Trauung » ered this years post-season

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It took a late stretch of what Kevin Durant called some of the best basketball hes ever seen the Oklahoma City Thunder play to beat the Washington Wizards on Sunday night. Durant had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, hit the tying 3-pointer late in regulation and made the go-ahead foul shots in overtime to lift the Thunder past the Wizards 106-105. John Wall missed a driving layup attempt at the buzzer for Washington, which was seeking its third straight win. Bradley Beal scored a career-high 34 points for the Wizards. He shot 6-for-8 on 3s, and the team went 12-of-29 from behind the arc. Serge Ibaka had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, which overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit for the first time since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. "That was definitely a resilient win," coach Scott Brooks said. "It was that never-quit mentality that weve always believed in and thats what happened tonight. We just battled and battled and battled and gave ourselves a chance to win down the stretch." Washington led for most of the second half. The Wizards were up 83-71 after a dunk by Martell Webster with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter and 92-82 with 3:26 left. But they scored only two baskets in the final three minutes, allowing Oklahoma City back in the game. Oklahoma City, using a small lineup, closed regulation on a 14-4 run. Durant capped the burst with a straightaway 3-pointer with 13.6 seconds left. Beal missed a running 12-footer at the buzzer while being closely guarded by Ibaka. "That last three minutes was some of the best basketball Ive seen out of us since Ive been here," Durant said. "Im very proud of how we played at the end of the game. We have to do better, but thats a good stepping stone for us." The teams traded the lead in overtime. The Wizards led 105-102 after a driving layup by Marcin Gortat with 1:20 left. After Ibaka scored to cut Washingtons lead to one point, Durant blocked a shot by Wall and streaked toward the other end before being fouled. He made both free throws for a 106-105 lead with 40.7 seconds left. Webster missed a 3-point attempt and Reggie Jackson rebounded for the Thunder. Jackson eventually drove the lane and passed to Jeremy Lamb, who missed a 3-point attempt from the corner with 4 seconds left, giving the Wizards a final chance. Wall inbounded to Gortat, who tossed the ball back to him. Wall drove to the basket, but two Thunder defenders forced him to take an awkward shot. The Wizards hurt themselves by going 13 of 26 at the free throw line. "We played extremely well," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "I give Oklahoma City credit for coming back. They made shots. All we needed to do in the last couple minutes of regulation was make one shot and a couple of free throws and then the game would be over with. Making that run, our guys played their tails off tonight and came up short." The Thunder rallied without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who was ejected, along with Washingtons Nene. They shoved each other after Westbrook was called for a charging foul for running over Al Harrington with 3:19 left. It was the second time in the game Westbrook and Nene had tangled and both times, double technical fouls were called. Westbrook scored 13 points but went just 4 of 16 from the field. Nene had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Beal matched his previous career high of 29 points in the Wizards win over Brooklyn on Friday before starring again Sunday. "Bradleys coming along and being aggressive," Wittman said. "I thought he had a decent look at the end of regulation. Doesnt go in and thats the difference." The first half featured mostly poor shooting. Oklahoma City led 42-37 at the break despite scoring just 10 points in the second quarter. "We started off the game relaxed, like we were supposed to win this game, as if they were just going to lie down," Durant said. "We cant come out like that." Trevor Ariza scored 15 points, Harrington and Gortat had 11 and Wall had 10 for the Wizards. Jackson came off the bench to score 12 for the Thunder. NOTES: Oklahoma City F Nick Collison missed the game with a bruised left hip. Brooks says Collison is day to day. Oklahoma Citys next game will be Wednesday at the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Wittman said he didnt know when F Chris Singleton might return from a fracture in his left foot that he sustained in mid-September. The team originally said he would be out six to eight weeks, but Wittman said Singleton hasnt practiced yet and that "it will be a little while after that" before hes able to play. ... Gabe Ikard, an all-Big 12 Conference centre for Oklahomas football team, watched from a courtside seat. ... Westbrook and Nene each were each called for their first technical fouls with 7:20 left in the third quarter after some jawing and shoving. Asked about the ejection, Westbrook answered, "Did we win?" He refused to answer other questions about the altercation with Nene. Cheap Twins Jerseys Authentic .C. -- Theyll remember the OT from the first Syracuse-Duke game -- and the Ts that decided Round 2. Cheap Kirby Puckett Jersey . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. http://www.cheaptwinsjerseys.com/. Jackson Houck added a goal and two assists for the Giants (28-23-10), who halted a five-game slide, while Tyler Morrison, Mason Geertsen and Dominik Volek each scored once. Matt Bellerive scored both goals for the Blazers (12-43-5), who are 1-9-0 in their last 10 outings. Cheap Paul Molitor Jersey .Y. -- The New York Islanders were merely content with a lopsided victory. Cheap Bert Blyleven Jersey . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to fill a need on Clevelands roster.BROSSARD, Que. - Brian Gionta knows what happened the last time the Montreal Canadiens opened a playoff series with a pair of wins on the road. It was in 2011, and the Boston Bruins stormed back to win on a Nathan Horton shot off a defencemans leg in Game 7 overtime. Before that was 2006, when the Canadiens took the opening two games in Carolina only to drop the next four, partly through losing star centre Saku Koivu to a series-ending eye injury from an accidental high stick by Justin Williams in Game 4. Both times, the team that came back to beat the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup. After taking their opening two games of this years playoffs with wins of 5-4 and 4-1 over the Lightning in Tampa, Fla., Gionta doesnt want history to repeat itself. "Its huge, but at the end of the day, we fell into that trap against Boston a few years back," the Canadiens captain said Saturday. "We won two games in their building and we came back and let off the gas a bit. "So we need to make sure that our focus is on (Sunday) night and make sure we do what we did in the first two games." Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is set for Sunday night at the Bell Centre, where a wall of sound from the 21,273 spectators is expected to greet the Canadiens. They didnt skate after a late-night flight home from Tampa, but the message from the coach Michel Therrien and his staff was about taking care of business on home ice. "We all understand that the farther you get in the playoffs the more difficult the games are to play," said Therrien. "Were glad were back at home, but I like our focus. "We have a business mentality. Its about preparing ourselves for (the next game)." Therrien has much to be pleased about. His team has had the edge on the Lightning for all but the first period of Game 2 on Saturday night, when strong goaltending from Carey Price kept the game scoreless until Montreal took control in the second frame on a power-play goal from David Desharnais and Rene Bourques first of the game. Brendan Gallagher and Bourque added goals in the third before Teddy Purcell got one — on a power play plus the goalie pulled for an extra attacker — at 18:01. The Desharnais goal broke a nine-game drought for the Montreal power play. They have also been getting scoring from all four lines. EEight different forwards have scored goals, which takes some pressure off the top unit of Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek.dddddddddddd Desharnais got his first goal in 12 career post-season games, while Paciorettys assist on the same tally was his first point in six career playoff games. The line combined for 22 shots in two games, so it should produce more as the playoffs go on. The Canadiens also took advantage of the absence of Tampa Bays injured top goalie Ben Bishop by beating Anders Lindback eight times in two games and adding another against Kristers Gudlevskis — the Latvian who made 55 stops in a 2-1 loss to Canada at the Sochi Olympics. Gudlevskis let in one goal on three Montreal shots. And they held Tampa Bay star Steven Stamkos to two goals, both in Game 1, and no assists, although the gifted sniper has nine shots on goal. So the Canadiens are in good position to win a playoff series for the first time since goalie Jaroslav Halaks heroics got them to the Eastern Conference final in 2010. But they know how far away that goal is. All-time, the Canadiens are 49-5 when leading a best-of-seven series 2-0, but have lost three of the last four times in that situation. "Theyre going to make adjustments," said Gionta. "Its the playoffs and youve got to try to read what theyre going to do, make adjustments on the fly, and see what happens. "I thought we did a fairly good job of that (Friday) night. We need to do it again." Giontas line with centre Lars Eller and left-winger Bourque has been particularly solid. Eller entered this years post-season with two assists in eight career games, but now leads the team with a goal and two assists. Bourque was a target for fans all through a sub-par regular season with nine goals in 63 games in which he was made a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. He sat out five straight games in March. He may get a warmer reception after two solid games in Tampa, including his first career playoff game with more than one goal. "Since hes back in our lineup, before the playoffs, Rene Bourque was playing the way we expect him to play," said Therrien. "We dont judge players only on goals and assists. "What I like is that hes engaged in the game. Hes physical. Hes going hard to the net and he got rewarded." ' ' '