04-27-2016, 04:02 AM
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers bench didnt provide much in Saturday nights 97-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Adidas Superstar 2 Black Womens . Danny Granger, Luis Scola, C.J. Watson and Ian Mahinmi combined to shoot just 4 of 18 for 16 points. None played more than Watsons 18:33. "Weve got to figure out something to get a better rhythm with that group," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. Maybe the arrival of Andrew Bynum will help. Hours after the Pacers signed the free-agent centre for the rest of the season, Indiana overcame an early deficit and held off the Nets to improve to an NBA-best 22-2 at home. Bynum wasnt in the arena -- Vogel said before the game that the mercurial big man had returned to Cleveland and hadnt had a chance to meet his new teammates yet. But Indianas All-Star starter, Paul George, isnt concerned about Bynums reputation. "I think it increases our chances (of winning a championship)," George said. "A lot of teams have three centres. With us only having two, him being one of the best ones out there, its a no-brainer to go after a talented guy like that." The Pacers (36-10) eked out the win despite a season-high 24 turnovers that Brooklyn converted into 36 points. "We didnt play a great game," Vogel said. "Weve got to get under control." George and Roy Hibbert both had 20 points for the Pacers, who swept the four-game season series. Lance Stephenson, left out of the All-Star game despite leading the NBA in triple-doubles, added 14 points for Indiana. David West had 17 points and George Hill scored 10. "Weve got to be a little more patient. Were swinging for the fences a little too much in terms of trying to make some tight interior passes as opposed to making the simple play," said West, who had a game-high seven assists. Shaun Livingston scored a season-high 24 points for the Nets, who couldnt hold an early seven-point lead against the Eastern Conference leaders. Joe Johnson, an All-Star selection, spent much of the night dueling with Stephenson and scored 16 for Brooklyn, which has lost three straight since starting January with 11 wins in 12 games. "We play 82 games through the season and youre going to have your ups and downs, and hopefully youre ready come playoff time," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. Stephenson, unhappy he was left off the All-Star team, had words at times with the Brooklyn bench. "I could care less if its personal," Johnson said. "He needs to talk it over with the coaches. Ive got nothing to do with it." Paul Pierce scored 15 points, Deron Williams added 13 and Kevin Garnett had 12 for the Nets, who were coming off a 120-95 loss at home to Oklahoma City on Friday night. "The guys were active tonight and we got our hands on some balls and we turned them over," Kidd said. "We didnt capitalize as well as we wanted, but definitely an improvement from what we did the night before." West scored seven points in the fourth quarter, hitting five of six free throws to help the Pacers hold on. "David always comes through when we need him most," George said. "He shines in those moments. He really picks us up in those moments." Brooklyn tied the score at 76 on Livingstons two free throws with 10 minutes left, but Hibbert converted a three-point play and Indiana led the rest of the way. Livingston pulled Brooklyn to 85-83 with 5:10 to play, but after an extended Indiana possession, Stephenson hit two free throws after being fouled by Johnson, then Hibbert slammed home a dunk. The Nets wouldnt go away, though. Hill hit one of two free throws with 18.6 seconds to play for a 94-90 lead before Johnsons 3-pointer with 8 seconds left made it 94-93. West then hit two free throws, rebounded Pierces missed 3 and hit one more free throw to make it 97-93. Williams hit a 3 with 0.4 seconds left, and the game ended after Scola threw the inbounds pass off Pierces back. "The one thing we said was, Dont throw it out of bounds," Vogel said. "We said, Throw it anywhere where it hits them or us." Brooklyn took advantage of a sluggish start by the Pacers to lead by seven points three times in the first quarter, the last on Johnsons short jumper that put the Nets ahead 13-6 with 7:28 to play in the period. The Pacers took their first lead at 19-18 on Georges 3-pointer. Livingston hit two jumpers and Johnson added another to put Brooklyn back ahead 24-19, but Indiana closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead 25-24. Neither team could build a lead greater than four points in the second quarter, and the lead changed hands six times, with five ties. Georges driving layup with 6 seconds to play gave the Pacers a 46-45 halftime lead. The Pacers outscored Brooklyn 12-2 over the first 3:36 of the third quarter, building a 58-47 lead and prompting a timeout by Kidd. Brooklyn responded with a 19-9 run to pull to 67-66. Indiana scored the next five points, but Alan Anderson hit a 3-pointer, Mason Plumlee made one of two free throws and the Nets trailed just 72-70 entering the fourth. NOTES: The Pacers improved to 32-1 when leading after the third quarter. ... Indiana missed four of its first seven shots. Cheap Adidas Superstar Shoes .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. Nike Air Max Zero Ireland . Catch the 2014 NHL Draft Lottery exclusively on TSN and TSN GO live NOW. TSNs coverage is also available live on TSN radio stations across the country. You can also take part in TSN.cas live chat as the draw takes place, with the chance to discuss and debate both the draft order as well as topics from around the league.NASHVILLE – There were a group of them there from the Knights family at the local sports bar in London, Ontario watching Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final this past June. They observed with no surprise whatsoever their former teammate scoring what proved to be the Cup-clinching goal with 59 seconds left on the clock at TD Garden. "The more pressure, the higher he rises," former Knights teammate Dylan Hunter told the Leaf Report. Boasting a pair of Stanley Cups to his name, Dave Bolland, a native of Mimico, Ontario, has made a striking impression in the initial days of his tenure with the Leafs. Known to possess a knack for winning, he has proved a versatile addition to the Toronto lineup and a particular favourite of head coach Randy Carlyle. "He always took his role," said Hunter, "and took it to the maximum that it could [go]." Linemates in London years ago, Hunter and Bolland were joined by Robbie Schremp on one of the most dangerous combinations junior hockey has seen in recent memory. Now an assistant coach with the Knights and still a close friend of the 27-year-old Leafs centre, Hunter recalls a player who owned a lot of the same traits which have found him success at the NHL level. "Hed piss a lot of people off just by the way he played," Hunter remembered, noting the grittier aspects of Bollands game. "But at the same time he was an offensive juggernaut I guess you could say in the OHL." Shortly after he swung the summer trade with the Blackhawks, Leafs general manager Dave Nonis hinted that Bolland might be capable of more offence in Toronto than he had provided in Chicago, his junior history lending credence to the theory. In his final season with the Knights, Bolland finished second in the OHL scoring race, totaling a sizeable 57 goals and 130 points. Crowding the charts, Schremp finished first, Hunter just a shade back in the fourth spot. "He was well-rounded when it came to his offensive skills," Hunter said of Bolland, who has scored 15 goals or more three times in six NHL seasons. Climbing up the lineup early this season, most recently onto a unit with Mason Raymond and Joffrey Lupul, Bolland has shown those gifts, tallying two goals and an assist in the first four games. "Hes got good skill with the puck, hes smart with it, he protects it well with his body and hes got a good set of hands so he can be very effective in making plays," Cody Franson explained to the Leaf Report, with the 26-year-old former Predator squaring off with Bolland in the first round of the playoffs in 2010, and the Blackhawks capturing their first Cup in 49 years later that spring. Though he was acquired with a well-rounded game in mind, hints of offence from the former Knight could prove consequential, especially with the loss of Mikhail Grabovski to a buyout this past summer and likely regression from Nazem Kadri, who raced to 44 points in 48 games last season. Now the boss in Toronto, Carlyle got his first hints of what Bolland could offer while he was still leading the bench in Anaheim. He took note of how his counterpart in Chicago, Joel Quenneville, employed the 2004 second-round selection, using him as a defensive matchup opposite the Ducks best weapons, Ryan Getzlaf and former Knights teammate, Corey Perry. "The little light goes on," Carlyle said recently. "You remember those things." Its that versatility which has made him an attractive asset to the Leafs head coach. He can employ Bolland in an array of situations – penalty kill, power-play, end of game defensive spots, top-6, bottom-6 – almost a plus-version of Jay McClement, the former bringing more offence to the table. "He was always that guy," Hunter recalled, "whatever the coach nneeded or the team needed he was always ready to fill that role no matter what. Nike Air Max 2016 Ireland. " The Leafs got their first look at that "dynamic" ability in training camp. They took note of how strong Marlie-bound winger Spencer Abbott looked alongside Bolland and Raymond, quickly gleaning that Bolland was the instigator of such success. That look extended into the early stages of the regular season. Needing a more suitable match-up for Vincent Lecavalier and the Flyers second line early in the second game of the season in Philadelphia, Carlyle slid Bolland up onto a line with Joffrey Lupul and Nik Kulemin, replacing Kadri. His efforts would be rewarded. Bolland scored twice, including the eventual game-winner. Bolland has shown a knack for winning throughout his career, even stretching back to his junior days in London. The Knights were a fearsome juggernaut in 2005, led by the likes of Bolland, Perry, Hunter and Schremp, in addition to future NHL talents such as Brandon Prust, Marc Methot, and Dan Girardi. Not to be trifled with, London would march to a staggering 59-7-2 record in the regular season, outscoring foes by an incredible 310-125 margin. They would coast through the OHL playoffs with a 16-2 mark, capping a perfect hometown Memorial Cup with a 4-0 stomping of Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic in the final. Five years down the road, Bolland would muster up eight goals and 16 points when the Blackhawks won their first Cup in the modern era, teaming with former Leaf Kris Versteeg and future Jets captain Andrew Ladd on a sturdy third line. Sliding down the depth chart in 2013, he would nevertheless string together three goals and five points in the Cup Final against Boston, his history-catching moment ending the Bruins season in Game 6. "Hes one of those guys that lives in the big situations," Franson said of Bolland. "Hes a guy that you can count on to be calm and confident in those last dying seconds in the defensive zone. Hes a guy that you can put out there to get the puck to the net when you need a goal. Hes just a guy that you can count on in a bunch of different circumstances. "Having went through what we through with Boston at the end of last year that experience wouldve been huge for us," he continued, referencing the stinging Game 7 loss to the Bruins. "Having that experience back there is just something that you cant teach." Its part of the equation that made him attractive to the Leafs this past summer. A more suitable fit for Carlyle than the soon-to-be departed Grabovski, Bolland finally became available after the Blackhawks victory, since Chicago needed to pay playoff star Bryan Bickell. The deal would cost the Leafs three draft picks, including a second-round selection in 2013. Sharing a house in downtown London with Bolland as a teenager, Hunter described Bolland then as "hyper" and someone who "was always up for anything", also chuckling at his buddys interest in furniture and interior decoration. "Were all still pretty tight," Hunter said of the group that captured the Memorial Cup that one dominant year last decade. "They always say, you win a championship with a team its something that bonds you and it did with us. Were still going strong, 10 years later." Like a lot of the old Knights, Bolland even bought a house in London. He and Hunter remain close, golfing and barbequing in the summer, his former teammate paying a visit to Toronto last week. Asked if he was surprised by the level of success Bolland had attained at the NHL level thus far, Hunter didnt blink. "No," he said. "Hes one of those guys that for as many points as he put up he was always a team-first guy. Anybody that watches him play knows that." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '