Biff Bangs

Thunder-WarriorsGame Review

Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Kevin Durants double-double of a season-high 37 points and 14 rebounds powered the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors Friday night.

Russell Westbrook had a terrific all-around game with 28 points, 11 assists and seven steals for the Thunder, who own an NBA-best 16-3 record. Serge Ibaka also posted a double-double with a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds, while James Harden contributed 19 points off the bench.

Serge was big, the offensive rebounds and his baskets around the paint, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. He can guard small guys. Thats the advantage that we do have. When we want to go with our big lineup, Serge can step out and guard smaller players because of his athletic ability and length he can cover three-point shooters.

Dorell Wright drained six shots from beyond the arc en route to a season-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Golden State, which has dropped four of its last five games. David Lee scored 19 points in defeat.

With 8:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, Klay Thompsons turnaround jumper trimmed the Warriors deficit to 88-85. But Oklahoma City responded with a 12-1 surge, and Nick Collison completed a three-point play at the foul line to put the visitors up 111-96 with just over two minutes left.

[The Thunder] scored 28 points in the last 5 1/2 minutes basically, Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. They have a different motor. Theyre a different animal. We have to learn how to do that. We dont have the luxury to be able to turn it on when we want to. Its a good lesson for us.

Oklahoma City led by as many as 10 in the first quarter, but Golden State pulled even at 50 on a Monta Ellis free throw with 1:57 to play in the opening half. However, the Thunder closed out the second stanza on a 7-2 run, giving them the same five-point lead they owned after 12 minutes.

In the third quarter, Ellis hit a driving layup to draw the Warriors within one at 65-64. Oklahoma City, though, carried an 85-77 lead into the final frame.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

NEW ORLEANS (AP)Dwight Howard sat calmly in his locker and spoke softly,
but with cutting tone as he ripped into his team for what he saw as a lack of
effort.

I look at guys and they dont look like they want to play, Howard said
following Orlandos surprisingly lopsided 93-67 loss to a New Orleans Hornets
team that came into Friday nights meeting on a nine-game skid.

I told them at halftime, `If you dont want to play, just stay in the
locker room, because it dont make sense for a team who we should beat to just
demolish us.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Pacers-CelticsGame Review

Boston, MA (Sports Network) – Temporarily, the Celtics may not have Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen in the lineup, but they still have Paul Pierce.

As the Pacers cut Bostons lead to two in the third quarter, Pierce put the team on his back, netting 17 of his 28 points in the stanza as the Celtics took down Indiana, 94-87, for their fourth straight win.

We had unbelievable energy, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. We thought the key was to force them into playing versus our half court defense. Thought we did that.

Pierce also added 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics.

Rondo sat out his fifth consecutive game due to a wrist injury, while Allen missed his third straight contest with a jammed left ankle.

But Pierce has really stepped up in their absence, averaging 23.4 points, 8.2 assists and 6.4 rebounds over his last five outings — including Friday nights game.

Danny Granger netted 21 points to lead the Pacers, who went 1-of-19 from beyond the arc.

We had a lot of great looks that didnt go down, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. Some of that was their defense. You have to credit their defense, they shut Orlando down twice, they shut us down tonight. We didnt play a good game and you have to play a good game to beat this basketball team in their building.

An 8-2 Pacers spurt to start the second half, capped by David Wests jumper, trimmed Bostons lead to 44-42.

But Pierce poured in nine points as the Celtics countered with a 15-4 run to increase the advantage back to double-digits, 57-46, midway through the third.

Boston took a 71-61 lead into the fourth.

I like to come out in the third quarter and be aggressive, Pierce said. I focus on trying to get better as the game goes on.

The Celtics led by as many as 16 in the final stanza as the Pacers were unable to rally down the stretch.

Chris Wilcox had six points as Boston led 23-17 after the first quarter. The Pacers turned the ball over six times in the opening stanza.

Boston used a 10-0 run in between the first and second quarters to take a 27-17 advantage with 10:51 remaining in the half. Bostons bench provided the spark, going 4-for-4 from the field during the spurt.

West nailed a jumper at the first-half buzzer to cut Indianas deficit to 42-34 heading into the locker room. Boston held Indiana to just 30 percent shooting from the floor in the opening half.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Hawks-PistonsGame Review

Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) – Joe Johnson scored 30 points, including a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 107-101 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Marvin Williams added 22 points and eight rebounds, while Josh Smith had 19 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks in the Hawks third win in four games.

Greg Monroe paced the Pistons with 22 points and 11 boards in Detroits 13th loss in its last 15 games. Brandon Knight contributed 20 points and a career- high eight assists, and Jason Maxiell scored a season-high 19 points off the bench in defeat.

We take every loss personally, not just a close loss. I think every loss is a personal loss, Knight said. You just dont favor one over the other, but this one will hurt a little bit more.

Atlanta trailed 68-63 entering the fourth quarter, but opened the frame with a 7-2 swing to knot the game at 70.

The Pistons, though, scored the next eight points to jump ahead again.

Detroit held at least a three-point lead over the next seven minutes until a pair of Austin Daye free throws put the Pistons up 85-76 with 1:47 to play.

After the teams traded buckets, Williams sank a shot from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to three with 33.5 seconds left on the clock.

The Pistons Rodney Stuckey then had the ball roll out of bounds off his arm after a scramble on the ground, giving the ball back to the Hawks.

Johnson took the ball and set up on the top of the key on Atlantas ensuing possession. He then turned his back to the net before throwing up a turnaround jumper that dropped into the net for the game-tying shot with 1.9 seconds left.

Knights three-pointer at the buzzer bounced wide high off the glass to force overtime.

The extra period belonged entirely to the Hawks, as Atlanta opened overtime with a 12-2 run capped by back-to-back treys by Williams and Smith to jump out to a 99-89 lead.

Detroit could not get any closer than six points from there and the Hawks made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off a late push by the Pistons.

We were relentless. We never gave up, said Johnson. Even when things didnt look so bright for us, we hung in there, stayed with each other, stayed mentally tough, stayed with the game plan and were able to pull a big win out.

Detroit made just 6-of-23 shots from the floor in the first quarter, but held a 17-15 lead as the Hawks committed nine turnovers in the opening frame.

The Pistons never trailed in the second quarter and after five consecutive points by Williams tied the game at 29, Detroit closed out the half on a 17-6 run to take a 46-35 lead into the break.

Atlanta battled back with a 17-6 run to get within one, 56-55, with 4:00 to play in the third, but Detroit scored 12 of the next 20 points and took a 68-63 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Nadal changes game for Djokovic – but is it enough?By Eurosport | Patrick MouratoglouSat, Jan 28, 2012 11:01 GMT

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Nets-CavaliersGame Review

Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) – Deron Williams recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists as the Nets held off the Cavaliers 99-96 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Kris Humphries, who left Fridays shootaround with an illness, fought through it scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 boards. Anthony Morrow added 22 points and six rebounds.

The Nets have now won three of four, closing out a three-game road trip. New Jersey returns home Sunday to take on Toronto.

Kyrie Irving led the way for Cleveland scoring a career-high 32 points including 21 in the fourth quarter. Antawn Jamison added 20 points and six rebounds and Ramon Sessions scored 11 off the bench as the Cavaliers dropped their fifth game in the last six tries.

Obviously not happy with the way the game went, said Cleveland head coach Byron Scott. It started from the beginning of the game. I didnt think we came out with the energy that we needed. In the last quarter, we played with tremendous energy…but we cant play that way. Thats way too late. If we dont come out and play aggressively and with that type of energy from start to finish, were going to keep having these up and down type games.

Cleveland will travel to Boston in its next contest on Sunday.

The Cavaliers, who trailed by as many as 17 in the fourth, had the margin down just six with 24.9 seconds to play.

Sundiata Gaines missed two from the line for the Nets, and Anderson Varejaos deep two with 16.9 seconds left put his team down 97-93. Video replay confirmed Varejaos toe was barely touching the line.

The Cavaliers were forced to foul and Morrow calmly hit two free throws to ice the victory for the Nets.

A meaningless three from Irving counted as time expired to make the final score closer than the game really was.

Back-to-back Jordan Farmar layups gave the Nets a 25-18 lead with 3:03 left to play in the first frame and the quarter ended with the Nets leading, 30-20.

The guys played hard and came out with a lot of focus early in the game. I think we set the tone for this game in the first quarter, said New Jersey head coach Avery Johnson.

Neither team was able to get it going in the second until a Humphries layup with 3:26 to go sparked an 11-0 run for the Nets. Irving stopped the run with four consecutive points, but the Cavs entered halftime trailing, 47-37.

The Nets, who entered the game leading the NBA in three-pointers made, found their stroke from outside in the third as they hit five of their eight three- pointers to take a 72-61 lead entering the final stanza.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Victory over Derby in the FA Cup fourth round has added yet another fixture to Stokes busy schedule, but Tony Pulis has no complaints.

The Potters saw off the Rams 2-0 on Saturday to keep themselves on track to better last seasons runners-up finish, with Cameron Jerome and Robert Huth among the goals.

Pulis has made it clear that he will be taking the competition as seriously as he has any other this term.

Stoke have been forced to juggle Premier League, Carling Cup, Europa League and FA Cup commitments over recent months, but their manager insists that they would not have it any other way.

We have played 14 cup ties so far this season and we are guaranteed now another three – the fifth round and we have got two games against Valencia, said Pulis.

That will take us to 17 cup ties, for a side that is still learning all about the Premiership. Its a great testament to the players, the amount of games they have had to play in but they keep digging in.

What we have got to do now is make sure we take things nice and steady. Its an important stage within the season and we have to make sure we stay focused on the Premiership while also, when the cup ties come around, we want to win those games as well.

Thats what we have done today and we have shown the competition and Derby a lot of respect.

Sloppy

Pulis was forced to field a strong side against Derby as the Rams recent fine form in the Championship made him fully aware of the size of the task facing the Potters at Pride Park.

He said: When you look at what they have achieved over the last few months, they are a good footballing team.

We started well, got the goal, but then we got a bit sloppy after that. Derby played really well for a spell. We dusted ourselves down, though, and looked a bit more focused in the second half.

I am much more pleased with the second half because I dont think Derby had a shot second half. That is testament to the lads and the focus they have.

He added: It was always going to be a tough game. Derby are on a great run and its a great football club with great support and tradition.

When we pulled them out of the hat, a draw away in the FA Cup is not what you want. But the bonus for us is that its quite close to Stoke-on-Trent and I knew we would bring a lot of support with us, and they were a big help today.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Sooners-Wildcats
 
Preview

GAME NOTES: The Oklahoma Sooners will play their second straight ranked opponent, as they invade Manhattan this afternoon for a Big 12 showdown with the 22nd-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.

Lon Krugers Sooners are in the midst of a three-game gauntlet against ranked foes. The team opened up the set with a 77-65 loss to Baylor this week and will follow this game with a matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence on February 1st. The loss to the Bears, the teams second straight, dropped OU to a mere 2-5 in league play. Oklahoma is still in search of its first true road win of the season at 0-4.

Frank Martins Wildcats are still within striking distance in the Big 12, as the team has rebounded from a 1-3 start to league play by winning its last three games, including a 69-47 rout of Texas Tech this week.

Oklahoma holds a 103-91 advantage in this longstanding series. Kansas State has won four of the last six meetings, but it is the Sooners seeking the regular-season sweep after posting an 82-73 victory over KSU in Norman back on January 14th.

The Sooners failed to match Baylors offensive firepower but there are a lot of teams that have befallen the same fate. Oklahoma remains a team that can compete at that end of the floor, shooting .441 overall and putting up 72.9 ppg. Steven Pledgers perimeter game is what fuels OUs attack. Pledger, who is converting 42.7 percent from behind the arc (47-of-110), is averaging 17.2 ppg (fourth in the conference). Andrew Fitzgerald (13.3 ppg) and Romero Osby (12.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg) headline the play up front. Sam Grooms (6.5 ppg) is serviceable at the point, ranking fourth in the conference in assists (5.5 apg) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8). The Sooners shot a solid 46.6 percent from the floor against Baylor this week, but the Bears were simply better at a 54-percent clip, including 9-of-18 from behind the arc. Pledger had a nice all-around game with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Osby posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, while Fitzgerald chipped in with 13 points.

The Wildcats beat up on the Red Raiders in just about every facet of the game, leading to a blowout win this week in Lubbock. Despite a poor 1-of-9 showing from three-point range, KSU still managed to down 48.1 percent of its shots overall. Kansas State also outrebounded Texas Tech 35-25 and forced the Red Raiders into a whopping 25 turnovers, while recording 12 steals. Martavious Irving led the offensive charge with 16 points. Rodney McGruder joined Irving in double figures with 13 points. KSU is at its best when it can play stingy defense and work off of that. The Wildcats come into this contest holding foes to just 63.6 ppg on .392 shooting, including .282 from three-point range. McGruder leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and steals (24). Jamar Samuels and Will Spradling round out the double-digit scorers for KSU at 10.5 and 10.4 ppg, respectively.

The Sooners are a team on the rise and Kruger has certainly found a way to motivate his squad. However, Oklahoma has shown a weakness on the road and knocking off KSU at Bramlage Coliseum is no easy task.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

Razorbacks-Crimson Tide
 
Preview

GAME NOTES: Alabama hopes to halt its season-long, four-game losing streak when the Crimson Tide welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks to Tuscaloosa for this afternoons SEC showdown.

Arkansas has put together an impressive resume so far this season by winning 75 percent of its games and tallying impressive victories over nationally- ranked foes in Mississippi State and Michigan. The Razorbacks have won three of their last four, the most recent of which being a 56-53 decision over Auburn on Wednesday.

Alabamas recent slide has come on the heels of an outstanding 13-3 start. The Crimson Tide fell to 2-4 in SEC action after suffering a heart-breaking loss to the slumping South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday night, 56-54.

Arkansas holds a slim lead in the all-time series with Alabama, 28-24, with the teams having played to an even split in each of the past four seasons. Alabama came out on top in the last meeting, 69-56, last February.

On the season, Arkansas has one of the SECs best scoring offenses (75.6 ppg), but also one of its worst scoring defenses (66.5 ppg). In Wednesdays win however, the script was flipped as the Razorbacks made good on a pitiful 19- of-54 field goal attempts, but managed to overcome it by forcing 21 Auburn turnovers and holding them to 53 points on 40.4 percent shooting — the Hogs best defensive effort in an SEC game so far. Arkansas had three players reach double figures in the win, led by BJ Ryans 11 points. The freshman averages 14.6 ppg to lead the team and has now scored at least 10 points in all but four games this year. Mardracus Wade contributes 10.8 ppg and is one of the leagues most prolific three-point shooters, knocking down two treys per game at a 48.1 percent clip. The Razorbacks aggressive defensive style yields too many points at times, but they lead the conference in steals per game (8.8), which helps contribute to their plus-4.47 turnover margin, also a league-best.

Though Alabama has one of the most stout defenses in the country, yielding a mere 57.5 ppg on 37.3 percent shooting, its offense has not given the team much support lately. The Crimson Tide have scored just 59 ppg during its current slide, culminating in Wednesdays loss to South Carolina where they shot just 42.9 percent from the field and 4-of-18 from beyond the arc. JaMychal Green has had a solid year, netting 13.7 ppg on 54.3 percent shooting from the field, but he scored just six points in the recent setback and missed much of the second half due an apparent ankle injury. He was able to return late in the game but missed the potential game-tying bucket in the final seconds. Tony Mitchell adds 13.2 ppg for the Tide and lands in the top-10 in the SEC in rebounding with 7.2 ppg. Trevor Releford rounds out the units double-digit scorers with 12.2 ppg, while also handing out a team-high three assists per game. Alabamas offensive game plan tends to dismiss the three- pointer as they have hit a league-low 76 treys on an uninspired 28 percent shooting effort.

While their performance on the court has been unquestioned, the Razorbacks have surely been aided by an unbalanced schedule as they have played 16 of 20 games at home. Arkansas winless road mark leaves the door open for Bama to get back on track.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The text message flashed on the cell phone of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford on the night before Christmas Eve.

Margaret Stafford had been anxiously awaiting her sons game against the San Diego Chargers and hoped to lighten the mood before a contest that could clinch the Lions first playoff berth in 12 years. When Stafford glanced down at the message, he had to be amused by his mothers sense of humor. All shed written was a single question: Do you think Santa will understand a comfortable lead with time left in the fourth quarter?

You couldnt blame Mama Stafford, either. Like every other Lions fan this season, shed watched her boy lead a team that seemed most comfortable playing with its back against the wall and the game in serious doubt. Stafford had led four comeback wins already but, as it turned out, there would be no such suspense in Detroits 38-10 victory over San Diego. The more salient question for the Lions quickly became how theyd handle life in the playoffs — and just how far their third-year quarterback could take them in what has become his breakout season.

Many people expected big things from Detroit this fall, as the 10-6 Lions were a trendy pick to go from nobodies to playoff contenders. What everybody realized was that such a leap wasnt going to happen without Stafford playing at a high level, which hes certainly done with a team-record 5,038 passing yards and 41 touchdowns.

It definitely feels nice to be thinking about another game right now, Stafford said. Hopefully, we can keep it moving and find a way to keep winning. We had the talent. I just knew that if I could stay healthy, we could play good football.

Posted in: Game by Admin / Tags: Game

Comments Off