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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons are a much-improved team after Joe Dumars rebuilt the roster once again over the summer. That doesnt mean they are ready to knock off teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder. Detroit played the Thunder tough into the third quarter Friday night, but Oklahoma Citys superior depth took over down the stretch, especially once Andre Drummond and Josh Smith got into foul trouble. Rookie Steven Adams finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow post reserve Nick Collison had nine points and four rebounds in a 119-110 victory. "We were just trying to keep it simple and try not to make mistakes," Collison said of his partnership with the New Zealander. "I thought we were really locked in defensively. It was a different situation than most nights, but our bench played really well." Thunder coach Scott Brooks thought his entire second unit played a key role in the victory. "Nick, Steven, Derek (Fisher), Jeremy (Lamb) and Reggie (Jackson) did an outstanding job," he said. "They gave us a great effort, they moved the ball and took care of it. Steven and Nick did a really great job of playing together and understanding what we needed them to do. They protected the paint and they took care of the pick-and-roll. Detroits biggest problem, though, was trying to stop Kevin Durant. Their only hope of that was Smith. He sat out large portions of the second half and Durant finished with 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. "We werent hitting shots and they were hurting us on the offensive glass, but it is really hard to adjust your lineup to fix those things when you are facing Kevin," said Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks, who spent the last four years as an assistant with the Thunder. "You always have to have someone on the floor that can guard him, so that limits your options when you want to change things." Smith finished with 25 points for Detroit before fouling out, while Greg Monroe (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Brandon Jennings (22 points, 11 assists) added double-doubles. "Its always tough against that team, but especially when you get into foul trouble," said Monroe, who found himself playing with Kyle Singler, Gigi Datome and Jonas Jerebko instead of Drummond and Smith. "They kept making plays, and they kept getting to the free-throw line. It is hard to win games like that." Leading by 10 early in the fourth, the Thunder struggled to put Detroit away. The Pistons got within 88-84, but didnt have an answer for Durant down the stretch. Smith committed his fifth foul trying to guard him with 5:07 left, and Durant hit both free throws to give him 30 points and move the Oklahoma City lead to 101-89. Smith fouled out moments later, and picked up a technical foul on his way off the floor. Oklahoma City threatened to break the game open in the second quarter, leading by as many as 11 as the Pistons continued to struggle to score from outside. Jennings and Monroe, though, combined for 10 points in the final two minutes of the half, pulling Detroit within 55-51. Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 27 points in the half, while Monroe had 13 points and eight rebounds for Detroit. The Pistons went ahead on back-to-back three-point plays by Monroe and Smith midway through the third, but Smith immediately committed his fourth foul and had to join Drummond on the bench. Six straight points by Durant forced Drummond back in with four fouls, but Lambs 3-pointer at the buzzer let Oklahoma City take an 84-76 lead into the fourth. Westbrook scored 20 points despite missing 14 of his 19 field-goal attempts. NOTES: Detroit Tigers President Dave Dombrowski had one of the best seats in the house, sitting courtside just two spots away from the halfcourt line. ... Cheeks got an enthusiastic pregame welcome from the Thunder. Durant grabbed Cheeks in a playful headlock, while Thunder coach Scott Brooks and several players rushed over to embrace him. ... Durant earned a spot on the nightly blooper reels when he lost his grip on the ball while driving for a baseline dunk. As Durants empty hands came down on the basket, the ball looped over the Pistons bench and into the stands. Ryan Goins Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Troy Tulowitzki Womens Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.officialmlbshoponline.net/Toronto-Blue-...ck-Frid ay/ . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Jose Bautista Navy Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Troy Tulowitzki Red Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend.ST. PAUL, Minn â The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. "I couldnt believe when I heard after the game thats how long it was," said Fraser, in conversation with the Leaf Report, minutes before the team departed for Minnesota. "It actually didnt feel that long because that seems so unfathomable. None of us were able to move." He and his teammates would later sustain a similar bit of pressure themselves, hammering the Bruins with wave upon wave of pressure in a second period that was arguably their best this season. It was that style, that relentlessness, that enthusiasm that Randy Carlyle would like to see from his team on a more consistent basis. "I just think that the good teams in the league, they have a template and they play to it," said Carlyle, ahead of a Wednesday date with the thriving Wild. "They put the puck in and go to work. And we have to gain more of that type of an attitude from our group. Thats whats necessary to have success in the NHL and you have to do it day in, day out." Despite an 11-6-0 record that ranks third in the Atlantic Division, the Leafs have, to this point, only seen hints of the team they would like to resemble this season. Theyve not managed to impose the edge, force or speed which defined their attack with surprising success last season. Carlyle has harped often on the need for that to change. Bits of improvement were seen in a 2-1 shootout win over New Jersey last week, further signs of hope emerging in the loss to the Bruins over the weekend. "I think that weve been preaching that for a long time," said Carlyle. "There is an understanding that we have to play a certain way. And when you see signs of it happening, thats encouraging but its got to happen more often and thats what were going to ask of them." What Carlyle is looking for specifically is improvement at even strength. Though they boast a positive goal differential â because of terrific goaltending â the Leafs have only managed 29 goals in five-on-five situations, which ranks 20th this season. In the past three games, theyve scored only once at even strength. More alarmingly, theyve been outshot by a margin of 455-322 in such situations; attempting the fewest shots of any team in the league (611) while yielding the seventh most against (850), as per extraskater.com. "We need to be a better five-on-five team," said Fraser. "So far, our specialty teams have been pretty good for us, but itd be nicer to win more games in the five-on-five play and not have to rely on those which wont always be there for you." A source of much of the clubs success â in addition to goaltending â Toronto special teams, dominant in the very early stages this season, have predictably cooled in recent days.dddddddddddd Now ranked 13th overall, the penalty kill allowed a pair for the first time all season against the Bruins, the power-play empty in three opportunities and now 1-15 over the past five games. Special Teams Last 5 Games First 11 Games Power play 1-15 â 7% 12-45 â 27% Penalty kill 17-21 â 81% 40-47 â 85% What the Leafs did so well amid an impressive and yet all too rare stretch of 20 minutes at TD Garden on Saturday was pressure and pressure with persistence and grit. They outshot the Bruins 18-8 at even strength in the period, scoring their lone goal in an eventual 3-1 defeat. "The first thing we did is we dumped the puck effectively and we were able to get it back off our forecheck," said Carlyle. "And then we moved off the puck; we moved the puck and moved ourselves. Those are the things that are easy to talk about, but sometimes theyre a lot harder to duplicate." A tactic they employed with success against Boston in the playoffs last May, the Leafs used their speed and tenacity to wear down the Bruins defence. As a result, they sustained possession deep in the offensive zone while fatiguing their opponent. "Once we had them hemmed in, it was to the point where we werent allowing them to change," Fraser said of the game on Saturday. Hardly in line with the preference of the coaching staff, most of the clubs offence at even strength this season has relied on quick strikes and marksman-like accuracy (the Leafs boast the fourth-best shooting percentage as per extraskater.com). Only in very small doses has the club sustained possession and pressure in the opposition end. Often careless with the puck, theyve often spent far more time defending than attacking. Notably, the Leafs have yielded more shots than anyone but the Ottawa Senators (36.5 per game). "It hasnt changed in our minds," said Fraser of the desired template, "but perhaps just in our execution of it." The challenge has been demanding and attaining such execution while the team continues to win in manners that are unlikely to be sustained. Its for that reason that Carlyle has preached for improvement all year long, even when the wins piled up early. "Weve been recognizing it perhaps a bit more and just collectively trying to get back to where we were, which was a hard-working team that was initiating our style instead of receiving the other teams [style]," Fraser said. "Its hard to know when youre kind of sneaking away some victories." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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