ously, its a different feeling in the room right now. We have confiden | |
OKLAHOMA CITY -- While accepting the award for himself, Kevin Durant called Russell Westbrook an MVP-calibre player. Cheap Bears Jerseys . And on Tuesday, Westbrook delivered a championship-calibre effort that got the Oklahoma City Thunder back to even in the Western Conference finals. He had 40 points, 10 assists and five steals in a 105-92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs 105-92 that tied the series at two games apiece. "Coach told us he needed maximum effort from us tonight, and it starts with me at point guard," Westbrook said. "My job is to play both sides of the ball. If you want to win a championship, those are things you have to do." It matched the second-highest playoff point total of Westbrooks career, falling short of the 43 he scored in the 2012 NBA Finals. "Just his focus on every possession on the defensive end and his poise on the offensive end, I think thats whats fun to watch," Durant said. "People outside of our team dont really look at that type of stuff, but thats something we can definitely build on as a group, is watching him wreak havoc on the defensive end and offensively, playing with such patience." At times, Westbrook has been a maddening player for Thunder fans to watch. His dynamic athletic ability gives him a supreme confidence level that sometimes leads to ill-advised shots and a tendency to hold the ball at the expense of offensive flow. But in this game, Westbrook did just about everything right. He shot 50 per cent from the field and took just five 3-pointers. He made 14 of 14 free throws. "Sometimes hes going to go off," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "Hes capable of doing that. If he makes a lot of jumpers, it gets really tough." In the midst of posting a monster game, Westbrook allowed Durant to still score 31 points. It was Durants highest-scoring game of the series after the NBAs leading scorer was held to a 22.7-point average in the first three games. Serge Ibaka added nine points and eight rebounds for the Thunder, who have turned around the series since he returned from an injury that was expected to keep him out for the rest of the post-season. "We just play well with Serge," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We can do things with Serge in the lineup that we cant do with other guys." Boris Diaw had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 14 points for the Spurs, who blew a 2-0 lead against the Thunder in this round two years ago and are in danger of doing it again. San Antonio will host Game 5 on Thursday and wont be worried about the past. "I think we shouldnt think like that," Parker said. "Each game is different. Each series. Each year. We worked hard all year to have home court advantage, and now, its our job to protect home court." Oklahoma City dominated for the second consecutive game after getting blown out in the first two. The Thunder committed just seven turnovers and shot 49 per cent from the field. The Spurs scored the first eight points of the game, but things went downhill from there. A steal and dunk by Westbrook gave the Thunder a 42-32 lead with just under five minutes left in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Durant pushed Oklahoma Citys lead to 50-36. The Thunder led 58-43 at halftime. Durant scored 22 points and Westbrook added 17 points, eight assists and four steals before the break. Parker shot 6 of 9 in the first half, but the rest of the Spurs made just 11 of 32 before the break. A lob from Reggie Jackson to Durant for a two-handed slam bumped Oklahoma Citys lead to 60-43. A steal and jam by Ibaka made it 66-49, and a dunk by Westbrook made it 76-49. The Spurs closed the quarter on an 18-7 run and cut their deficit to 83-67. San Antonios Matt Bonner made a 3-pointer with 3:31 remaining to trim Oklahoma Citys edge to 12, but the Thunder maintained control. "We were just not focused coming out," Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard said. "Were not playing consistently throughout the whole game. Were playing in spurts or increments. Weve just got to play the whole game." The Thunder still need to win on the road to win the series. "Were just trying to look forward," Durant said. "We know how tough it is to go in there and get a W. We have to go on the road an handle our business. We feel better, but were not satisfied." Notes: Jackson started for the second straight game. He sprained his right ankle on a drive to the hoop and left the game with 8:25 left in the first quarter. He returned to start the second quarter. ... Thunder C Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds. ... The Thunder improved to 5-1 in the playoffs when Westbrook has at least 10 assists. ... Spurs G Manu Ginobili played just 11 minutes and scored five points. ... Thunder G Thabo Sefolosha did not play for the second consecutive game. He started the first two games of the series. Cheap Bears Jerseys Authentic . The 23-year-old restricted free agent appeared in all 48 games last season, finishing second among all Sabres skaters with 15 goals and 34 points. Cheap Bears Jerseys China . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. http://www.cheapbearsjerseyselite.com/ . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. CALGARY -- Two weeks after a franchise record seven-game losing streak on home ice, the Calgary Flames appear to be turning their fortunes around. Mark Giordano scored the game-winner and Karri Ramo made 27 saves as the Flames knocked off the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Thursday night for their fourth consecutive victory - all of them at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It comes two nights after Calgary knocked off the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. "I would say tonight, by far, is probably our best team win of the season," said Flames coach Bob Hartley. "As a coaching staff, we cannot be more happy than we are right now. Those guys deserve the credit. We beat quite a hockey club tonight. From Karri Ramo to the six D to the four lines, everyone is chipping in." Leading 1-0 after the first period, the Flames grabbed a two-goal lead at 3:38 of the second. Mikael Backlunds shot missed the net but the puck caromed sharply off the end boards and out the other side where Giordano rifled it in the short side as goaltender Alex Stalock scrambled across. "There wasnt much room for Backs and I knew he was going to shoot it so youre just trying to read the rebound and with the new nets with them being a bit shorter, it comes out at different angles and the goalie doesnt really have a chance to get across," Giordano said. "It was a good bounce and I just tried to fire it as hard as I could on net." The ninth goal of the season for Giordano extends his career-high scoring streak to eight games (four goals, four assists). "I wouldnt have believed it (was possible). It just seems like Im getting a couple of bounces. Im trying to be aggressive and it seems the pucks coming to me at the right spot," said Giordano. Lee Stempniak, rookie Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary (20-27-7) and Jiri Hudler added an empty-net goal. Backlund and Dennis Wideman each had two assists. The Flames, who are enjoying their longest winning streak since reeling off five victories in a row in March 2012, are 4-0-0 with one game to go on a five-game homestand. "Sometimes it goes this way. The main thing is we kept working and nobody gave up when things were bad. Everybody learned from those and we started to do the right things," Ramo said. Eriah Hayes, with his first NHL goal, was the lone Shark to solve Ramo. San Jose (34-15-6) has lost three straight. The Sharks entered the game on two straight shutouts after losing 1-0 to Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, and 3-0 in Edmonton on Wednesday, thanks to Ben Scrivens record-setting 59 saves. "Its a big concern of ours right now. In our last eight games, weve only scored 13 goals and 10 have them have come from three players," said Sharks coach Todd McLellan. Wholesale Bears Jerseys. "Obviously with injuries and every team goes through them, you need others to pick up the slack and weve got to find that." San Jose was held to eight shots in the first period but racked up 13 in the second, including multiple chances to score on Ramo. In one mad scramble around the Flames net, Hayes nearly scored only to have the puck cleared off the goal-line by Giordano. The Sharks finally cashed in 46 seconds into the third as this time Hayes would not be denied. After Chris Butler lost the puck in front of his net, a quick passing sequence with Tommy Wingels and Patrick Marleau set up Hayes less than 15 feet away and he buried a quick shot over Ramos glove. "Were getting tons of chances, great opportunities right in front like that. Its a little frustrating right now that the bounces arent going our way. Once the bounces start going our way, were going to be scoring a lot of goals," said Hayes, playing his 13th NHL game after being recalled from Worcester (AHL) on Jan. 4. That goal ended a stretch of a 160 minute, 36 second scoreless drought for the Sharks, who racked up 103 shots on goal before Hayes connected. "I think we just need to get back to finishing," said Sharks captain Joe Thornton. "We havent finished particularly well in the last three games and its definitely shown on the scoreboard. Youve just got to concentrate in that last half-second to see where youre going to shoot and put it in." The Flames restored their two-goal cushion after Ladislav Smids shot went wide and bounced out the other side for Joe Colborne, who directed it in front for Monahan. The rookie redirected it out of the air for his team-leading 15th goal. "Obviously, its a different feeling in the room right now. We have confidence as a group, were sticking together, working hard and were having fun doing it," Monahan said. Stalock finished the game with 26 stops as his record fell to 7-4-0. Making his fifth start in his last six games, Ramo improved to 11-10-4. Notes: The Sharks record for being shutout was 190:22 set in February 2007... Calgary LW Mike Cammalleri (concussion) missed his ninth game. He is back practising with the team and hopes to play Saturday against Minnesota... Tyler Kennedy (lower body) did not play for San Jose. He was hurt Wednesday night in Edmonton... Calgary is 16-9-7 in one-goal games and 4-18 in games decided by two-or-more goals... Since being converted to a forward, San Joses Brent Burns has 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists) in 66 games. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
|