Crazy Rebel(l)s
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26.01.2019 02:22
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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City may soon have to address the issue of slow defensive starts that lead to double-digit deficits. On Sunday, the Thunder just wanted to bask in another comeback win and another historical statistical performance by Kevin Durant. Durant recorded his first triple-double of the season with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Thunder rallied for another fourth-quarter win, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-103. Durant also added four blocked shots and four steals. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first NBA player to record 30 or more points, 10 or more rebounds, 12 or more assists, four or more steals and four or more blocks in the same game since blocks and steals became official NBA stats during the 1973-74 season. "Kevin is a stat filler," coach Scott Brooks said. "He can do it all and he has the ability to have large scoring nights, rebounding, assists and steals and blocked shots. Hes one of the few guys that can do that. Thats what makes us a good defensive team, because he can guard not only his man, he can guard multiple positions." Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to seven games, tops in the Western Conference, and moved to 9-0 on the season at home, matching the franchises longest home winning streak to open a season, set in Seattle in 2004. "You always want to play tough, aggressive defensive basketball for 48 minutes," Brooks said. "We didnt do it tonight, but we came back in the second half and made some adjustments and took care of the things we thought were important. We have to play much better going on the road." Kevin Martin, in his return to Oklahoma City after joining Minnesota during the off-season, led the Timberwolves with 24 points, while Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder have beaten Minnesota eight straight times at home, dating to the 2008-09 season, the franchises first in Oklahoma City. Minnesota led 83-78 entering the fourth quarter but wilted against Oklahoma Citys defence, scoring just 20 points. Meanwhile, Durant had two of the Thunders six 3-pointers in the quarter and finished off his fourth career triple-double. His previous three came last season. Asked if a triple-double meant anything to him, Durant didnt even mention his stat line during his answer, focusing instead on his teammates defensive effort. "Im glad we got the W," Durant said. "We came out a little sluggish on the defensive end early on, but they started off 80 per cent (from the field). Holding them to 41 per cent from the game was really big. I think our bigs did a good job of frustrating the two bigs on the other end. We kind of fed off their energy." Overcoming large deficits has been a Thunder specialty this season. Oklahoma City rallied from double-digit, second-half deficits in wins over Denver and Washington, and trailed by 11 points in the first half against the Timberwolves. Durant and Jeremy Lamb each hit a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run by Oklahoma City to start the fourth quarter, with Lambs giving the Thunder their first lead at 84-83. Reggie Jackson and Durant later hit 3-pointers to put Oklahoma City up 94-88 with 7:48 left and the Thunder werent threatened after that. "Well, it was a tough game," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I thought the boys played really well the first three quarters. We competed and moved the ball. Fourth quarter, we just went with that small lineup and had some miscommunication and they kind of took control of the game then." The Timberwolves routed Oklahoma City 100-81 in the second game of the season, on Nov. 1, although the Thunder played without All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook in that game. Westbrook scored 19 points Sunday and Jackson came off the bench to finish 8 of 11 from the field and score 18 points, helping the Thunder shoot a season-best 56.3 per cent. Serge Ibaka added 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots for Oklahoma City. Kevin Love had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, hitting his first three 3-point attempts in the first quarter but missing his other three attempts. Love finished 4 of 14 from the field. Minnesota led by as many as 11 points during a freewheeling first half. Martin scored 17 points, while Durant countered with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting for the Thunder, who shot 58 per cent. NOTES: As do most former Thunder players, when Martin was introduced before the game, he received a polite round of applause and a few cheers from the crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena . Oklahoma City C Kendrick Perkins and Pekovic both received technical fouls after getting tangled up under the Minnesota basket early in the third quarter . When Minnesota G Ricky Rubio gave a "What? Me?" look after being called for a first-quarter foul while guarding Westbrook, referee Joey Crawford yelled at Rubio, "Dont be looking at me like that." Rubio picked up his second foul soon after, also from Crawford . Oklahoma City swept its season-high, six-game homestand. Its just the second time the franchise has swept a homestand of six games or longer. Seattle swept a seven-game homestand during the 1977-78 season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3. Jordan Whitehead Buccaneers Jersey . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. http://www.shopbuccaneersauthentic.com/Customized/ . He says he will have the operation Wednesday and be ready in time for training camp in September. Bernier missed five games in March due to the injury. Alex Cappa Jersey . GQ Lundqvist quite well.Three rounds, and nearly two months later, will the Kings have the strength to reach the summit of the Empire State to claim the cup?Truer words have never been spoken. Carlton Davis Buccaneers Jersey .C. - Brent Sutter scored 1:32 into extra time as the Charlotte Checkers came from behind to defeat the visiting Abbotsford Heat 5-4 on Sunday in American Hockey League action.LOS ANGELES -- Big Apple equals big prices when it comes to buying a Stanley Cup final ticket on the secondary market. SeatGeek, an aggregator for the secondary ticket market, reports a "very high" demand for tickets in both Los Angeles and New York. "But theres a huge difference between the two cities," SeatGeek spokesman Connor Gregoire said Tuesday from New York. "Its much more a sellers market in New York." The average ticket price for Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles is about US$800, with the cheapest going for $400, according to Gregoire. In New York, the average price for Games 3 and 4 is $1,800, with the cheapest at $1,000. "Its actually cheaper, say youre a Rangers fan in New York, for you to book a last-minute round-trip flight to L.A., stay in a hotel, buy two tickets to Game 1 or 2," said Gregoire. "Youd actually save money doing that versus buying two tickets in New York." Cameron Papp, a spokesman for ticket reseller StubHub, quoted an average price for Game 1 in Los Angeles at around $760 with Game 3 in New York at about $1,500. "New York actually hasnt seen a title in a while," he said from San Francisco. "A lot of fans are excited about it and thats whats driving up demand for this Stanley Cup final." Seeing the Rangers is a tough ticket during the regular season. Add pent-up demand due to a 20-year absence from the Cup final and New Yorkers desire to see a winner and you have a recipe for a sticker shock. Plus there are sports fans with some deep pockets there. They need them. Face value for most Rangers Cup final tickets start at $450 with an average of $750, according to Gregoire. Ice-level seats at Madison Square Garden can exceed $1,000. Rangers forward Derek Stepan says the good news for him is that most people understand that he cant help them with tickets. "Theres not too many people that are reaching out because they know that in this situation, that its going to be family only," he said. "It is crazy though," he said of the demand for tickets. Would he pay $1,800 for a ticket? "Me? I love the game," he said. "Id pay for it." SeatGeeek, established in September 2009, has only seen one event with more ticket sizzle -- the Super Bowl earlier this year in the New York/New Jersey area.dddddddddddd The average price for that Super Bowl on the secondary ticket market was $2,500. "So youre getting pretty close to that stratosphere," Gregoire said, referring to the Cup final. He believes this Cup final could equal that Super Bowl mark if the Rangers have a shot at closing out the series in Game 4 or 6. "Youre going to see a huge spike in prices," he said. And Game 6 tickets are already averaging $2,300. "Its pretty much there, at Super Bowl levels already." As of Tuesday afternoon, StubHub had 2,750 seats on offer for both Game 1 in Los Angeles and Game 4 in New York, with the number going down. Gregoire said usually 20 to 25 per cent of the arena is available on secondary outlets. The SeatGeek spokesman says if you have the cash and the desire to go to the final, dont wait. "Normally tickets on the secondary market come down in price, especially the last day of the game when sellers are happy to take whatever they can get for their tickets. But in the Stanley Cup finals or championship series in any sport really, theres so much demand ... fans are sort of out of luck if theyre hoping to score a last-minute bargain-basement deal." The Rangers are always a good draw, says Papp. This year, they were third behind the Blackhawks and Bruins on the StubHub sales table. "Its a pretty hot ticket, especially when the Knicks arent doing so well," he added. The Kings have also proved to be popular. Papp says two years ago Game 4 in Los Angeles Staples Center was StubHubs highest-selling Stanley Cup game of all-time. "Were going to see some demand from Los Angeles too. I just think its a little early." In other words, Kings fans are coming off their Game 7 win in Chicago while Rangers fans have had time to mull over buying tickets since eliminated the Canadiens late last week. As for StubHub, its hoping for a long series. "We always like more games," Papp said with a laugh. "Hopefully its going to be a great series." Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' ' |
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