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(2015-01-30 19:43:42) 下一個
MINNEAPOLIS - Corey Brewer scored a career-high 51 points and Gorgui Dieng hit a short jumper with 4. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping .6 seconds to play to lift the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves to a 112-110 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Brewer made 19 of 30 shots, easily surpassing his previous career high of 29 points. He became the fifth player this season to score 50 in a game, and the Wolves scored a staggering 39 points in transition against Houstons woeful defence. James Harden hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go that tied it at 110, but the rookie Dieng calmly knocked down the game-winner for the Wolves, who were missing All-Star Kevin Love with a hyperextended right elbow. Harden had 33 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who entered the night just 1 1/2 games ahead of Portland for the fourth seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Brewer scored in every way imaginable, ripping a Houston defence missing its two defensive leaders — Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley — for the eighth straight game. He hit jumpers, runners, dunks, free throws and even added a heave from beyond half-court to beat the halftime buzzer. He eclipsed 50 with a pair of free throws with 1:43 to play that gave Minnesota a 105-103 lead. He joined Kevin Durant (twice), LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Terrence Ross in the 50-point club for this season. Dante Cunningham had 20 points and 13 rebounds for a Wolves team that was also missing Nikola Pekovic (right foot), Kevin Martin (right heel), Chase Budinger (right ankle) and Shabazz Muhammad (right knee). Ricky Rubio had 16 points and 10 assists, and Dieng added 12 points and 20 rebounds. Chandler Parsons had 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets. Howard and Beverley are tone-setters for Houston on defence, with Howard prowling the paint and Beverley hounding point guards on the perimeter, so it comes as no surprise that the Rockets have struggled in their absence. But 51 points from Corey Brewer? Brewer was averaging 11.7 points per game this season, most of which came on outlet passes in transition from Love. His quarterback could only watch from the bench on Friday night, but Brewer still managed to tie Loves franchise record for points in a game. McHale has openly lamented his teams poor transition defence, saying the Rockets desperately need some practice time for a refresher course. With the playoffs looming, theres not much time to make wholesale changes. If the playoffs started on Saturday, the Rockets would play fifth-seeded Portland in the first round, and Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and the Blazers would certainly test those defensive shortcomings. McHale went with a smaller lineup, taking Omer Asik out and essentially playing Terrence Jones at the centre spot in the second quarter, and it seemed to help slow the Wolves transition game a little bit. Parsons hit 7 of 9 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, to help the Rockets stay in the game. They led 63-59 at halftime, but Brewer kept coming. He scored Minnesotas final 10 points of the third to cut the deficit to 84-82 heading into the fourth. His runner in transition gave the Wolves a 91-87 lead three minutes into the final period, bringing the Target Center crowd to its feet. NOTES: The Rockets had 22 turnovers that led to 28 points for Minnesota. ... The Timberwolves held a moment of silence before the game for six-time All-Star Lou Hudson, who died on Friday. Hudson starred in college at the University of Minnesota. ... J.J. Barea returned from a one-game absence for the Wolves and was given a technical foul in the second quarter for slamming the ball on the court in frustration. The ball bounced about 15 feet into the air and went over the backboard. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . - The Colorado Rapids say theyve received a first-round 2015 MLS SuperDraft pick, allocation money and a contract buyout from FC Dallas as compensation for coach Oscar Parejas leaving to take the same job with his former club. Cheap Jerseys Online . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- On a night when two of the biggest stars in the NHL were on the ice, Minnesotas fourth line stepped up to help the Wild continue their surge toward the playoffs. Cody McCormick had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped all 20 shots he faced in the Wilds 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Erik Haula, Mikko Koivu, and Stephane Veilleux also scored for the Wild, who have gone 3-0-1 over their past four games. With four games to play, they hold a five-point cushion over Dallas for the seventh playoff spot in the Western Conference. With Olympic captains Sidney Crosby of Canada playing for the Penguins and Zach Parise of the United States on the ice for the Wild, Minnesota won with huge nights from some of its least-heralded players. The fourth line, centred by McCormick, accounted for two goals and helped keep the Penguins off the board all night. "When you get contributions from your energy guys like we did tonight with Cody and Veilleux, it goes such a long way for the team," Parise said. "I thought those guys had such a good game tonight when they were out there. They were hitting, they didnt give up anything against, defensively, and they got the big goals." The Wild jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first period, scoring on three of their first five shots against Pittsburgh rookie goalie Jeff Zatkoff. Haula started the scoring just 1:42 into the game, chipping a backhand shot over Zatkoffs shoulder on the back end of a give-and-go with Matt Moulson. Haula had spent most of his rookie season on the fourth line, but hes scored twice in two games while filling in for Mikael Granlund, who has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury. Koivu put Minnesota up 2-0 on its fourth shot of the game, scoring his 11th of the season just under 9 minutes in. Koivu carried the puck across the Penguins blue line, waited patiently for Parise to crash the net, then flicked a wrist shot past a screened Zatkoff. Veilleuux pushed the lead to 3-0 on a gift goal from Zatkoff.Cheap Jerseys. McCormick fed the puck into the slot, where Veilleux corralled it, spun and fired a shot that was headed wide of the net. Zatkoff tried to glove it, but he mishandled the puck and it trickled behind him and into the net. "They got three goals on six shots in the first period and got out to that lead," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "We were certainly from behind in this game and couldnt generate a lot going the other way." Bryzgalov posted his second shutout since being acquired by the Wild on March 4. He was steady throughout and made a pair of outstanding saves in the second period to keep the shutout intact. First he sprawled to his right to rob James Neal with a stick save. A few minutes later, he kicked out his right leg just in time to stuff Lee Stempniak, who was alone at the left post after a rebound off the back boards had bounced out to him. "We were pretty good defensively, but they had a bit of a push right from the start," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "They had some shots, but he just settled everything right down. He looked so calm and in control and the team definitely feeds off that." With four games to play, Pittsburgh has all but wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. So while Saturdays outcome wasnt ideal, Crosby said the Penguins wont overreact to the loss as they prepare for the final week of the season. "Just play the right way," he said of their approach heading down the stretch. "We know what that is. Weve done a pretty good job of it. Its just a matter of making sure we find that urgency here for the last couple." NOTES: The game was played before 19,409 fans, the largest crowd for a Wild game in the history of Xcel Energy Center, which opened in 2000. ... McCormicks assist on Veilleuxs goal was his first point with the Wild. He and Moulson were acquired from Buffalo on March 5. ... Parises first-period assist was his 500th NHL point. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' '
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