07-04-2019, 12:57 AM
NEW YORK -- They were bloodied and eventually beaten, though not before delivering the type of effort Gregg Popovich always expects of his San Antonio Spurs. Even when his team is so banged-up that it had two guys in protective facemasks on the court at the same time -- and one of them broke his nose again, anyway. "I know we didnt look pretty," Popovich said. "Im more interested in results than how we look. So I thought they performed well." The short-handed Spurs hung in, but Alan Anderson scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 103-89 victory Thursday night. Despite playing without Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard, their top four scorers, the Spurs were still within five points early in the fourth quarter before the Nets pulled away for good. Deron Williams added 16 points and eight assists as Brooklyn ended a six-game losing streak to San Antonio with its first victory since March 29, 2010. The Spurs overcame all their challenges to pull out a 125-118 double-overtime victory at Washington on Wednesday, but didnt have enough to beat an improving Brooklyn team and fell to 2-1 on their nine-game rodeo trip. "Im disappointed we didnt win," Popovich said, shrugging off the injuries. "Im thinking we make a couple of 3s in the second half and we hang right in there, and thats the way youve got to look at it." Nando De Colo started for Parker, but had to rush off the court bleeding from the nose after he was whacked while trying to defend Andrei Kirilenko. He returned in the second half wearing a mask, as Matt Bonner already was. Bonner took another hit later and said he broke another bone in his nose. Cory Joseph scored 18 for the Spurs, Danny Green had 17 and Patty Mills 16. Paul Pierce had 12 points for the Nets, who have turned things around since the Spurs outclassed them 112-93 in San Antonio on New Years Eve, leaving Brooklyn at 10-21. They are 12-4 in 2014 and have won two straight since dropping three in a row, all against division leaders. "Weve got the pieces," Anderson said. "Were finally starting to turn the corner a lot more lately. I just want to win no matter how much Im playing." The Spurs trotted out Green, Marco Belinelli, Tiago Splitter, Joseph and De Colo to start, an unheralded lineup similar to the one Popovich used when he sent Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Green home before another Thursday night nationally televised game at Miami early last season. That decision cost the Spurs a $250,000 fine from former Commissioner David Stern, but Popovich didnt have much of a choice who he played this time. Ginobili (left hamstring) and Leonard (broken bone in right hand) were already out, and Popovich noticed Parker labouring with a back injury during the first half Wednesday. Parker then sat the remainder of the game, and Duncan played a season-high 40 minutes, well more than Popovich prefers to use the 37-year-old forward and essentially mandating a night off Thursday. Making matters worse, Boris Diaw then was vomiting during the day at the team hotel because of food poisoning and couldnt play. "Really wishing that some of those guys were healthy right now," said Green, who played 35 minutes after logging 46 Wednesday. "Its always good to play a lot of minutes, but at the same time it would have been nice to have some of those guys healthy tonight." The guys that were left raced to a 20-8 lead and were ahead the whole first quarter, settling for a 24-17 advantage. The Nets took a 40-39 lead into halftime when Williams made a jumper with 38 seconds remaining. With the Nets leading by two late in the third, Anderson converted a three-point play, his first of seven straight Brooklyn points to end the quarter and give the Nets a 75-68 lead. He another three-point play with the Nets ahead by five in the fourth, and his 3-pointer made it 87-77 and the Nets were comfortably ahead from there. "I thought he was taking wide-open shots. He was also being aggressive, driving the ball knowing that they didnt have any shot blocking," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. Notes: The Nets Joe Johnson and the Belinelli were announced Thursday as competitors in the 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday night. ... Parker and Ginobili also missed the Nets previous victory in the series. The Nets havent beaten the Spurs when those two played since Nov. 13, 2002, according to STATS. Hydro Flask Clearance .Y. -- The "for sale" sign is up at the Buffalo Bills with the hiring of financial and legal advisers who may begin talking with prospective buyers within the next month. Swell Bottles Near Me . Wrights first stint with Milwaukee was on a 10-day contract from March 14-23. He played in two games, averaging six points and two rebounds in 16. http://www.waterbottlecybermonday.com/. -- Michael Phelps is 0 for 1 in his comeback to the pool. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Sale . - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James traded hugs, big shots and verbal jabs all night with warmth and humour. Hydro Flask Sale . Thats exactly what happened. And they enjoyed every moment. Durant remained sizzling with 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Thunder roared back from an abysmal start -- they trailed 22-4 early -- to embarrass the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out of the gate by outscoring the two-time defending champions by 43 points over a 33-minute span.The month of May seems like so long ago for the Blue Jays. Since building a healthy lead in the East with an incredible 21-9 record in the second month of the season, the Jays have fallen off dramatically. Since June 1, they are only 14-19 and have actually only won eight of their last 27 games. They are still only two games back of first place Baltimore in the East but if the slide doesnt stop now, its going to be all over by the end of this month. A boost to the starting rotation would have been a good thing when the Jays were in first place and tearing up the league at the plate. But with Brett Lawrie gone for the rest of July with his broken finger, and now Edwin Encarnacion on the 15-day DL with a Grade 2 quad muscle strain, the Jays need to add a bat - preferably someone who can play second base or third or both. It almost has to be a right-hand bat considering the Jays are the worst hitting team in the American League against lefties. Since the Jays are in buying mode theyll probably have to target the teams that have no reasonable hope of getting even a Wild Card berth. In the American League, I count six teams that are realistically out of it, although Im still hesitant to count out Tampa Bay because the East is so weak. So for arguments sake, the six are Tampa Bay in the East, the White Sox and Minnesota in the Central and Texas and Houston in the West. Since Boston and Tampa Bay likely wont trade within their own division, that leaves four teams the Jays can talk with. Since Houston wont give up Jose Altuve and the Twins likely wont surrender Brian Dozier who fit the bill as right-handed hitters and solid second baseman, youre down to Texas and the White Sox. Since the Rangers are so injury ravaged, I cant see them making any significant deals until the off-season. That leaves Chicago. The White Sox have a right-hand hitting second baseman in Gordon Beckham, whom the Blue Jays were rumoured to be interested in in the off-season. Beckham is hitting .248 this season with seven homers and 24 runs batted in. Hes 24 years old. Cleveland is hanging around the .500 mark and isnt technically out, but in a week or two could decide to move some people. Theyve got 33-year-old utilityman Mike Aviles - yes, the same guy the Blue Jays got as compensation from Boston for manager John Farrell. Hes a .272 career hitter who can play second or third and maybe even shortstop in an emergency. In the National League, the six teams on the outside looking in include the Mets and the Phillies in the East, the Cubs in the Central and San Diego, Colorado and Arizona in the West.dddddddddddd The Phils have a good one in Chase Utley, but he reportedly wont waive his no-trade clause to go to a team with artificial turf such as the Blue Jays. The Mets Daniel Murphy is rumoured to be available, but he is New Yorks only All-Star rep and hits left handed. Still, hes hitting .294 with seven homers and 35 runs batted in go with 11 stolen bases. The Cubs Darwin Barney at 28 is having his second straight down year at the plate, hitting .219 though he does hit right. The Jays may have an interest in a man they originally drafted in second baseman Aaron Hill. Aaron is two years removed from his last great season with the D-Backs and is hitting only .241 this season with six homers and 42 runs batted in. The right-handed hitter is also 32 years old and is owed just shy of $30 million through 2016. J.P Morosi of Fox Sports has heard that the Jays are talking with San Diego about third baseman Chase Headley. The 30-year-old switch hitter, who has had back trouble on and off over the past couple of years, is only hitting .217 with six homers and 25 runs batted in. On top of that, any team acquiring him would have to make a qualifying offer of about $15 million to retain a draft pick at the end of the first round should Headley decide to walk. Then again if he decides to stay, a team is on the hook for $15 million for a player who may or may not be worth anything close to that. The Padres also have a 25-year-old right hand hitting second baseman in Jedd Gyorko, who cracked 23 homers last year in his first season. But this time around hes only batting .162 with five homers and 24 runs batted in. Of that entire bunch, I would probably opt for the Mets Murphy with Aaron Hill a close second. Unusual Repair Talk about the miracles of modern surgery. On Monday Arizona GM Kevin Towers is having surgery to repair a damaged vocal cord. Hes having it replaced with the vocal cord from a cadaver. Towers figures he will be able to talk again in three or four days and should be back at work in a week. Boston Turnaround They still have over 70 games to go, but the Boston Red Sox are close to doing something very unusual: going from last place, to first and a World Series victory, and back to last place. The Bosox dropped back into the basement behind Tampa Bay at 39-49. In 2012 under Bobby Valentine, they finished 69-93. Then a year ago John Farrell led them to a 97-65 mark and a World Series victory over St. Louis and now they are cellar dwellers again. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '