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SAN ANTONIO -- Teams are finding out theres little they can do to stop Kevin Durant. Aaron Gordon 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. D.J. Augustin Jersey .com) - Jahlil Okafor erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No. Custom Orlando Magic Jerseys .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray. http://www.magicauthenticshop.com/Authentic-Grant-Hill-Magic-Jersey/ . -- Billy Andrade hasnt played much competitive golf over the past four years.DETROIT -- Dave Dombrowskis latest trade also felt like one of his most predictable. There was simply no way the Detroit general manager was going to sit idly by without addressing his teams bullpen. "Weve been working on trying to find someone in the bullpen for an extended period," Dombrowski said. "Its something weve been focused on for a while. For the month of July, at least." The Tigers added one of the games better relievers in a trade earlier this week, acquiring Joakim Soria from Texas, but that may only be the beginning of a significant overhaul in the way Detroit approaches the late innings. Manager Brad Ausmus stuck with his usual routine in Thursday nights win over the Los Angeles Angels, using Joba Chamberlain in the eighth and Joe Nathan in the ninth. But with Soria in the fold, Ausmus now has more options. Detroits bullpen woes are nothing new. The Tigers finally gave up on Jose Valverde as their closer last year, letting Joaquin Benoit handle that role instead. Benoit pitched well, but the grand slam he allowed to Bostons David Ortiz was perhaps the defining moment of baseballs entire post-season in 2013. Benoit left via free agency, and Detroit signed Nathan, who was coming off a sparkling season with the Rangers. The 39-year-old right-hander has slipped badly this year. Even after striking out the side to close out a 6-4 win Thursday, his ERA was an unsightly 5.73. Nathan has shown mild signs of improvement, posting a 3.68 ERA in his last 15 appearances, striking out 21 in 14 2-3 innings in that span. But statistically, Soria has been better this year than any of Detroits current relievers -- and the Tigers gave up a couple promising young arms to get him. Ausmus says hes keeping Nathan and Chamberlain in their usual roles for now -- but Sorias presence means the Detroit manager doesnt hhave to be overly patient with anyone. Marreese Speights Jersey. Soria struck out 42 with only four walks this season with Texas. As desperate as theyve seemed for bullpen help, the Tigers didnt have to do anything totally irrational to acquire it. Thursdays victory gave Detroit a seven-game lead in the AL Central. The Tigers have had an unusual season. Theyve had winning streaks of eight, seven, six and five, but they also went through a 9-20 stretch that briefly knocked them out of first place. "Even if you win 95 games -- which is real good -- youre losing 67. And there are streaks attached to that," Dombrowski said. "Were a little streakier than I thought we would be as far as losses are concerned. You dont really expect us with our starting pitching staff ... usually when you have strong starting pitching, and some good offence, which we have, that puts sort of a stop to those streaks." The starting rotation has been a strength of this team for the last couple years. Now, the goal is to assemble a bullpen that will enable the Tigers to succeed in tight games when runs are scarce. Chamberlain has been solid in his first season with the Tigers, and the addition of Soria should certainly help. But even if Nathan pitches better, Detroit could probably still use more depth. Left-handed relievers Ian Krol and Phil Coke have generally been erratic. If the Tigers reach the post-season, they could move lefty Drew Smyly from the rotation to the bullpen, where he excelled last year. But there could still be more moves on the way between now and then. "Were still open-minded to getting better," Dombrowski told reporters on a conference call after trading for Soria. "Our bullpen has been a situation that has been our major focus and I guess would continue to be our major focus if we are going to do something." Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys China Jerseys NFL Cheap China Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys From China ' ' ' |
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