CHARLOTTE, N. Adidas NMD Italia .C. - With 2.7 seconds left in the second overtime and the game tied, an exhausted Lance Stephenson looked at Steve Clifford and said, Cmon Coach, draw me up a play.So Clifford did.Stephenson inbounded the ball to Marvin Williams, got it back off a handoff and knocked down a 33-foot jumper off the glass at the buzzer to lift the Charlotte Hornets to a 122-119 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.Stephenson, who played 47 minutes, celebrated by racing to the scorers table and leaping on top. He started pounding his chest as the teal and purple-clad crowd went wild.Stephenson said hes hit shots to tie games before but had never hit a game-winner at any level of basketball.For me to hit that big shot, there was a lot of emotion that came out, Stephenson said. I got real hyped.When asked if he called bank, Stephenson laughed and said, I cant hit a swish yet, so I tried to throw it off the backboard and it went in.Stephenson registered his first double-double with the Hornets, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds.I havent made a shot all season long, said Stephenson, who shot 26.7 per cent in his first five games with his new team. Hopefully that will give me more confidence to keep hitting more shots.Al Jefferson scored a season-high 34 points and reserve Gary Neal added 23 points as the Hornets (3-3) beat the Hawks in Charlotte for the first time since 2011, snapping a six-game home losing streak to their division rivals.Al Horford led Atlanta (1-3) with 24 points and Jeff Teague added 22. Kyle Korver had 20.The Hornets had a chance to win the game in regulation when Jefferson missed a key free throw with 9.9 seconds left that would have given his team a one-point lead, and also surrendered a six-point lead in the first overtime.With the game tied at the end of the second overtime, Kemba Walker drove, lost his balance and threw up a shot that missed the rim, resulting in a 24-second violation with 2.7 seconds left. That gave the Hawks a chance to win it, but Korver was called for an illegal screen on Williams at midcourt, giving the ball back to the Hornets with no time elapsed off the clock.The offensive foul on Korver left Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer a little upset.The league is working really hard to gauge when players were overreacting, Budenholzer said. I think it may have been case where Kyle set a good screen. Thats part of the game. Calls go against you. I obviously dont agree with it.It was an exhausting, physical game that took its toll in the players.Jefferson said he was thankful Stephenson hit the shot when he did, saying he didnt think he could have played another five-minute overtime period.Lance is as tough as nails, those New York guys, Jefferson said. You see when he got the ball what he did with it.The Hawks had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Paul Millsap missed an 18-footer at the buzzer.The Hornets had a six-point lead in overtime with 24 seconds left, but managed to waste that away. Teague hit a driving layup and Korver knocked down a 3-pointer after Atlanta won a jump ball, trimming the Charlotte lead to 108-107 with 12 seconds left.Walker was fouled on the inbounds pass and hit two free throws to push the lead to three. Mike Scott missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left, but the ball bounced off Walker. This time, Scott buried a 3-pointer from the right baseline on an inbounds play under the Hawks basket.___TIP-INSHawks: The Hawks have shared the ball well, entering the game averaging an NBA-high 26 assists per game. They had 28 against Charlotte.Hornets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a rib injury. ... The Hornets head out on a four-game West Coast swing that includes games against the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Suns and Warriors.MOVING ON UPRookie P.J. Hairston replaced Gerald Henderson as the first player off the bench for the Hornets and had an immediate impact, knocking down a 3-pointer from the corner and drawing a foul to complete a four-point play. However, those were his only points in 12 minutes.UP NEXTHawks: Host New York Knicks on Saturday night.Hornets: At Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. Adidas NMD Scontate . Signs of a turnaround have emerged in this series at Minnesota. Brian Roberts had three doubles and a triple for the first four-extra-base-hit game of his 14-year career, and the Yankees used their bullpen to preserve a 6-5 win over the Twins on Friday. NMD Outlet Italia . The Bruins forward has been fined $5,000 by the National Hockey League for spearing Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser in the groin. http://www.adidasnmditalia.it/ . This is Lowry’s third time winning the award in his career. He won the award last season and as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2011.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, Whats the standard for officiating on hits and shoves after the whistle? Andrei Markov laid a late hit on Ondrej Palat after the whistle in last nights Habs-Lightning game, while Radko Gudas was giving extra pushes and shoves after play was stopped as well! How much is too much? Carrie ---- Hi Kerry, I appreciate your candor in your columns. With the playoffs upon us I am going to put you on the spot. Does the league mandate that officials loosen the reins on the rules come playoffs? I have played, coached and been a fan of the game for many years and it would appear there is a different standard (I use Brad Marchand repeatedly punching one of the Sedins after a whistle with no call in the 2011 Stanley Cup final as Exhibit A). As a fan I hate the relaxed standard that is apparent in the playoffs. Andy,Toronto Hi Carrie and Andy: And so the games begin! We all know that game intensity is quickly ramped up in the playoffs. At ice level, a referee must be able to feel the energy that players exude from the opening puck drop and allow the game to unfold. Each game has a unique heartbeat and the officials need to constantly take the pulse into account and determine when it is appropriate to impose themselves. Im not talking about when to call a trip or other obvious infraction but more specifically how to regulate the temperature of a game. The refs need to tap into and differentiate between the positive energy (which they must allow to flourish) and any excessive negative energy (which they must take measures to control). Quite often there is a fine line between the two once we enter the high stakes of playoff competition. One incident can spike the game temp, such as the deliberate snow shower that Ryan Garbutt buried Ducks goalie Frederik Anderson with, or the late body check from Andrei Markov on Ondrej Palat. On the first play, the referee took immediate control by assessing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Garbutt, thereby sending a clear message that any "cheap" liberties on the goalkeeper would not be tolerated. I asked Marty Biron, whom I sat beside in the TSN studio last night, if a snow shower throws a goalie off his game. Marty said it actually does the opposite and will motivate the goalie to remain focused and play harder. Adding insult to injury, Matt Beleskey scored the fourth Ducks goal with Garbutt in the box. That became a costly penalty once Dallas closed the gap and Anaheim hung on for the 4-3 win. There was less need for the refs to exert control on the late Markov check. It was a clean shoulder check (other than after the whistle), it was in open ice as opposed to into the boards (in which case I am quite sure a penalty would have resulted) and even though it resulted in a scrum, the benefit of the doubt could be offered that Markov was in the act of finishing a check and the whistle was a little late. NMD Scontate Outlet. If after this "freebee" extended by the refs there was another episode of a testosterone rush someone should pay the price of a penalty call. Andy, there is no specific direction or league mandate given to the officials to loosen the reins on the rules. They are instructed to utilize their "best judgment" to ensure that marginal penalties are avoided at all times. This suggestion can plant a seed in the mind of the officials that isnt always positive. As the game moves closer to the end the refs feel an internal pressure to make sure that if they do raise their arm it will be judged as a "solid" penalty call. They want desperately to keep the spotlight off themselves. That thought process, when taken to excess, can negatively alter the standard that had been set throughout the game. Candidly speaking, a referee might avoid calling a foul that occurs 100 plus feet from the net since it doesnt involve a direct scoring opportunity. At that point he gambles and hopes that continued game flow gets him out of a self-perceived controversy. You and I know this is not the right approach, nor is it in the best interest of the game. Those in charge of rating the officials performance have a hand in this process as well. We have seen situations where a ref has stepped up and made a gutsy (and correct) call that impacts a game only to find himself dropped from further playoff assignments due to the nuclear fallout. Brad Marchand rag dolling Daniel Sedin in the 2011 Cup Final is just one example we could cite with regard to ref avoidance issues. Players will take full advantage when they feel the referee has put his whistle away. On the flip side, I recall Jerome Iginla chasing me around the ice after I whistled Andrew Ference for blasting Martin St. Louis into the end boards with less than two minutes remaining in Game 7 of the 2004 Cup Final with the Lightning leading by a score of 2-1. It was an obvious penalty but the score, time and emotion altered Iginlas perception and acceptance of the call. Then came the first lockout season and the "New NHL" spawned an attitude that penalties would be called regardless of the score and time. The standard has eroded somewhat from that strong initiative and needs to be restored before we move much farther through this playoff season. As I mentioned in a previous column, the referees need to demonstrate sound judgment and courage to make the perceived "tough" call. When the refs do make them they must be supported by the Officiating Department managers. That is the seed that needs to grow. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '