12-18-2015, 03:25 AM
DALLAS -- Ricky Rubio hasnt given up on the idea of Minnesota making the playoffs. nike air max 90 essential herre . The case is a little easier to make after the Timberwolves avoided what would have been a disastrous loss in Dallas. Rubio had a triple-double, Kevin Love scored the last of his 35 points with the go-ahead basket late in overtime, and the Timberwolves hung on for a 123-122 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night after blowing several leads. Minnesota broke a six-game stretch of alternating wins and losses with a second straight victory to move two games over .500 for the first time since Nov. 23. The Timberwolves (34-32) are still 5 1/2 games behind Dallas and Memphis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 16 games to go. But at least they didnt lose after squandering a 22-point lead in the first half and a 13-point edge with 7 minutes to go. "It was a big game against a tough team who is fighting for the playoffs, too," said Rubio, who had 22 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career triple-double. "We want to try to catch up to them." Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 for Dallas and put the Mavericks ahead with a fadeaway over Love with 33 seconds left in overtime before Love scored on a jump hook with 17 seconds to go. Nowitzki missed on another try over Love in the final seconds as the Mavericks saw a three-game winning streak end and missed a chance to move a season-high 15 games over .500. "This is a tough one," said Nowitzki, who had his second straight tough shooting night at 11 of 27. "This feels like a playoff loss. It really does. I dont even know what to say." Monta Ellis scored the last 12 Dallas points of regulation on a three-point play and three consecutive 3-pointers, the last one giving the Mavericks their first lead since early in the first quarter at 113-111. Rubio answered with a pair of free throws for the tie with 50 seconds left. Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer to finish his 0-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, but Kevin Martin missed from just inside the arc and Robbie Hummel missed from just outside it for Minnesota. Dallas Devin Harris was short on a mid-court heave at the buzzer in regulation. "We knew they were going to go on a run," said Love, who was 11 of 20 from the field and 11 of 14 from the line. "We will take the win, whether it is in regulation or overtime." Nowitzki hit his first shot of overtime from the baseline and added a 3-pointer for a 120-115 lead, but the Timberwolves went back in front by a point on a reverse layup from Rubio and four free throws from Love. All five Minnesota starters were in double figures. Martin scored 19, Corey Brewer had 11 of his 13 points during Minnesotas fast start in the first quarter and Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Former Dallas guard J.J. Barea had 15 points. Ellis finished with 22 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Shawn Marion had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Sam Dalembert had 14 boards. Early in the game, the Dallas defence didnt look anything like a unit that had held consecutive teams to less than 40-per cent shooting. Minnesota was at 69 per cent after Dieng hit a hook shot to give the Timberwolves their biggest lead at 50-28 early in the second quarter. The Mavericks had six of their 16 turnovers in the first quarter, and several led to breakaway baskets for Brewer. "They were aggressive. We were sloppy," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The first quarter was really the biggest factor in the game." The Mavericks forced four straight misses to spark a 24-5 run that got them back in the game. Nowitzki opened the spurt with a jumper, and Jae Crowder finished it with a dunk after a steal by Jose Calderon to make it 55-52. NOTES: Rubio had seven assists in the first quarter, one more than Dallas as a team. Minnesota had 12 for the quarter. ... Ellis was called for a technical after getting his fourth foul in the third quarter. Referee Monty McCutchen screamed at Ellis that he had been warned four times as Ellis walked to the Dallas bench. nike free run 3 herre tilbud . Chris Heisey followed with a two-run triple and Billy Hamilton added an RBI double, all but sealing Cincinnatis fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games. Brandon Phillips, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth for the Reds before pinch-hitter Buster Posey tied it with an RBI double off hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom half. nike air force 1 high dame . "That was nice," centre Andray Blatche said with a grin. For the Nets, Mondays game at Madison Square Garden looked good and sounded even better. Joe Johnson scored 25 points and the Nets sent the Knicks to a fourth straight loss with a 103-80 victory, evening this seasons New York rivalry at a game apiece. DUBLIN, Ohio -- With every swing, Hideki Matsuyama appeared to join a cast of top players throwing away a chance to win the Memorial. A tee shot in the water on the 16th for double bogey. An approach over the back of the green on the 17th that led to bogey. And then a drive to the right that made the Japanese star so disgusted that he lightly slammed his club into the turf, and the head of the driver broke off. The ball hit a tree and took one last bounce back into the fairway, and Matsuyama seized on the break. He took dead aim with a 7-iron to just outside 5 feet for birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Kevin Na, and then won for the first time in America with a 10-foot par putt on the first extra hole. "Right from the 15th hole, I had a lot of missed shots," Matsuyama said. "The double bogey at 16, bogey at 17, not a real good tee shot -- I thought -- at 18. But when I saw the ball on the fairway on the 18th hole there, thats when I was able to think I still have a chance." The 22-year-old Matsuyama earned validation as one of the games bright young stars Sunday by closing with a 3-under 69 and making two clutch putts on the 18th hole for his sixth career victory, the previous five on the Japan Golf Tour. This was his first win against a field of the worlds top players. "I just think youve just seen the start of whats going to be truly one of your worlds great players over the next 10 to 15 years," tournament host Jack Nicklaus said. Nicklaus spent much of the back nine in the broadcast booth, and it was a brand of golf that was unfamiliar to golfs greatest champion. The Memorial became only the latest event where proven players faltered badly. Masters champion Bubba Watson had a one-shot lead with five holes to play. He was 3 over the rest of the way. Adam Scott, the No. 1 player in the world, was tied for the lead until playing the last seven holes in 4 over. "The whole thing is frustrating as I stand here right now," Scott said after his 71. "But everyone is going to feel like that. We all could have done something different. If we all did, who knows what the result would be?" Scott fell apart by hitting one shot into the water, taking two shots to get out of a bunker and losing all hope when his third shot to the par-5 15th hit the pin and caromed back into the fairway, leading to a bogey. Watson dropped three shots by hooking two tee shots. The most damaging was his drive on the 15th that was soo high, so powerful and so far right that it cleared the trees and went into a neighbourhood, leading a double bogey. nike free 5.0 herre udsalg. Needing a birdie on the 18th, his shot looked good until it took one small hop and stayed in the rough. A few inches closer and it would have fed down the slope for a short birdie chance. He closed with a 72 and finished third, moving him to No. 3 in the world ahead of the injured Tiger Woods. "Its tough," Watson said, who was going for his third win of the year. "I made one bad decision. If I hit 4-wood off the tee instead of driver on the par 5, we make 5 and we win by one. But I made double, so we lost by one." Na finished his round of 64 about two hours earlier. He was in the clubhouse at Muirfield Village, leaning against two pillows on a sofa as he watched the calamity unfold, even joking he might win by not hitting another shot. Thanks to Matsuyama, he had to. And it wasnt pretty. Na hooked his tee shot on the 18th in the playoff, and it went into the creek. He still had 10 feet for bogey when Matsuyama made the winning putt. Na did not speak to reporters. A PGA Tour official tracked him down in the parking lot, and he gave credit to Matsuyama for making a great putt. Adding to the bizarre ending was how Matsuyama played the extra hole. It was not an angry slam of the driver after his tee shot on the 18th in regulation, and he was shocked to see the head fall off. He could have replaced the club because the playoff is not considered part of the round, but he had no replacement. Instead, he went with 3-wood off the tee in the playoff, and it went into the front bunker. He hooked his 5-iron, hitting a spectator in the knee left of the green, and hit a flop shot safely to 10 feet. It was the first par he made on the 18th hole all week. Matsuyama became the first player to make birdie on the closing hole at Muirfield Village four straight rounds. "To win my first PGA Tour event is enough," Matsuyama said. "But to win it here at Mr. Nicklaus course, it really gives me a lot of confidence now going on. And hopefully, Ill be able to use this week as a stepping stone to further my career." Matsuyama became the fourth Japanese player to win on the PGA Tour, the most recent being Ryuji Imada in the 2008 AT&T Classic. The Memorial, even with Woods out with a back injury, featured the strongest field of the year outside the Masters, World Golf Championships and The Players Championship. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '