are always chasing yourself, if you have testing sessions you test it out then but its also a thing of growing a team. If you had one problem like we had, or a few problems like in Singapore and Malaysia and in FP1 and FP2, you have no time to do this you are just happy to have a decent understanding of the tyres and of your base setup.Its a learning curve but I think we have a better understanding now. Do we have full understanding? Maybe not but you always learn. I hope we can take the opportunity, its there. Ill tell you tomorrow night at this time if we took it or not. We are in a good position so lets see what comes tomorrow. ' ' '