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Joined: 28-04-2024
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Subject :LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers had every reason to quit down 17 points with 4 1/2 minutes t
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers had every reason to quit down 17 points with 4 1/2 minutes to go. Deatrich Wise Jr. Womens Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. But in their huddle, Doc Rivers and the other coaches told the players to keep believing. They did, and pulled out a wild 129-127 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. J.J. Redick scored a career-high 33 points, Matt Barnes added 25, Blake Griffin had 23 and Jamal Crawford scored 16, including a pair of free throws that gave the Clippers the lead with 11 seconds to go. They improved to 18-3 at home with their fourth straight win. "We locked in," Griffin said. "We made the plays down the stretch, they tightened up and got a little too comfortable." Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and Samuel Dalembert added a season-high 20 for the Mavs, whose three-game winning streak ended when they couldnt hold a 123-106 lead. Jose Calderon hit four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points. "Theres no way we should lose this game," Nowitzki said. "Weve got to do a better job of protecting a lead. We made some bad decisions and gave up some 3s." Redicks seventh 3-pointer with 34 seconds to go had the Clippers trailing 127-126. Nowitzkis step-back jumper hit the rim. "We had J.J. guarding Dirk on one play and it worked," Rivers said. "I cant explain that game." After Crawfords two free throws put the Clippers ahead 128-127, Calderon missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds to go, and DeAndre Jordan got fouled. After his first free throw hit the right side of the backboard, he made the second for a 129-127 lead. DeJuan Blair inbounded the ball but his pass was intercepted by Jordan to end the heated and stunning finish. "It was like a playoff game the last three or four minutes. Everybody was mouthing back and forth and getting techs, and it became a brawl out there," Shawn Marion said. "But if you let that take away from what your main focus is -- executing at both ends of the floor -- then its going to take you out of your game." Griffin uttered expletives at Dalembert after they scrapped for a rebound near the baseline late in the game. One of the referees put both his arms around Griffins waist and backed him away. Nowitzki was waiting with an earful as Griffin ended up near him. "I was more upset about some of the things that were said than the situation," Griffin said. Dalembert was called for a technical. Griffin made the free throw and the Clippers retained possession. Crawford drove the basket and scored to pull them to 125-118. "It was a difficult and a physical game," Dalembert said. "Some calls were suspicious, and it was just one of those games. So many things happened in those seven minutes. We have to keep some of their guys under control." Redick said Dalembert stepped on his head and he ended up with a cut in his ear. "Any time a 270-pound man steps on your head it takes a little while to get it back," he said. Down 127-118, Barnes hit a 3-pointer and Nowitzki fouled Crawford on a 3-point attempt. Crawford made two of three free throws, pulling the Clippers to 127-123 with 1:10 to play. Crawford struggled for most of the game, and in the final 6 minutes the coaches were debating whether to take him out. "He was off-balance, he was going too fast and turning the ball over, yet you keep him in because he has ability to score," Rivers said. "He can miss 20 in a row. He just needs to make one and he thinks hes hot." Crawford credited Rivers patience with him this season for making a difference. "Hopefully I make him look good in the end for still believing in me," he said. Earlier in the fourth, Vince Carter was hit with a technical, one of four in the game for the Mavs. Griffin picked up one in the third. The Mavs outscored the Clippers 60-40 in the paint, and outrebounded them 47-38, with both teams shooting at least 50 per cent. "Thats awful on our part," Rivers said. Dallas opened the fourth with consecutive 3-pointers by Monta Ellis and Calderon. They keyed a 25-6 run that gave the Mavs a 123-106 lead. The Mavs borrowed a page from the Clippers high-flying playbook, with Brandan Wright dunking off Carters alley-oop pass against the Clippers hapless defence. Notes: Rivers said the team anticipates signing free agent F Hedo Turkoglu. Rivers expects Turkoglu to join the team for the start of its seven-day, 11-city trip that begins Friday in New York. Turkoglu was cut by Orlando earlier this month. He played just 11 games last season because of injuries and a 20-game suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs. ... Clippers F Reggie Bullock returned after hurting his left ankle on Dec. 7 at Cleveland. ... Mavs G Devin Harris, who had left foot surgery, isnt expected to play this trip. ... The Clippers Grammy trip comes a month earlier than usual since the music awards held at Staples Center were moved up to avoid conflicting with the Olympics. Derek Rivers Patriots Jersey . Beckham says "nothing has been confirmed yet, but its something I am very excited about." He adds that "Miami is something that really excites me because there is a great energy down there. Antonio Garcia Jersey . In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68). http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Derek-Rivers-Patriots-Jersey/ . Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr.EDMONTON -- The San Jose Sharks may not have been all that sharp to start after playing the night before, but that changed once the puck dropped for the second period. Trailing by a goal after 20 minutes of play, Joe Pavelski responded with three goals and an assist as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. "I think after back-to-back nights and not having a morning skate and things like that, youre probably going to be a little sluggish," said Sharks captain Joe Thornton, who had two assists on the night. "We continued to get better and better and it was a good way to end the night. As long as were moving around, moving the puck around, were going to be successful." Patrick Marleau and Marty Havlat also scored for the Sharks (47-18-9), who moved four points up on idle Anaheim for the Pacific Division lead and remained two points back of St. Louis for first in the Western Conference. San Jose clinched a playoff spot in a 2-1 shootout loss to Calgary on Monday. The Sharks power play came into the game ranked just 23rd in the league and had gone just three-for-35 in its last 10 games. They were 3-for-3 against the Oilers, a major factor in the victory. "The numbers arent that important, its when they come and how they come," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. "Weve had nights like this and it just hasnt gone in. When you look at the power play standings and the numbers and that type of stuff, you panic over it outside the room, but not inside the room. We finally got a reward for playing basically the same way that we have." "I think weve been bad for a long time and in the last few games weve created a little bit of momentum on it," said Pavelski, who had two of the power play goals for his club. "It hasnt been one game and then take a couple of games off, weve been consistent on our opportunities and tonight it just finally went in for us." David Perron and Taylor Hall responded for the second-to-last place Oilers (25-39-9), who have lost three in a row, including a humbling 8-1 loss to the rival Calgary Flames on Sunday on the heels of a 3-1 defeat to the last-place Buffalo Sabres. "We wanted to come back and play solid after our last couple games and get back to the stuff that we had been having some success with," said Oilers captain Andrew Ference. "The power play chances they got, they jumped on and put us behind the eight ball. I think our five-on-five hockey was light years better than our last game. That wasnt too tough to beat, though." Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins said his team left far too many missed opportunities on the table. "We have to find a way to bury the chances that we have, and there were some that were just laying there in front of their net," he said. "You just have to find a way to put those in." Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens said the team remains very much a work in progress. "We need to show to ourselves that we can play the right way," he said. "I dont know what it is that we refuse to buy in completely. Its not one guy, a line, a defence pairing. Its just kind of waves throughout the team. Its not wanting to do what we have to do. We had some tough bounces tonight that probably added to the scoring differential. You cant give a team like that the chances on the power play because they have skilled guys who will make you pay and they did tonight. Derek Rivers Youth Jersey. ." The Oilers started the scoring just over four minutes into the first period as Perron danced around Shark Tyler Kennedy before picking a perfect spot on a shot past San Jose goalie Antti Niemi. It was Perrons team-leading 26th goal of the season. The first period shots narrowly favoured the Sharks, who had 11 on Edmonton starter Scrivens to the Oilers 10 in the opening period. San Jose tied the game on the power play six-and-a-half-minutes into the second period. Scrivens made the initial stop on a shot from the slot by Marleau, but the rebound angled to Pavelski at the side of the net with a wide-open cage to put in his 35th of the year. Another power-play goal midway through the second period gave San Jose a 2-1 lead, as Pavelski chopped a puck to Marleau at the top of the opposite circle and the Sharks assistant captains lighting-quick release led to a goal before Scrivens could get across. It was Marleaus 31st goal of the year. The Sharks took a two-goal lead with 30 seconds left to play in the middle period as Edmonton defender Jeff Petry overskated a puck at his own blue-line, allowing Havlat to come in and send a wrist shot that beat Scrivens stick-side. San Jose scored their third man-advantage goal of the game just over a minute into the third period. Pavelski got the puck with space in the front of the net, waited for defender Andrew Ference to go down, and then beat Scrivens over the blocker to make it 4-1. Pavelski earned his third hat trick of the season with seven minutes left in the third as he took a shot that hit the stick of Edmontons Matt Hendricks and deflected into the Oilers net. Pavelskis four-point night gave him 71 points on the season. Edmonton made it look a little better with five minutes left to play as Hall picked up a rebound in front and hooked a diving backhand shot into the net for this 25th to make it 5-2. The Oilers have been outscored 16-4 in their last three home games. The Sharks return home to face the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The Oilers play the fifth game of a six-game homestand on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks. Notes: It was the fourth of five games this season between the two teams this season. The Sharks won the first two games before the Oilers got one back in the most recent meeting on Jan. 29 when Ben Scrivens recorded a record-setting 59 saves in a 3-0 shutout win in Edmontona Both teams were coming off of losses to the Calgary Flames, although of vastly different degrees. The Oilers were embarrassed 8-1 by the provincial rival Flames at home on Sunday, while the Sharks lost a 2-1 game in Calgary on Monday in a shootouta Laurent Brossoit was called up from the AHL for the game to serve as the Oilers backup goalie after Viktor Fasth was injured in a collision in practice on Wednesdaya Oilers forward Nail Yakupov missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injurya Sharks forward Logan Couture was unable to play after he suffered a lower-body injury while blocking a shot in Wednesdays game in Calgary. Also out for the Sharks were forwards Tomas Hertl (knee) and Raffi Torres, both out with knee injuries. Defenceman Brad Stuart played his second game back since missing 13 games with an upper-body injurya Sharks winger Adam Burish left the game in the second period after taking a hard shot to his hand. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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