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econd, Infante had Shane Victorinos probable inning-ending, double-play grou

in clДnrules 06.03.2019 03:39
von miaowang123 • 225 Beiträge

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After a six-month layoff, Russell Westbrook looked a lot like his old self. The All-Star point guard had 21 points and seven assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder, despite shooting 2 of 18 from 3-point range, beat the Phoenix Suns 103-96 on Sunday night. Kevin Durant had 33 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who won their fifth straight home opener and defeated Phoenix (2-1) for the 11th straight time. The Suns last beat Oklahoma City (2-1) in December 2010. Westbrook, sidelined after first tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee during the second game of the NBA playoffs, then having a medical setback, returned three to five weeks ahead of the teams previously announced timetable. He said before the game he never thought it would take him that long to come back. After the game he said he felt a little rusty but seemed satisfied with his effort. "I just missed some easy ones but that will come," Westbrook said. "Im able to do what I want. I could be better but thats all right. Thats expected. Im not expected to come back and be bionic man. Im just going to work my way through it." Thunder coach Scott Brooks came away impressed with Westbrooks outing. "There are two things that (Westbrook) does at a high level," Brooks said. "He wins. Hes a winner. The guy plays the game like its supposed to be played. Its not always going to be perfect but he plays with everything he has every single night. To me thats inspiring. The second thing is leadership. Its taken him some time to get that . Now he is our leader." Brooks wasnt as glowing about the teams shooting. "Obviously, weve got to shoot the ball much better," he said. "We cant continue to shoot that from the 3-point line. I dont like to talk about it much but its hard to hide 2 for 18. But I will say this -- I believe in the guys taking shots. Theyre getting good looks. . Theyre going to fall." Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points -- one off his career high -- and added a career-best 14 assists for Phoenix, which opened the season with home wins over Portland and Utah. The Suns stayed with Oklahoma City thanks to 14-of-37 3-point shooting but eventually were done in by 23 turnovers. Serge Ibaka added nine points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Phoenix led 79-73 after a 3-pointer by Bledsoe with 7:46 left, but the Thunder scored next eight points, including layups by Westbrook and Reggie Jackson, the latter putting Oklahoma City ahead 81-79 with 6:11 left. Channing Fryes basket tied the game for Phoenix, but the Thunder went on a 14-6 run, highlighted by three-point plays from Ibaka and Derek Fisher, to take a 95-87 lead with 2:19 left. The Suns pulled within 95-92 before Durant slammed home a missed layup by Westbrook with 32.8 seconds left. Gerald Green hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cap a 21-point performance, but Westbrook and Durant combined to go 6-of-6 from the free throw line over the final 29.3 seconds to seal the win. "Our guys fought hard and thats a good team and we had a chance to win on their court, so Im pretty happy with the effort," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Thats the ultimate goal, when you go on the road, is to have a chance at the end, especially a team like this. Its very difficult to win in this gym. We were right there and had some chances." Westbrooks action was his first since April, when Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley banged knees with him while going for a steal after Westbrook had stopped to call a timeout. Westbrook underwent an initial surgery for the injury on April 27. He underwent another surgery on Oct. 1 to remove a loose stitch from the first procedure. At the time, the Thunder said he would miss the first four to six weeks of the regular season. Under that timetable, Westbrook could have been out for as many as 22 games. Instead, he missed only two games -- a win at Utah on Wednesday and a loss at Minnesota on Friday. Usually the first player announced during pre-game introductions, Westbrook instead was the last and he drew an enormous roar from the sellout crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. A team spokesman said after the game that Durant -- who usually is introduced last -- asked that Westbrook be announced last instead, although Durant declined to take credit for the idea when asked about it. "It was good for him to be back," Durant said. "I know how much he loves the game. The crowd was great. Unbelievable. Classy group of fans. Always behind (Westbrook) and accepted him so well tonight. It was cool to see." Westbrook immediately returned to his aggressive self on the court, scoring his first basket at the 7:16 mark of the first quarter on a driving layup. It quickly became apparent, however, that the Thunder will have to readjust to having Westbrook in the lineup. Oklahoma City struggled with its shooting in the first half, going 16 of 40 (40 per cent) and allowing the Suns to lead 45-44 at halftime. Frye scored 19 points and Goran Drajic had 10 for the Suns on 5-of-9 shooting before leaving the game with a sprained left ankle at the 10:08 mark of the third quarter. NOTES: Hornacek said the ankle Drajic injured is one "thats been bothering him before so hopefully hes not out too long." He didnt say if Drajic might miss any games . Despite the closeness of the game, Brooks played 11 of the 13 players who suited up and all for at least 8:47. It was evident that rookie Steven Adams is now the backup centre, having supplanted Hasheem Thabeet, one of the two players who didnt see action . The sellout was the 89th straight during the regular season at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Cheap Air Max 270 Wholesale .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Air Max 270 Australia Sale . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor. http://www.wholesaleairmax270australia.com/ .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. Cheap Air Max 270 Free Shipping .C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next. Cheap Air Max 270 Australia . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists.BOSTON -- Rubby De La Rosa quietly walked up behind reporters waiting for him and went unnoticed before he got their attention. His actions are much louder on the Fenway Park mound. De La Rosa had another strong home start, going seven solid innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. "Hes been outstanding at home," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Even in the couple of situations where we gave an extra base runner, he shut it down and pitched with a lot of poise tonight." Mike Napoli hit a tiebreaking homer, sending the defending World Series champions to their sixth win in seven games. Boston is looking to climb back into the race from the AL Easts basement. Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games with a single. The Royals lost for the eighth time in 11 games, falling to 10-20 in one-run games after leading the AL with 31 victories last season. Napolis homer cleared a billboard atop the Green Monster seats and completely left the park in the sixth. De La Rosa (3-2) gave up one run on five hits, walking four and striking out two. He worked out of trouble most of his outing. "Its fun to pitch here," he said. "I feel comfortable here at Fenway. I like the mound. I like the fans. I feel comfortable here." Danny Duffy (5-10) allowed two runs -- one earned -- on six hits in 6 2-3 innings. It was his fifth loss in six starts, but hes allowed two or fewer runs in four of the losses. "Were not scoring enough runs. Its as simple as that," Royals manager Ned Yost said of the one-run losses. "When we score, we win. Our bullpen does a nice job of holding it close. Its a combination of not capitalizing on opportunities, and we had opportunities tonight, a couple of them." The Royals have scored four total runs, and not more than one in any of Duffys last five losses. "I dont even think about it that way," he said. "These guys in here got my back day in and day out."t; Andrew Miller pitched a perfect eighth and All-Star Koji Uehara a 1-2-3 ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.dddddddddddd In two of his three home starts, De La Rosa pitched seven shutout innings. In his last one, he gave up three runs in five innings. De La Rosa stranded runners at second base in four of the first six innings, twice also leaving a runner on first. "I didnt try to think about me on base," he said, flashing a quick smile. "I try to think about the next hitter." The Royals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third when Jarrod Dyson tripled and scored on shortstop Omar Infantes sacrifice fly. Infantes fielding error allowed Bostons tying run in the fourth. With runners on first and second, Infante had Shane Victorinos probable inning-ending, double-play grounder go right through his legs, scoring Napoli. Boston left fielder Jonny Gomes bumped into shortstop Brock Holt, dropping a ball for a two-base error in the fourth, and called off Holt, but had the ball fall in front of him for a double in the fifth. NOTES: Bostons last eight home wins have all been by one run. ... The Red Sox activated RF Victorino from the 15-day DL before the game and optioned OF/INF Mookie Betts to Pawtucket. Victorino, who had been on the DL since May 24 with a strained right hamstring, got a nice ovation before his first at-bat, and went 1 for 3. ... The Royals started Dyson in CF in place of slumping Lorenzo Cain, who is hitless in his last 19 at-bats. "The off days definitely help him, coming off the three days at Tampa on the turf really beat up his legs," Yost said of Cain. "If I could do it the day I wanted, wed give him the day off tomorrow, but theres a lefty going tomorrow." ... Boston sends LHP Jon Lester (9-7, 2.65 ERA) against RHP Yordano Ventura (7-7, 3.22) is the series finale Sunday. Lester has a 6-3 mark with a 1.60 ERA in 10 career starts against Kansas City. ... Actor Steve Carell of "The Office" was in the stands, wearing a Red Sox T-shirt. ' ' '

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