SAN ANTONIO -- Teams are finding out theres little they can do to stop
Kevin Durant.
Walt Tkaczuk Rangers Jersey . Durant had 36
points to offset Tony Parkers season-high 37, and Oklahoma City survived a testy
111-105 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night, their third win this season
over the defending Western Conference champions. Durant is averaging 38.1 points
in his last 11 games, helping the Thunder reclaim the Western Conferences record
with a five-game winning streak and an 8-3 mark. "Kevin did his thing down the
stretch, it was pretty remarkable," San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Reggie Jackson gave Durant all the help he needed, matching his season high with
27 points while handing out eight assists. Durant and Jackson combined for 22
points on 9-for-15 shooting in a 35-point fourth quarter for Oklahoma City
(33-10). Jackson had 11 consecutive points early in the fourth, blowing past
Parker for layups to give the Thunder a 94-89 lead with 8 minutes left. "He has
had great games against the Spurs," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "I
cant put my finger on it. We want him to play aggressive basketball on both ends
of the floor. I thought he did a good job of finding spots on the floor that he
can finish around the rim." Jackson averages 13.2 points, but has scored 23.7
points against the Spurs this season. Durant bounced up and down excitedly after
his second 3-pointer of the quarter gave Oklahoma City a 108-98 lead with 1
minute remaining. "Durant hit some tough shots, he hit some big 3s down the
stretch and it just got away from us," Spurs veteran Tim Duncan said. "I dont
know how else to explain it." Duncan and Boris Diaw scored 14 points each,
Marco Belinelli had 13 points and Manu Ginobili added 10 points. Duncan added 13
rebounds, but San Antonio (32-10) struggled to overcome the loss of their top
defensive stopper, Kawhi Leonard. Durant finished 12 for 22, but struggled to
get his shot off against the snug defence of the 6-foot-7 Leonard, who has a 7-4
wingspan. Leonard left the game late in the first half after sustaining a
non-displaced fracture in his right hand. His status is unknown, but a similar
injury is expected to sideline Danny Green for a month. "Its tough, were
dropping like flies right now," Duncan said. "Losing Kawhi was huge, especially
in a game like tonight." Durant scored 24 points after Leonard left the game
with 3 minutes left in the first half. "I felt early in the game the
pick-and-roll was working," Durant said. "I was able to go at the bigs a little
bit and in the second half I missed some shots, too. They did a good job of just
being physical. I think in the second half the defence was a little better."
With Leonard out, the Spurs rotated Belinelli, Ginobili and 6-3 former Texas
Longhorns teammate Cory Joseph on the 6-9 Durant. San Antonio even attempted a
zone at one point to slow Durant to no avail. "(He guarded Durant) just one time
in the zone -- he just shot over me," Parker said. "He is on fire right now
anyways. He played great tonight. You just have to give them credit." The Spurs
used a physical defence against Durant with Leonard out, especially when
Ginobili drew the assignment. The tough play angered Durant, who twice lowered
his shoulder and dropped Ginobili. Both plays resulted in non-calls, which
incensed Popovich. The Spurs coach screamed at officials while Durant appeared
to yell at Popovich. Popovich was assessed a technical foul, which Durant
angrily sank with 1:12 to give Oklahoma City a 55-51 lead with 1:19 left in the
first half. Durant dismissed the heated emotion just as quickly as he did any
psychological boost the Thunder will get from beating the rival Spurs three
times. "Im sure those guys arent worried that we beat them three times," Durant
said. "Were just going to keep plugging away." San Antonio is 1-9 against the
Wests remaining top-five teams and the Easts best, Indiana, but they have bigger
problems now. After remaining relatively healthy in reaching the NBA finals last
season, the Spurs have been plagued by a rash of injuries in the past month.
Leonard joins starting centre Tiago Splitter and former starter Green on the
injured list. Parker is also still has a bruised shin that limits his mobility
and long-range shooting forward Matt Bonner has to wear a mask after breaking
his nose Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers. "(Losing Leonard) is a big
loss for us," Parker said. "We are already down Tiago and Danny, but everyone
goes through injuries and we have to deal with it. Other guys are going to have
to step up, but we just have to keep playing." Parker had 20 points in the
second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter. "Offensively, Tony was great,
but he needed some help for a little while and we just did not get it to him,"
Duncan said. There were four lead changes and six ties in the third quarter, but
Oklahoma City never trailed in the fourth. NOTES: Splitter (sprained right
shoulder) and Green (broken left index finger) both missed the game. ...
Oklahoma City is 10-4 in back-to-back games, including a 4-3 record on the
second night. They have swept three back-to-backs this season. San Antonio has a
54-22 record at home over Oklahoma City. ... Bonner, the Spurs fun-loving
forward, is playing along with the ribbing he is getting about the mask he must
wear to protect the broken nose he sustained Friday against the Portland Trail
Blazers. Duncan, who owns a vehicle customization shop, offered a custom-paint
job for the clear mask and Parker joked that Bonner could "scare Durant" with
it. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News jokingly asked if the injury
ends Bonners hopes of a modeling career once his NBA days are over. "I can still
be a hand model," Bonner said.
Sergei Nemchinov Rangers Jersey .com) -
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar
and New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo were named the NHLs players of the
week on Monday.
New York Rangers Hoodie . Thats 14
consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over
before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very
different feel to it.MADRID - Atletico Madrid edged Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at home
to take a slim lead from the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final on
Thursday. After Bilbaos Ander Herrera missed a good chance to strike first,
Atletico midfielder Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion swung in a cross from the right
side for Diego Godin to thump home with a powerful header in the 41st minute.
The defending champions pressed to extend their advantage, but Bilbao limited
them to a glancing header from Raul Garcia that goalkeeper Iago Herrerin
stretched to save 10 minutes from time. "I was lucky enough to hang a ball up
there that Godin put in," Koke said. "With 1-0 the tie isnt decided, but we got
a good result heading there.&quoot; Diego Simeones side remained unbeaten at
its Vicente Calderon Stadium in 18 games this season.
Mark Messier Rangers Jersey Authentic. .
While his team continues to deploy the toughest defence in Spain, Atletico
striker Diego Costa came up empty for a fifth match in 2014. "The truth is that
we would have liked to have at least drawn. Now we have to turn it around at San
Mames," said Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, who tussled with Diego Costa
throughout the intense match. In other opening legs this week, Barcelona rolled
to a 4-1 victory at Levante, Real Madrid won 1-0 at Espanyol, and Real Sociedad
beat third-tier Racing Santander 3-1 at home. The second legs will be next week
after the 21st round of the Spanish league.
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