COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The offence clicked on the ground and in the air, amassing 551 yards on 98 plays. The defence came up big during a pivotal stretch of the third quarter, and special teams contributed 16 points. It was a relentless performance by No. 9 Clemson, which returned to form in grand style Saturday in a 40-27 victory over injury-riddled Maryland. Tajh Boyd threw for a touchdown and ran for a score, Sammy Watkins had a school-record 14 catches for 163 yards and Roderick McDowell rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns to help the Tigers (7-1, 5-1 ACC) rebound from last weeks 51-14 defeat against Florida State. "Its good to get the win, get back on track," coach Dabo Swinney said. "We had a great week, we really did. I thought our guys bounced back. If there was a hangover, if we werent focused, this team could have gone south in a hurry. But it didnt. It responded. Thats what great teams do. "Everybody was disappointed with a loss last week, but heck, theres a lot of teams out there that would like to be 7-1 right now. Were a good football team, and if we can finish this thing the right way, we have a chance to be a great football team." Against Florida State, Boyd threw for 156 yards and two interceptions. He rebounded to go 28 for 41 for 304 yards with one interception against the Terrapins (5-3, 1-3). "He didnt make many mistakes tonight," Swinney said. "He played a really, really good football game." Especially in the fourth quarter, when Clemson turned a 19-13 advantage into a 20-point cushion. "Thats what we pride ourselves on," Boyd said. "Were a physical team, a tough team. We come back and respond from adversity. Thats what we do." The Tigers needed four field goals from Chandler Catanzaro to take a slim lead into the fourth quarter. After that, however, Marylands defence finally caved. Boyd scored on a 5-yard run and McDowell ran it in from the 3 to make it 33-13 with 7:57 remaining, and a 45-yard touchdown run by McDowell gave Clemson a 40-20 lead with 5:03 to go. It was the seventh straight road win for the Tigers, their longest streak since a nine-game run in 1978-79. "If youre going to be a great program, youve got to win consistently on the road," Swinney said. "Im just really proud of our guys for coming up here and taking care of business." Maryland played without several key injured starters, including quarterback C.J. Brown, running back Brandon Ross, wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Deon Long, and tight end Dave Stinebaugh. Caleb Rowe went 19 for 45 for yards and three touchdowns, and Levern Jacobs had eight catches for 158 yards. But the Terrapins went 48 minutes between their first and second touchdowns and committed four turnovers. "I feel like I did OK," Rowe said. "Of course, I left plays out on the field, everyone did. But it just wasnt good enough in the end." For three quarters, Maryland did a good job of stopping Clemson in the red zone. In the fourth quarter, the Tigers converted their scoring opportunities into touchdowns. "We gave up a couple plays there late," Terrapins coach Randy Edsall said. "What we were going to have to do is just try to hold on and not let them score the touchdown late and kick field goals, but we werent able to do that in the fourth quarter." Trailing 16-7 at halftime, Maryland converted fumbles by Watkins and McDowell into field goals to close to 16-13 with four minutes elapsed in the third quarter. Swinney said that might have been the turning point. "Hats off to our defence," he said. "When you put the ball down twice inside your own 20 and they only come away with six points, our defence responded." Boyd answered with a 68-yard drive before Catanzaro connected on a 24-yarder. Despite making only three first downs in the third quarter, Maryland remained within striking distance until running back Albert Reid lost a fumble at the Maryland 31 and Clemsons Spencer Shuey took it to the 22. Four plays later, Boyd scored to make 26-13 with 13:04 left. That gave Boyd 112 touchdowns via run or pass, tied with Phillip Rivers for most in ACC history. Watkins had 10 catches for 127 yards by halftime, and Clemson ran more than twice as many offensive plays as the Terrapins in building a nine-point cushion at intermission. Down 3-0, the Terrapins got a big play from Jacobs in his first start of the year. Jacobs grabbed a short pass over the middle and sprinted into the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown. Denied after getting a first down at the Maryland 2, the Tigers settled for a field goal to make it 7-6. Then, after Jayron Kearse picked off a Rowe pass in the end zone, Clemson put together a 13-play march that ended with another field goal. The Tigers finally got their first touchdown with nine seconds left in the half. After a 30-yard completion to Watkins, Boyd threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Jordan Leggett. Ultra Boost 1.0 Australia .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. NMD R1 Mens Sale .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/nmd-r1-shoes-australia.html . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Ultra Boost Australia Online . The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan. NMD R1 Mens Australia . Team officials did not indicate the extent of the injury Saturday, simply listing Rose with "left knee soreness." Rose has played two preseason games without any sign of problems. The first NBA game in South America now will be missing its biggest star.CLEVELAND -- As shot after shot dropped through the net, it became clear LeBron James was going to have one of those special nights. The kind he has every so often. The kind he has when Dwyane Wade sits. James scored 43 points -- 25 in a bewildering first-quarter shooting display -- and Chris Bosh added 21, leading the Miami Heat to a 100-96 win Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played their first game without injured All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. With Wade out resting his sore knees, James took it upon himself to carry the Heat. The same thing happened on March 3 and James responded by scoring a career-high 61 against Charlotte. "I dont know, its one of those zones," James said, trying to explain how he made 10 of 11 shot and five 3-pointers in the dizzying opening quarter. "When I started the game off, I felt like I could have gone for 50 or 60." James added two crucial blocks and dropped six free throws in the final two minutes, and Bosh had a key rejection to lead the Heat to just their third win in eight games. With Wade out, the Heats two other megastars picked up the slack. Jarrett Jack scored 22 and Dion Waiters added 17 and 11 assists for Cleveland, which was also without starting forward Luol Deng (sprained ankle). Irvings expected to miss two weeks with a strained biceps tendon, an injury that further damages the Cavs fading playoff hopes. Cleveland fell six games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot. "Our guys hung in there and they competed," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. After one quarter, it was: James 25, Cavs 25. And like the other 20,000 plus in attendance, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra marveled at James accuracy. "That had nothing to do with me," Spoelstra said. "Truth be told, its not like Im absolutely in love with those type of plays, but he had it rolling. So I took a step back for a little bit." The four-time MVP had 31 points at halftime and 37 after three quarters, but the Heat entered the final 12 minutes tied as they were unable to shake off the Cavs, who shot 60 per cent from the floor through three and had all five starters in double figures. With James content to distribute the ball, Bosh scored nine straight points to put Miami ahead 93-88 with 2:24 remaining. Cleveland cut it to three on a basket by Anderson Varejao and had a chance to get closer but James -- with an assist from Udonis Haslem -- snuffed a dunk attempt by Spencer Hawes. Just 11 seconds later, Bosh turned away Waiters and James made a pair of free throws to make it 95-90 with 1:06 remaining. After empty possessions by both teams, James blocked a drive by Waiters and Bosh split a pair of free throws, giving the Heat a 96-90 lead.dddddddddddd Jack made two 3-pointers in the final 15.7 seconds, but both times James answered by hitting two free throws to close it out. Spoelstra was most pleased with Miamis defence down the stretch. "Probably my favourite play was the double block," he said. "U.D. and L.J. going for that. It should be a layup. It should be a dunk. To make that play, those are the things I like to see." James improved to 13-1 against the Cavaliers, the team he left after seven seasons as a free agent in 2010. James made his first six shots -- four of them 3s -- and showed most of his offensive repertoire in the first quarter. He hit fadeaways, runners and a thunderous breakaway dunk. The only shot James missed came on a "heat-check" 3-pointer from way beyond the arc. "Thats what makes LeBron unique in this league," Spoelstra said. "In todays age, there are players who would be looking for numbers with that type of start to see if you can go for 70. LeBrons just trying to play the game the right way. It takes great maturity. Hes selfless." It was James second visit to Cleveland in 10 days. He had been back on March 8, when former teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas had his jersey retired by the Cavs, who may one day raise the No. 23 James wore to the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena. Much pregame hype focused on the All-Stars future. James can opt out of his contract with Miami this summer and become a free agent, and one of his possible destinations could be Cleveland. Asked directly if he wants to play for his former team again, James was noncommittal. "As of right now, its too hard for me to think about," he said. "We have 20 or less games before we gear up for no sleep for two months, hopefully. So for me to try and take my mind somewhere else when I know whats on its way is almost impossible." NOTES: Wade will be re-evaluated Wednesday when the Heat visit Boston. ... James has yet to fill out his NCAA tournament brackets and didnt seem to be in a hurry to do it anytime soon. "Im terrible," he said. He was then reminded about the $1 billion Gilbert and tycoon Warren Buffett are offering for anyone who picks the games perfectly. Doesnt he want the billion? "No," James said. "Im just going to ask him for it." Its unclear whether he meant Gilbert or Buffett. ... Spoelstra intends to keep C Greg Oden in the starting lineup, a drastic change for Miami, which has favoured smaller, shooter-heavy lineups. Oden made his third start and finished with six points in 14 minutes. ' ' '