#1

id theres a chance he could play

in Diamondcraft - Registration Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:47 am
by yyys123 • 1.785 Posts

TORONTO - The game, according to DeMar DeRozan, was the kind that players live for. The ending was not. Kevin Durant calmly drained a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors in double overtime on Friday. The buzzer-beating bomb from 31 feet out capped a 51-point performance by Durant, the leagues top scorer. Still, DeRozan said there was plenty to take from the game that almost became the Raptors second win this season against one of the best in the West. "Thats a helluva Western Conference team right there, and we fought with them to the end, we were blow for blow," DeRozan said. "It came down to the last shot, those are the types of games you live for. "We cant win every game and we wish we would have got that one, but it still was a helluva game." DeRozan scored 33 points to top the Raptors (38-30) in just their sixth loss at home in 22 outings. Kyle Lowry added 25 points, including a three-pointer that forced a second overtime period, while Amir Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Greivis Vasquez finished with 21 points. Reggie Jackson added 25 points for the Thunder (51-18), while Russell Westbrook had 15 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with yet another knee injury. Durant extended his scoring streak — of at least 25 points a game — to 34 consecutive games. Its the leagues longest scoring streak since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. "Straight up, that was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of," Durant said. With the capacity crowd of 19,800 fans on their feet, and a playoff vibe palpable at the Air Canada Centre in the game that saw 23 lead changes, the Raptors dominated the second overtime period to nearly secure the hard-fought win. DeRozan pumped a victorious fist when he scored on a pullup jumper with 2:37 left to put Toronto up by five. Fans chanted "M-V-P!" when Lowry stepped up to the line to sink two free throws that gave Toronto an eight-point lead. But the Thunder rallied to pull within two on a three by Derek Fisher with 15.7 seconds left, then John Salmons missed on two free throws that surely would have sealed the victory for Toronto. Then, with Johnson on Durant, the Thunder superstar pulled up and calmly launched his second three of the games final minute to send Torontos fans home unhappy. "Yeah, yeah. . . I thought we had it," DeRozan said. "Just give us one of those threes and the game is ours." Added coach Dwane Casey: "Great players make great plays and (Durant) made a great shot." DeRozan said that during a third-quarter timeout, Johnson had asked Casey if he could guard Durant. "It means a lot, man," DeRozan said of his teammates request. "Ive got the utmost respect for him. . .That takes a lot of guts to go out there and play great defence. Got to give it to K.D., he made a lot of tough shots." Johnson said he thought he might be able to throw Durant off with his height. Both Johnson and Durant are six foot nine. "It was tough, hes my height out there shooting from halfcourt, theres not too much you can do but double team that," Johnson said. "It just came down to the stretch where he hit one off the glass (with 47 seconds left) and then that last shot was a tough shot. What can I say about that? It was just a tough shot." The game had gone into a second overtime tied 107-107 thanks to a three-pointer by Lowry with seven seconds left. The game might have been bad news for Westbrook, who sprained his surgically-repaired right knee and with 7:37 left in the third quarter. Lowry had inadvertently bumped into the same knee the Thunder player had undergone his third surgery on in late December. Lowry apologized to Westbrook, as he was being helped to the locker-room by teammate Hasheem Thabeet. Westbrook had sat out the Thunders 102-95 win at Cleveland the previous night to rest his troublesome knee. Westbrook insisted afterward that he didnt expect to miss any time. "Well just see how it goes," he said. "It was fun," he added on the game. "I was in the back wishing I could go out there and help them out but as you see, Kevin took care of that." The Raptors trailed Oklahoma City 72-71 going into the fourth quarter in a scrappy see-saw affair that saw 22 lead changes. The Thunder stretched their lead to seven points when Jackson chucked up an alley-oop to Durant for a dunk with 9:14 left to play. Toronto chipped away at it, eventually taking a 90-89 lead with 3:08 left after a thrilling 30-second segment that saw five points and a steal from DeRozan, and a basket by Johnson. The Raptors were trailing by three with just under a minute to go when Johnson hit one of two free throws then a layup with 17 seconds to go to send the game into the first extra period 96-96. The Raptors had beaten the Thunder 104-98 on Dec. 22 at Oklahoma, ending the Thunders 13-game unbeaten streak at home. That victory was one of the Raptors first significant wins after they overhauled their roster in a seven-player deal, and their solid play has continued as theyre poised to make the post-season for the first time in six years. Durant and the Thunder got some revenge Friday. Asked about Durants game-winning shot, Westbrook said: "Just letting it all hang out. Hes been doing that all season and tonight it was a win or go home. Hes playing at an MVP level as hes been doing all season." Durant and Westbrook scored eight points apiece in a first quarter that saw the lead change hands several times and neither team lead by more than five. Durant scored on a stepback jumper with seven second to go to send the Thunder into the second half with a 22-20 lead. The Raptors held their visitors to 24 per cent shooting in the second quarter, and a stepback jumper by Vasquez put the Raptors up by eight about four minutes into the frame. Westbrook drained a three with 1.9 seconds left to cut Torontos lead to 46-42 at halftime. Durant had 14 points in a third quarter that saw the lead change hands nine times, and the Thunder led by one heading into the fourth. NOTES: The Raptors had won six of their previous seven games against Western Conference teams. . . The Thunder have won 12 of 14 games on the road against Eastern Conference competition. . . Three-time world figure skating champion Patrick Chan was at the game. He was presented with a No. 14 Chan jersey. . . The Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, a game that marks the return of The Raptor. The team mascot ruptured an Achilles tendon during training camp. Virgil Van Dijk Jersey Uk .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. Keita Liverpool Shirt . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.liverpoolshoponlineuk.com/henderson-liverpool-shirt.html . The lightning strike was in the parking lot of Crew Stadium on Saturday night, but its not known if the off-duty lieutenant was struck directly, Columbus Fire Department Battalion Chief Tracy Smith said. The firefighter, identified as Lt. Liverpool Jersey Sale Uk .C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night. Shaqiri Jersey Liverpool .com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. TORONTO -- With their lead atop the American League East on shaky ground after a disappointing road trip, the Toronto Blue Jays wanted to set the tone early for a nine-game homestand with a strong effort against New York on Monday night. Adam Lind provided the power and rookie starter Marcus Stroman had the best start of his young career as the Blue Jays dumped the Yankees 8-3 at Rogers Centre. Stroman, making his fifth start for Toronto, allowed one earned run and three hits over a career-high eight innings. "Shoot, it was a fantastic job," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "We needed that. We needed shutdown innings early on to give us a chance to get on the board. Pretty impressive." Toronto (43-35) opened the scoring with a single run in the first inning and Lind belted a three-run shot off New York starter Chase Whitley in the Blue Jays six-run second. That was more than enough offence for Stroman (4-2), who tied a career high with seven strikeouts. "I felt my change-up was a big pitch today," he said. "Even though I didnt use it much, when I did use it, it was pretty crucial. I was just down in the zone today. Me and (catcher Dioner Navarro) got on a pretty good roll." Stromans lone blemish was a solo shot by Mark Teixeira, who hit his 13th homer of the season in the fourth inning to put New York (39-36) on the board. The Yankees fell into third place with the loss, 2 1/2 games behind Toronto. The Baltimore Orioles remained in second place, 1 1/2 games back, after a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. Torontos offensive outburst was most welcome for a team that was coming off a disappointing 3-7 road trip and had been held to three runs or less in 11 of its last 16 games. The Blue Jays also had to make lineup adjustments with Jose Bautista out for at least a few days with a left hamstring strain and Brett Lawrie on the disabled list with a broken finger. Lind, who has been nursing a sore foot of late, helped fill the void by driving in four runs and scoring twice in the opener of the three-game set. "Lind is a big part of this offence," Gibbons said. "He kills right-handers." Edwin Encarnacion had three hits and Melky Cabrera had two hits and scored twice as Toronto outhit New York 13-6. Anthony Gose chipped in with a pair oof hits and made an excellent running catch against the wall in right field in the sixth inning.dddddddddddd "The defence behind me was unbelievable," Stroman said. "Eddie made two great plays, Gose with an unbelievable play. Stuff like that kind of picks you up and gives you much more confidence going into the next couple innings." Whitley (3-1), meanwhile, allowed eight earned runs, 11 hits and three walks while striking out a pair. "It seemed like when he made a mistake, they hit it hard and when he made a good pitch, they seemed to find a hole with it," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "It was the combination of that. It was a tough start for him." Toronto reliever Chad Jenkins relieved Stroman and gave up two runs over two-thirds of an inning. With two runners in scoring position, Aaron Loup got Brian Roberts to fly out to end the game. Notes: Announced attendance was 31,554 and the game took two hours 45 minutes to play. ... Whitleys earned-run average rose to 4.07 from 2.56 while Stromans fell to 4.25 from 5.14. ... Steve Tolleson replaced Francisco at third base in the seventh inning. ... Both Bautista and Lawrie were hurt Sunday in Cincinnati. Bautista said theres a chance he could play at some point in this series but Lawrie, from Langley, B.C., will likely be out for three to six weeks. ... Bautista has been named captain of the American League Home Run Derby team for the July 14 event during all-star week at Minnesotas Target Field. Colorados Troy Tulowitzki will captain the National League side. ... Toronto recalled Gose and fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar from triple-A Buffalo on Monday and optioned catcher Erik Kratz to the Bisons. ... Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-4, 2.32) is scheduled to start Tuesday against New York right-hander David Phelps (3-4, 4.13). ... Following the series against the Yankees, the Blue Jays will continue their nine-game homestand with a four-game series against the White Sox. Toronto will get an off-day Monday before a two-game mini-series against the Milwaukee Brewers. ... Cabrera has had at least one hit in his last 20 games against the Yankees. He has reached base safely in all 22 career games against his former club. ... Yangervis Solarte ended an 0-for-28 skid with an RBI single in the ninth. ' ' '

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