02-20-2016, 02:59 AM
CHARLOTTE, N. Scottie Pippen Jersey .C. - Lance Stephenson was back at his trash-talking best — this time against his old team.Stephenson jawed most of the game with former teammate Roy Hibbert and even intentionally knocked the 7-foot-2, 275-pound centre to the floor as the two were running up the court.Both later downplayed the shove.In the end, Stephenson got the best of his former teammates, as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Indiana Pacers 80-71 in overtime on Saturday night. Gerald Henderson had 20 points to lead the Hornets while Stephenson, in his second game since returning from a pelvic sprain, added 13 off the bench.The shove came with two minutes remaining in the third quarter after Hibbert blocked Stephenson on a drive to the hole. After Stephenson argued for a foul that wasnt called, he body-checked Hibbert to the floor.Officials had already retreated to the opposite end and didnt see what happened. No foul was called.I didnt hit (Hibbert) that hard, Stephenson said with a laugh. He flopped. You know I cant knock down big Roy, cmon now.Hibbert joked after the game that it appears Stephenson has been lifting a lot of weights.He got a lot stronger, Hibbert said.He said there are no hard feelings and that he and Stephenson used to jaw at each other all of the time in practice. Stephenson spent four years in Indiana before signing with the Hornets this past off-season.It wasnt anything malicious or anything, Hibbert said. Hes a good friend. Please dont blow it up. Seriously, its nothing.Other than the shove, the game itself was fairly forgettable — and at times tough to watch.The combined 151 points were the fewest in an overtime game in the shot-clock era, according to STATS. The Hornets won shooting 30.7 per cent and the Pacers had 20 turnovers.That obviously wont be on ESPN Classic, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.Still, it was a big win for the Hornets, who are battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference despite a 16-25 record.Charlotte also showed it could win despite playing without its top two scorers in Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker.The Hornets clearly missed Walker running the point.He was red hot before being sidelined with a cyst in his left knee, averaging 29.8 points per game over the last six. Charlotte struggled getting into its offensive sets and looked out of sync under the direction of point guard Brian Roberts.Charlotte has won six of its last seven games despite also being without Jefferson, who has missed eight games because of a groin injury and is still a couple of weeks away from returning.David West had 19 points for the Pacers, who were 1 of 9 from the field in overtime.Henderson missed a 20-footer at the end of regulation that would have won the game.But it was all Hornets in overtime, as they outscored the Pacers 12-3 and held them scoreless for more than four minutes.Clifford took Stephenson out of the game with 6:34 left in regulation and the Hornets trailing 61-55 — even though he was leading the team in scoring at the time with 13.With Stephenson on one knee beside the bench urging his team on, the Hornets stormed back to the take the lead 68-66 when Williams buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 51 seconds left in regulation.I definitely wanted to win because we lost at their house earlier this year, Stephenson said.He has been the subject of repeated trade rumours in recent weeks.I have tried to keep a level head and dont worry about that and just play hard, Stephenson said.TIP-INSPacers: Hibbert had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the 100th double-double of his career.Hornets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 16 rebounds for Charlotte and Bismack Biyombo had 14.KEMBAS STATUS:Clifford said Walkers knee injury is something that could linger. It is one of those things (where) its the ultimate day-to-day, Clifford said. Its something that hed had for a while. From what I understand, he can come in (Sunday) and be fine or it could be longer. I dont think there is any real way to determine that.UP NEXTPacers: Visit Houston on Monday.Hornets: Host Minnesota on Monday. Custom Chicago Bulls Jersey .It will be carried by 3,000 people during its 41-day journey to the Games, and astronaut Chris Hadfield has been named as the first honorary torchbearer.What a thrill, Hadfield told a cheering crowd that included Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Olympic athletes and officials from the Games organizing committee. Dennis Rodman Bulls Jersey . -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sidney Crosby still has Ryan Millers number after scoring a highlight-reel go-ahead goal in Pittsburghs 5-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Thats fine with Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, so long as that trend doesnt continue once the Winter Games open next week. "I was cheering the goal this time," said Bylsma, who will be switching hats in Sochi, where he will be coaching Miller on the U.S. team. "It did dawn on me as Sid was going in and he scores that goal." Crosby, Canadas captain, had a goal and assist in a pre-Olympic tuneup in which the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins (40-15-2) set a franchise record by reaching 40 wins in 57 games. That eclipsed the previous mark of 40 wins in 65 games in 1995-96. Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Brian Gibbons and minor-league call-up Harry Zolnierczyk also scored in a game the Penguins overcame a 1-0 deficit. Drew Stafford scored for the NHLs worst team, and Miller finished with 29 saves. Buffalo (15-33-8) dropped to 4-9-4 in its past 17 and winless in its last eight home games (0-5-3). Thats the Sabres worst home stretch since opening the season 0-8-1. For Crosby, he scored his first goal in six games and also ended a two-game point drought. That it happened against Buffalo and Miller shouldnt come as a surprise. Crosby has at least a point in all 14 trips to Buffalo (9 goals and 13 assists). And he has been particularly sharp at beating Miller, including the gold-medal winning overtime goal in Canadas 3-2 victory at the Vancouver Games four years ago. "He made some big saves tonight," Crosby said in defence of Miller. "Cant blame him. He held his team in it. And we scored some nice goals." The performance didnt sit well with Miller, but he doesnt think it will carry over to the Olympics. "Its game-by-game. Stuff happens out there and you reset," Miller said. Sabres coach Ted Nolan had his goalies back. "That had nothing to do with Ryan tonight," Nolan said. "It was the guys in front of him. Our team, we need everyone. We had a couple of guys no-show tonight." That was evident on Crosbys goal, which came on the power play 2:08 into the seconnd period, and put the Penguins up 2-1. Aaron Brooks Authentic Jersey. Immediately after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Buffalos Brian Flynn in close, Crosby circled his own net and built up a head of steam by driving up the left wing. Accepting Matt Niskanens pass while crossing centre, Crosby didnt break stride in cutting between Flynn and Mike Weber. He then drove toward the net and snapped a shot just inside the top right corner. Neal joked that hes seen Crosby score goals like that so many times that he didnt even celebrate, but instead simply headed to the bench. Miller had no chance some 17 minutes later, when Malkin scored on the breakaway. Pouncing on Marcus Folignos turnover inside the Penguins blue line, Malkin streaked past flat-footed defender Jamie McBain. Driving in alone on Miller, he faked going right and went left to deposit the puck in the open side. Miller is one of the three U.S. goalies selected to play at Sochi, and the game against the Penguins was regarded his last chance to make a firsthand impression on Bylsma. Bylsma has yet to name his starter, and maintained that Millers performance on Wednesday would have no influence on his decision. Miller was coming off his worst outing of the season. He was benched after giving up five goals on 27 shots through two periods in a 7-1 loss at Colorado on Saturday. He allowed three goals on 28 shots through two periods before the floodgates opened in the third. Gibbons scored off a face off, and Neal on a transition break. "The first period we werent very sharp," Crosby said. "Yeah, we took a little bit of time to get going, but once we did, I felt like we did grab a lot of momentum there." NOTES: The Sabres played without D Tyler Myers, who hurt his right leg in a 3-2 loss to Edmonton on Monday. Coach Ted Nolan has not ruled out Myers from playing in their pre-Olympic break finale at Ottawa on Thursday. ... Zolnierczyk stepped into the lineup a day after being recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He replaced Taylor Pyatt (lower body), who was hurt in a 2-1 overtime win over Ottawa on Monday. ... The Penguins completed a three-game series sweep of the Sabres, and improved to 12-4 in their past 16 meetings. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' '