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tough, were going to have to continue to take it one game at a
in Here is your first Forum Fri Nov 01, 2019 2:14 pmby sakura698 • 1.245 Posts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Nike Air Max 270 Sale . -- The Miami Heat hoped to rest three banged-up regulars and lean on LeBron James to steal a road victory before visiting one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Instead, the Sacramento Kings spoiled those plans -- and James hurt himself in the process. DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 17 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 26 and the Kings rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the short-handed Heat 108-103 in overtime Friday night. "I thought our guys accepted the challenge," Sacramento coach Michael Malone said. James said he strained his right groin before finishing with 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Miamis six-game winning streak ended. Whether he plays at Portland on Saturday night is uncertain. "It aint feeling too good right now," James said. The two-time defending NBA champions played without Dwyane Wade (resting his knees), Ray Allen (right knee tendinitis) and Chris Andersen (sore back). James stayed mostly on the perimeter in the second half when his injury started to swell. The Kings capitalized on the opportunity. Isaiah Thomas had 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to help Sacramento (9-19) upend the Heat (22-7) a week after a blowout loss in Miami. Gay made a tying jumper in the final minutes of regulation, and the Kings quickly pulled away in the extra period to bring the sellout crowd of 17,317 roaring to its feet. "This is a new team, and for us to come out and perform against one of the best teams in the league, its a pretty good feeling," Cousins said. Malone even called out his players mistakes publicly following a loss to New Orleans on Monday. He gave his players a couple of days off around Christmas and asked them, "What type of team do we want to be this season?" "The biggest thing is we responded," Gay said. The Kings overcame 23 turnovers and some lacklustredefence at the start to pull off the comeback. Sacramento outshot Miami 49.4 per cent to 44.2 per cent and outrebounded the Heat 51-35. A day after winning The Associated Press 2013 Male Athlete of the Year, James helped the Heat build a big lead early but couldnt hold off a late Kings rally by himself. He also appeared to tweak his left ankle when he fell into the crowd after missing a layup in the second quarter, but he said his ankle felt fine. James set up Chris Bosh for a dunk, then made one of two free throws to put the Heat ahead 89-85 with 2:42 remaining in the fourth. A few plays later, Mario Chalmers was called for a flagrant foul after pushing Cousins to the ground. Cousins made both free throws, and Gay hit a tying turnaround jumper. After Gay forced a turnover by James, Thomas missed a running shot. James came down with the rebound, dribbled down court and missed a difficult 3-pointer over Gay at the regulation buzzer. Gay made a 3 and Thomas hit a pull-up shot at the start of overtime. After James made a driving layup, Thomas answered with another from beyond the arc to give the Kings a 97-91 lead. James still nearly rallied Miami from eight points down in the final minute. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers -- sandwiched between Sacramento scores -- to bring the Heat within three with 13.1 seconds left. But James and the Heat simply ran out of time. At the outset, James wasted no time putting Miami in control. He scored nine points and assisted on two of Shane Battiers three 3-pointers during a 23-6 run to open the game. With James on the bench, Sacramento sliced Miamis lead to seven in the second quarter. The four-time NBA MVP returned and restored order -- at least for a moment -- to help the Heat go ahead 55-45 at halftime. The Kings outscored Miami 29-18 in the third quarter behind big plays from Cousins and Gay -- with almost all of them directed by Thomas. Sacramento entered the fourth with a 74-73 lead to set up a furious finish. "The game turned in the third quarter," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Probably more than anything our offence got us in trouble. A lot of jump shots. And they stepped up their defence. You have to give them credit for that." NOTES: James passed Larry Bird (21,791 points) and Gary Payton (21,813 points) to move into 29th place on the NBAs career scoring list. ... Spoelstra said Greg Odens rehabilitation from various knee injuries is progressing, but the centre is not expected to play in Miamis lone visit to Portland on Saturday night. ... Cousins was called for his NBA-leading ninth technical foul after arguing with officials in the first quarter. ... The Heat entered with a 7-0 record against Western Conference teams this season. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 . His team rose to the occasion Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. "The sting from yesterday is not something we hid from or pretend didnt happen," Dineen said. Nike Air Max 270 From China . Jimmy Howard made 44 saves and Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . Hemsky left the Oilers Tuesday night loss to the Dallas Stars in the second period and did not return. Through 48 games this season, Hemsky has seven goals and a total of 24 points. TORONTO -- All coach Randy Carlyle wanted his Toronto Maple Leafs to do was breathe. "Thats been our catchphrase now, because you cant do anything if you dont breathe," he said. Breathe despite seeing an eight-game losing streak all but ruin their playoff chances. Breathe despite blowing a two-goal, third-period lead to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at Air Canada Centre. The Leafs did that, then got a chance to exhale with a 4-3 overtime victory that, if nothing else, keeps their hopes alive for another couple of days. "Were alive, but theres a lot of things that have to go our way," Carlyle said. "Make sure that we dont get too far ahead of ourselves. Weve only won two games here." Nazem Kadris goal 2:51 into overtime was just one of several pieces that must fall into place for the Leafs to rebound and make the playoffs as a wild card in the Eastern Conference. They likely need to also win all four of their remaining games, as they got no help Thursday night from the Columbus Blue Jackets, who beat the Philadelphia Flyers to remain one point ahead (85 to 84). The Blue Jackets also have two more games left to play, leaving the Leafs (38-32-8) to hope for help along the way. They could also have to lean on backup goaltender James Reimer, after starter Jonathan Bernier left Thursday nights game 7:22 into the third period with what Carlyle would only say was a lower-body injury. Bernier, who missed five games with a groin injury last month, was set for an MRI, according to Carlyle. In stopping 10 of the 11 shots he faced in relief throughout the remainder of the third and overtime, Reimer picked up his first victory since March 13. "Worried for Jonathans health, obviously. But its not worrisome with James coming in," winger Troy Bodie said. "Hes a good goalie, hes proven himself. He went in there and did a great job." Reimer had to do a great job because the Bruins (52-18-7) were pushing. They had already cut the Leafs lead -- which was built on goals by Paul Ranger, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk -- to one by the time Bernier was forced to leave. The play that led to Berniers injury even included a penalty on Ranger, who pushed Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron into the goaltender. Reimer came in and got the Leafs through the penalty kill before allowing the tying goal to Bergeron at the 12:51 mark of the third. "It showed some character to be able to come back against a desperate team like Toronto," said Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who scored Bostons second goal of the night 5:03 into the third. "These are the type of the situations you can find yourselves in in the playoffs." The Leafs can still dream and hope for the playoffs because Reimer stopped the next six shots he faced, holding on long enough to allow Kadri to eventually be the hero on the power play in overtime. "I tried to hold the boys in there and keep it close," Reimer said. "I had faith in the boys. They pulled it out, and obviously it was a good feeling." Any other feeling than the thrill of victory on Thursday niight wouldve almost certainly ended the Leafs chances, especially given the Blue Jackets win in Philadelphia and their extra games left. Nike Air Max 270 Outlet. Kadri said after the teams morning skate that he and his teammates were well aware of their spot in the standings, which is much further down than they were a few weeks ago. They also knew the Bruins were atop the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division and had all but clinched home ice throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. In losing back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 26 and March 1, Boston mightve picked up a vital lesson after a month filled with so much winning. "Its adversity that were going to face in the playoffs," Bergeron said. "Weve got to make sure that we realize that." Lessons in losing are cheap for the Leafs with time running short. They have just four games left, beginning Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Thats their home finale before travelling to face the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators to close out the season. Asked if he thought his Leafs would have to run the table to make the playoffs, Carlyle responded simply: "I just worry about the next one." That has been the mantra dating to Torontos losing streak, which ended Tuesday with a victory over the Calgary Flames. Now the Leafs are on a winning streak, their first since March 8 and 10. "Weve won two in a row now, so thats a starting point," Bozak said. "We have huge games coming up here to end the season. But that was a tough test for our team tonight, and we were able to come out on top." Just being able to come out on top against one of the NHLs top teams gave the Leafs a boost of confidence. But listen to players within the locker-room and there was never any of that missing. "We always have the confidence in our group no matter what happens and I think we have a good core group of leadership in here and guys that are all pulling the rope in the same direction," said van Riemsdyk, who hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. "We stuck with it, even though things were tough, were going to have to continue to take it one game at a time, one shift at a time and go from there." NOTES -- Winger Joffrey Lupul was scratched with a lower-body injury and replaced in the lineup by Jerry DAmigo. Carlyle did not know for sure but called Lupul "doubtful" for Saturdays game against Winnipeg. ... First-liner Phil Kessel, who has been playing with a bruised right foot, had two assists for his first multi-point game since March 10. ... Bodie played 20:29, by far a career-high. Carlyle explained that was a product of wanting to create a checking line to open up van Riemsdyk, Bozak and Kessel for more favourable ice time. ... Former Flames captain Jarome Iginla returned to the Bruins lineup after missing the Bruins 3-2 loss to the Red Wings with what the team called a lower-body injury. ... Bruins forward Carl Soderberg returned to Boston for the birth of his child, which meant Jordan Caron played his second straight game. ' ' '
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