SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder to
SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder to
in Willkommen 14.06.2018 06:01von jokergreen0220 • | 2.155 Beiträge
SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder took the court in the opener of the Western Conference finals without their athletic big man. Jim Kelly Jersey . Their skepticism was unwarranted. Ibaka is indeed injured and Oklahoma City needs to find a way to replace his defensive presence against San Antonio. Tim Duncan had 27 points and the Spurs took advantage of Ibakas absence to score more than half their points in the paint, beating the Thunder 122-105 Monday night in the opener of the best-of-seven series. Tony Parker did not appear limited by a hamstring injury, adding 14 points and 12 assists in 36 minutes in San Antonios first victory over Oklahoma City this season. Parker and coach Gregg Popovich both said earlier they werent sure if the Thunder would actually be without Ibaka, who injured his left calf in Oklahoma Citys series clincher against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Contrary to what San Antonio was thinking, hes not coming back," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Thats bad news for Oklahoma City entering Game 2 on Wednesday. San Antonio had 66 points in the paint and shot 58 per cent from the field. It was the highest shooting percentage allowed by the Thunder in the post-season since relocating from Seattle. The Thunder got their usual offensive output from All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who scored 28 and 25 points, respectively. But Oklahoma Citys remaining starters, Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins, combined to score five points with 13 rebounds and one assist. Collison started in place of Ibaka and was 0 for 3 from the field with three rebounds and one blocked shot. Ibaka was averaging 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.23 blocks in 33.9 minutes in the post-season. "We play team defence, we dont just rely on Serge," Durant said. "He does a great job of blocking shots, but its all because of our team defence. Hes a big part of what we do. Hes a starter, had his best season this year, so of course were going to miss his presence, but we have guys that are going to step up and do it collectively." San Antonio planned to attack Oklahoma Citys interior whether Ibaka was playing or not, and found it much easier to do without the athletic 6-foot-10 forward. "We always want to try to penetrate," Parker said. "We always want our ball movement, thats how we play -- kick and pitch and stuff like that. You know, obviously its a little bit better with (Ibaka) not being in the paint, but were still going to try to penetrate and make stuff happen." The Spurs fed Duncan early and the veteran responded by scoring 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening quarter. Parker, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in San Antonios series clincher against Portland, drove the paint and dished to Duncan early before looking for his own shot midway through the quarter. "Thats part of our game plan," Duncan said. "He knew that they werent going to let him shoot the ball like he did in the last series. They were going to try to take that away from him, so he knew he was going to have to be an assist man." Parker scored all but two of his points in the first half. Manu Ginobili took over in the second half, scoring all 18 of his points with a series of breakneck drives and 3-for-4 shooting on 3-pointers. "Just got to do a better job of closing the paint off," Westbrook said. "I thought we did a better job in the second half of just putting more pressure on them, making it tough for them to get inside the paint." After starting Collison and bringing in 7-foot post Steven Adams to spell him and Perkins, Oklahoma City continually altered its lineup in an attempt to derail San Antonios attack. At one point the Thunder had Westbrook and fellow point guards Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher on the court with Durant playing the post defensively. Duncan responded by dropping in a running hook on Durant. "Were going to have to find lineups that work," Brooks said. "I have faith in all of our guys to step in and do the job, no matter who we put on the floor." With the exception of a pair of free throws by Fisher, Westbrook and Durant scored all of Oklahoma Citys points in a 23-22 third quarter. The Thunder rallied to take a 76-75 lead on Westbrooks 17-foot jumper with 5 minutes left in the third quarter for their first lead since the opening basket of the game. "I think we need more from everybody defensively," Brooks said. "We scored 105 points. ... We scored enough points to win a basketball game. We have to do a better job defensively." San Antonio improved to 7-1 at home in the playoffs, winning its past five games by an average of 20.6 points. The Spurs, however, remember what happened in the 2012 conference finals, when the Thunder won four straight to rally from an 0-2 deficit. "Theyre a talented team," Ginobili said. "Theyre going to watch video; theyre going to fix mistakes. Its going to be harder for sure. Its just one down." NOTES: Durant was assessed a technical foul 30 seconds into the fourth quarter after throwing his fists down in frustration after being assessed a foul. . Boris Diaw was poked in his lower right eyelid early in the game, but returned to shortly thereafter once it was determined there was no structural damage. . Play had to be stopped twice to clean up blood on Collison, who was battling Duncan and Splitter defensively. Josh Allen Jersey . However, the intensity and physicality that has characterized the postseason so far has caught Gretzky by surprise. "Its a little bit risqué right now," Gretzky told Philadelphia radio station 97. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey . The team said they will announce a corresponding roster move prior to their series opener on Tuesday night in Kansas City. http://www.billsnflgears.com/ . Her return engagement begins tonight as TSN presents Day 1 coverage of the 2015 event from Melbourne. Watch Eugenie Bouchards opening round match at the Australian Open live tonight on TSN5 at 3am et/Midnight pt.TSN.ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Rankings were weighted evenly between separate lists made by TSN Radio host and soccer analyst Gareth Wheeler as well as TSN.cas soccer editors. 1. Manchester City (Last Week-2) Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure put Manchester City back in control of the Premier League title race with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace. If City wins out and keeps their goal differential advantage they will be crowned champions. 2. Liverpool (LW-1) The league leaders surrendered their advantage in the title race by falling 2-0 to Chelsea at Anfield. They still top the table with a two point advantage over Chelsea and three over Manchester City who have a game in hand. 3. Chelsea (LW-3) Another wrench was thrown into the title race as Demba Ba and Willian led Chelsea to a 2-0 victory over Liverpool. The win kept Chelsea alive in the battle for the top of the table but they will still need help to lift the trophy. 4. Arsenal (LW-4) Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud all found the net for Arsenal as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Newcastle. The victory helps the Gunners get another step closer to next seasons Champions League competition. 5. Everton (LW-5) Antolin Alcaraz and Seamus Coleman scored into the wrong net as Everton watched Southampton cruise to a 2-0 victory. The loss puts Evertons chances at qualifying for Champions League in serious doubt. 6. Tottenham (LW-6) Danny Rose scored in the 33rd minute to lead Tottenham to a 1-0 victory over Stoke City as they continue to hold on to the final place in Europa League. 7. Manchester United (LW-7) Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata both hit doubles as the Ryan Giggs era at Manchester United got off to a winning start with a 4-0 victory over Norwich City. 8. Southampton (LW-8) Southampton will have a top half of the season finish after they essentially stole three points from Everton. Both goals were crredit as own goals. Jim Kelly Bills Jersey. 9. Stoke City (LW-9) Stoke dropped their third home game of the season as they fell 1-0 to Tottenham. 10. Crystal Palace (LW-10) A strong effort was not able to produce a result for Crystal Palace as they fell 2-0 to Manchester City. 11. Swansea City (LW-12) Wilfried Bony fired home twice while Jonjo Shelvey and Pablo also scored for Swansea as they cruised to a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa 12. Hull City (LW-13) Shane Long completed the comeback that a goal from Nikica Jelavic started as Hull rescued a point in a 2-2 draw with Fulham. 13. Newcastle United (LW-11) Six straight losses for Newcastle as they were defeated 3-0 by Arsenal. The loss heaps further pressure on manager Alan Pardew. 14. West Bromwich Albion (LW-16) Saido Berahino scored the only goal of the game in the 11th minute to lead West Bromwich Albion to a 1-0 victory over West Ham United. 15. West Ham United (LW-14) West Ham was kept off the score sheet as they dropped their fourth straight game, 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion. 16. Sunderland (LW-17) A rampant victory by Sunderland, 4-0 over Cardiff City, has helped them escape the relegation zone. Connor Wickham opened the scoring and picked up a second to close the game off for the Black Cats. 17. Aston Villa (LW-15) Gabriel Agbonlahors 22nd marker was not nearly enough as Aston Villa fell 4-1 at the hands of Swansea City. 18. Fulham (LW-19) After scoring two goals in three minutes through Ashkan Dejagah and Fernando Amorebieta, Fulham conceded a pair and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. The Cottagers are very involved in the relagation fight. 19. Cardiff City (LW-18) A 4-0 loss to Sunderland has sent Cardiff City to the bottom of the table. The Welsh side will need at least two points and some goal differential help to stay in the Premier League. 20. Norwich City (LW-20) Norwich mustered only two shots on target as they were defeated 4-0 at Old Trafford by Manchester United. China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Wholesale NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys Online Disocunt Football Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys ' ' '
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