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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 3:52 am 
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INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers were back to being themselves Sunday. They made shots. They defended hard for 48 minutes. Lance Stephenson regained his swagger and, yes, the reeling Pacers even looked like a playoff-ready team. David West made three free throws in the final 15 seconds and Stephenson produced his league-leading fifth triple-double to give Indiana a 102-97 win over Oklahoma City 102-97, putting the Pacers on the cusp of clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. "Were going to treat it (the season finale) like a playoff game. We have to get that No. 1 spot," Stephenson said. "Thats what we wanted from the beginning of the season so we have to take it, not get it, we have to take it." All they need is a win Wednesday night at Orlando or one more Miami loss. The Heat visit Washington on Monday and host Philadelphia on Wednesday. Its been a wild second-half ride for Indiana (55-26), which held the top spot in the East from opening night in October until the last week of March. When the Pacers beat the Heat on March 26, they had a three-game lead and a seemingly firm grasp on home-court advantage. As the losses mounted, though, Miami charged back and finally took the top spot on March 31. But rather than pulling away, the two-time defending champs gave the lead right back. Miami retook a one-half game by beating the Pacers at home Friday, then fell into a tie with Indiana after losing Saturday night in Atlanta. The Pacers went into Sundays game with six losses in eight games and the knowledge that all they had to do was win their last two -- because they have a better conference record than the Heat. So just like that, Indiana flipped the switch and got back to looking the a championship contender. Six players reached double figures including West, who had 21, and Stephenson, who had 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He broke Detlef Schrempfs franchise record for most triple doubles in a season (four in 1992-93). "Hes a big part of our personality, a big part of our edge, a fan favourite with good reason and hes one of the head coachs favourites," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after getting a low-five from Stephenson after a late 3-pointer. Paul George finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds and C.J. Watson scored a season high 20 points. The Pacers didnt even need much from Roy Hibbert, who had six rebounds, no points and was 0 for 9 from the field. The Thunder (58-22) shot 42.9 per cent from the field, were 7 of 28 on 3-pointers and were outrebounded 46-32. NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant had 38 points and Russell Westbrook had 21 as they rallied Oklahoma City from a 10-point deficit over the final seven minutes. The Thunder, who were trying to lock up the No. 2 seed in the West, have no doubt Indiana can play with the best in the NBA. "Whats surprising to me is the people who are down on them," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "In an 82-game season, youre going to have some tough times. Unfortunately for them, theyre having it late in the season. But all it takes is a game or two to get back on." What changed for the Pacers, aside from returning to their home court? They were gritty and selfless, the starters who sat out Wednesday at Milwaukee looked well-rested and the bench that produced a big win over the Bucks looked more confident. While there were still signs of lingering problems, such as 21 turnovers. Indiana stayed in control and closed it out late. After Georges 12-foot runner gave the Pacers an 87-77 lead with 6:59 to go, the Thunder charged back, tying the score at 89 when Westbrook hit a 3 with 2:46 to go. "We put ourselves in good position, we just couldnt finish," Durant said. The Pacers wouldnt allow it. George broke the tie with a 3 and 2:09 to play, West followed that with two straight mid-range jumpers and Stephenson knocked down a 3 with 34.2 seconds left to give make it 97-91. "Were just trying to put together good basketball at this point and hopefully carry it into the playoffs," West said. Notes: George welcomed a 15-year-old Cincinnati boy as part of the Make-A-Wish foundation. Roei, a Pacers fans, has been waiting 10 months for a liver/small bowel transplant. ... Indiana finished 35-6 at home and is assured of having the leagues best home record. ... Nick Collison received eight stitches to close a cut above his nose and backup guard Reggie Jackson injured his neck after running into Ian Mahinmis pick in the fourth quarter. Authentic Markelle Fultz Jersey .“I always did my stuff ahead of the deadline. The best deal Ive ever done was the Darryl Sydor deal. We did that at the end of January in 04, and Syd was the missing piece. Markelle Fultz 76ers Jersey . The Packers, Lions and Bears were a combined 35-15 and as long as Jay Cutler can say healthy, all three could make the playoffs in 2012. http://www.markellefultzjersey.com/. Anor had not scored since getting his first two goals of the season vs. Philadelphia on March 22 but struck with laser precision from distance in the 56th and 75th minutes. Montreal (3-10-5) lost its third straight and Impact coach Frank Klopas said it literally was a case of his players not stepping up. Cheap Dario Saric Jersey . Cabrera-Bello shot a 1-over-par 73 and was caught by Webster, who carded 70 at Doha Golf Club for three-round totals of 12-under 204. They were only one stroke ahead of Adrien Saddier of France, the biggest mover with six birdies in his opening seven holes in a round of 64, South African Thomas Aiken (70) and Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen (68) on a packed leaderboard. Cheap Markelle Fultz Jersey China .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider.SEATTLE -- Marco Pappa, Chad Barrett and Obafemi Martins each scored second-half goals and the Seattle Sounders ended Real Salt Lakes season-opening unbeaten streak at 12 with a 4-0 victory Saturday in a game between the two top teams in Major League Soccer. Gonzalo Pineda also scored on a first-half penalty kick for the Sounders (9-3-2). Pappas goal was his first of the season. Barrett scored for the second straight game, giving him three goals for the year. Martins tallied his sixth. While Seattle won its MLS-high fifth straight home match, Salt Lake (6-1-6) fell for the first time, missing a chance to set an MLS record for longest unbeaten streak to start the year. Los Angeles (12-0 in 1996 and 10-0-2 in 2010) and Kansas City (10-0-2 in 2000) previously had 12-game season-opening undefeated streaks. Salt Lake also had an overall 16-game regular-season unbeaten streak (8-0-8) end. RSL hadnt lost since last Sept. 21 at home against San Jose, 2-1. "We talked about it before the game that we wanted to break the streak and keep the record for a couple of people," Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said. "But mainly, we talked about us being No. 1 going against No. 2, and we have to show what were made of. "As a group, were maturing, and to be able to step into a game between first place and second place and win and have a convincing result speaks volumes for our character." Pinedas penalty kick was set up when a loose ball in the RSL box was sent toward the left post. Lamar Neagle of the Sounders chased after it, and was pushed to the ground by Aaron Maund, Pineda then beat goalkeeper Jeff Attinella to the back left side midway tthrough the 42nd minute.dddddddddddd Pappas goal late in the 55th minute came off of a direct free kick, launched over a six-man wall from 23 yards away on the right side. Barrett made it 3-0 early in the 62nd minute with a 12-yard shot that went high into the net. Martins notched the final goal late in the 90th minute on a give-and-go with Kenny Cooper. With the upcoming World Cup shaking up MLS rosters, both teams were without key players. Among the Sounders missing was leading goal scorer Clint Dempsey (eight goals). That created an opportunity for Barrett, who started and scored for the second week in a row. "I talked to Sigi, and he said since Dempsey was going to be gone for World Cup, there were going to be opportunities to step in," Barrett said. "In the practice weeks leading up to it, I was going to make sure that my fitness was where it needed to be. Coming in here, once you get one, the goal just seems to get a little bit bigger every time." Real Salt Lake is the second-highest scoring team in MLS behind Seattle. But of those 23 goals, 14 were missing due to World Cup (two for Kyle Beckerman) or injury (six each for Alvaro Saborio and Joao Plata). "Its a tough place to play, and we dont have a full arsenal," coach Jeff Cassar said. "But I thought the guys out there did a very good job. I just told the guys to discount the third and fourth goals, because we were pushing and we knew we were going to be exposed at the back. "It was a fantastic run that we went on, but Im trying to make sure the team will react the same way I do: We have work to do, and its on to the next game." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '


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