-and-1s in the final minute. Atkins missed a floater and Connaughton was o | Forum

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Adidas Superstar 2 Pas Cher . -- The Oklahoma Thunder took the fourth quarter off and almost paid for it against the Sacramento Kings. Kevin Durant had 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Thunder withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to earn their eighth straight win, a 97-95 victory over slumping Sacramento on Tuesday night. The Thunder were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, but hung on to improve to 4-3 on the road this season. "We cant ever take a win for granted," said Durant, who missed three of four shots and scored three points in the fourth quarter. "Its hard to win in this league. We won the game, thats all that matters." Although the Thunder played inspired defence in limiting the Kings to a combined 34 points in the middle two quarters, they had no answer for Kings diminutive reserve guard Isaiah Thomas in the fourth period. The Thunder built a 17-point lead early in the fourth, but had to hold off the Kings and Thomas, who scored 21 of his 24 points in the final period and missed a jumper with 1 second left that would have sent the game to overtime. "I felt like I was passive in the first half and I wasnt really doing anything on offence," said Thomas, who made 8 of 14 shots in the fourth, including a pair of 3s. "When I got in at the end of the third and fourth I wanted to try to make a difference. I was in attack mode and my teammates kept feeding me." Thomas made a 20-foot jumper with 37 seconds left, getting the Kings within 97-95. After Durant misfired on a 3, the Kings got the rebound and set up the final shot for Thomas, but it hit the front rim and Durant secured the rebound. "There are no nights off in the West," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "The West is so good and there are so many good teams and tough places to play." One of those teams and places is Portland, where the Thunder play Wednesday night. "We have to play better tomorrow night," Brooks said. "Were playing one of the hottest teams in the game right now. They have a great home crowd and have a great atmosphere. But our team has always been up for challenges and definitely tomorrow night will be a tough challenge for us." The Kings played without starting centre DeMarcus Cousins in dropping their fifth straight. He sprained his right ankle against Golden State on Sunday and watched Tuesdays game in street clothes. Cousins, the Kings leading scorer (21.7) and rebounder (10.1), is day to day. The Kings next play Friday at home against the Lakers. Russell Westbrook had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but also committed seven turnovers for the Thunder, who have defeated the Kings seven straight and 13 of 14. Jeremy Lamb scored 14 points, Reggie Jackson had 13, and Serge Ibaka had 13 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City. Rookie Ben McLemore scored 14 points for Sacramento, Derrick Williams added 13, Greivis Vasquez 12 and Jason Thompson had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings have made a habit of getting behind by double digits and making impressive fourth-quarter rallies. "DeMarcus doesnt play tonight, (were) playing against a team thats 12-3, and odds have them one of the favourites to get to the Finals out of the West," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "And we play them tooth and nail, giving ourselves a chance to win. At some point were going to pull these games out." The game was the start of a difficult stretch of road games for Oklahoma City. The Thunder play three games in four nights, then go home to face Indiana on Sunday. Thats followed by two more road games next week at Atlanta and Memphis. The Thunder have been flawless this season at home, winning all nine games and tying Indiana for the best home record. Oklahoma City just concluded a six-game home stand with a convincing victory Sunday against Minnesota. NOTES: The Thunder assigned rookie guard/forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League on Tuesday. He appeared in six games (one start) this season, averaging 1.7 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game. . The Kings shot 58 per cent in the first quarter, 33 per cent in the second, and 26 per cent in the third. . The Kings had eight turnovers after committing a season-high 24 Sunday against Golden State. Adidas Superstar 2 Noir Or . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Adidas Superstar 2 Blanche Pas Cher . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http:///...uperstar-2-bleu.html . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Trevor Cooney has hit shooting touch back -- just in the nick of time for top-ranked Syracuse. Cooney scored a career-high 33 points, matching a school record with nine 3-pointers, and the Orange beat Notre Dame 61-55 on Monday night in another matchup of former Big East foes. After struggling to a woeful 25.4 per cent (14 of 55) from behind the arc in his first seven Atlantic Coast Conference games, Cooney has hit 11 of 13 in the past two games and was the difference against the Irish as the Oranges front line faltered. "It feels good," Cooney said. "I kind of got going and guys just found me in good spots." Syracuse (22-0, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which moved to No. 1 this week after its scintillating 91-89 overtime victory over Duke on Saturday night and Arizonas loss to California, extended its school record for most consecutive wins to start a season. Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7) has lost seven of nine. Two days after one of the most emotional wins in Jim Boeheims 38 years as head coach, Syracuse played its first game as the nations top team since the 2011-12 season. Two years ago, the Orange were unbeaten and ranked No. 1 when they went to South Bend, and Notre Dame upset them 67-58. It was the eighth time Notre Dame had beaten a No. 1 team and turned out to be Syracuses lone loss of the regular season. "That was in the back of my mind," said C.J. Fair, who had a season-low six points on 2-of-13 shooting after scoring a career-high 28 against Duke. "I didnt want that to happen again." Cooney made sure there was no repeat, hitting five 3-pointers in the first half as the Orange gained a 13-point halftime advantage, then barely held the Irish at bay in the second half. "We put ourselves in position to make it interesting," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We came into this game, and especially if you watch what they did to Duke, beating them up in the paint. You really try to take stuff away in the paint. I thought overall with the guys that destroy you in the paint we did a good job. But we couldnt do a good job on Cooney. Seven of the nine I think we challenged. He was just in one of those zones, and youve got to take your hat off." Cooney, 9 of 12 from long range, matched the rrecord set by Gerry McNamara in the 2004 NCAA tournament and equaled by Andy Rautins in 2008 and James Southerland in 2012. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Femme. . Jerami Grant and Fair, who combined for 54 points against Duke, combined for just 15, while Tyler Ennis found little room in the lane to penetrate and finished with six points and eight assists. Garrick Sherman led Notre Dame with 16 points, Steve Vasturia had 13, and Pat Connaughton 11, while Eric Atkins had nine on 3-of-10 shooting. Notre Dame closed within 38-32 on a 3-pointer from Atkins with 14:19 to play, but Syracuse responded with seven straight points. Grant slammed home a dunk after his block on Sherman and Fair followed with a slam off a Grant miss. Cooney completed the run with his seventh 3-pointer, which tied his personal best. The Irish have four long-range threats in Atkins, Connaughton, Vasturia, and Demetrius Jackson, who had combined for 127 3-pointers on the season entering the game, and Notre Dames long-range attack came alive in the second half after going 1 of 6 in the first 20 minutes. Two 3-pointers by Atkins, Vasturias three-point play and a slam dunk by Tom Knight moved the Irish back within 43-40 with 8:41 to go. Grant responded with a spinning drive through the lane and Cooney hit another 3. Grant then fed Cooney for a reverse layup and three-point play and Cooney hit his ninth 3 for a 54-44 lead with 4:14 to play. Notre Dame refused to wilt, pulling back to 54-49 on Connaughtons three-point play at 2:52. "Thats who this group is," Brey said. "We havent been able to get over the hump and win enough. Weve been down on the road just about every time, and we come back and give ourselves a chance. I love that about us. If we keep doing that enough, I think well get a couple of them." Grants layup off a feed from Ennis and two free throws by Ennis boosted the lead back to eight, and the Orange made it interesting when Ennis and Fair each missed the front end of 1-and-1s in the final minute. Atkins missed a floater and Connaughton was off on a 3-point attack in the final seconds. "I had a look and missed, which would have been a really big shot for us," Atkins said. "That was a huge play. But they played great. They made plays when they were needed." Cheap JerseysWholesale Jerseys Wholesale JerseysCheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys' ' '