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OKLAHOMA CITY -- It took a fraction of a second for the Memphis Grizzlies to take control of their first-round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. cheap nfl jerseys . With 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant missed a long 3-point attempt. Teammate Serge Ibaka tipped the ball in on the rebound, sending the crowd into a celebration. The shot was reviewed, however, and it was determined that it was released just after the buzzer, giving Memphis a 100-99 victory Tuesday night and a 3-2 lead in the series. "I had a good look at it and I thought it was good when it left my hand," Durant, the NBAs scoring champion, said. "And then Serges follow shot was just late. It was a tough finish but weve got to come back." It was a record fourth straight overtime game in the series, and Memphis has won three of them. The seventh-seeded Grizzlies can close out the second-seeded Thunder on Thursday night at home. "Nothing comes easy for us," Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph said. "We get it out of the mud, we grind and were underdogs. Its what we do." Before the final overtime sequence, Durant made the first of two free throws with 27.5 seconds left to cut Oklahoma Citys deficit to 100-99. Before his second shot, referee Joey Crawford took the ball from Durant and walked over to the scorers table. Moments later, Crawford was screaming at the scoreboard operator, asking him to make a change. After the delay, Durant, an 87 per cent free throw shooter during the regular season, missed the second attempt. "Im not sure what happened, but Ive got to focus and Ive got to make that foul shot," Durant said. The Grizzlies didnt understand what was going on, either. "We just looked at Joey and we were like, What is Joey doing?" Memphis guard Mike Conley said. Mike Miller scored 21 points, Randolph had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Conley added 17 points for the Grizzlies. Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, but he made just 10 of 31 shots from the field. Durant scored 26 points on 10-for-24 shooting. He has struggled throughout the series, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks said hes not worried. "Hes going to get his shots and hes going to make his share," Brooks said. "Hell get himself ready for the next game." Overall, the Thunder shot just 39 per cent. The Thunder, one of the leagues most potent offensive teams in the regular season, have shot below 40 per cent in four of the five games in the series. "We understand this team very well," Memphis guard Tony Allen said. "Weve been playing against this team the last four years with this group. We understand their plays, we understand who theyre trying to run their offence through. We know Kevin Durant is going to take his shots and Russell Westbrook is going to take his shots. We have to contest those shots and stick to our defensive coverages for 48 minutes." Oklahoma City trailed by 20 points in the third quarter but trimmed its deficit to six by the start of the fourth quarter and finally took a 79-78 lead on a 3-pointer by Durant. Memphis maintained its composure. Consecutive baskets by Conley put the Grizzlies up 87-82 with just under 4 minutes to play. Oklahoma Citys Caron Butler was fouled by Randolph as he hit a 3-pointer with 2:40 to play. He made the free throw to cut Memphis lead to 87-86. Oklahoma City, trailing 89-88, had a chance to take the lead in the final minute of regulation, but Durant was stripped, and the ball was stolen by Conley. Allen made the first free throw with 30 seconds left. He missed the second, but Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies got the rebound with 20.3 seconds to play. Conley was stripped by Westbrook, and Westbrook dunked with 4 seconds left to tie the game at 90. Memphis didnt get a shot off in time at the end of regulation and the teams went to overtime again. Miller hit two early 3-pointers in the extra period for the Grizzlies. "Defensively, we made a few mistakes at the end of regulation," Gasol said. "But we came out in overtime, made a couple of 3s, and that gave us a big lift in confidence. We were able to manage it and control from there." NOTES: The Grizzlies wore their warmups inside out and the Thunder wore black socks and shoes in protest of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterlings incendiary racial remarks. ... The Grizzlies shot 60 per cent from the field in the first quarter to lead 30-25. ... Oklahoma City made 6 of 9 3-point attempts in the first half, but just 9 of 34 shots inside the arc. ... Tulsa Shock guard Skylar Diggins attended the game. jerseys from china .Y. - Centre Corban Knight scored 3:30 into overtime, and the Abbotsford Heat rallied to edge the Utica Comets 5-4 on Wednesday in American Hockey League play. wholesale jerseys . #SportingKC pic.twitter.MINNEAPOLIS -- Carl Pavano has a World Series ring, plenty of pitching experience in October and even an All-Star game appearance. The end of this mess of a season for the Minnesota Twins still mattered to the veteran right-hander, who wanted no part of 100 losses. Trevor Plouffes RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning gave Pavano and the Twins a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, helping Minnesota stave off that dubious 100th defeat. "It was a crazy game. Im sure you guys understand what we had hanging over our heads. No one wants to lose 100 games," Pavano said. "This years definitely been a disappointment for all of us, team-wise, but youve got to battle." Pavano (9-13) went the distance for the win, the first time he pitched nine scoreless innings since July 22, 2010. He gave up five hits and struck out three to help the Twins finish with two straight wins, their first consecutive victories since Aug. 31 and Sept. 2. "Youre only as good as your last game, right?" a smiling right-fielder Michael Cuddyer said. "There you go." Pavano even lobbied to take the mound for the 10th, as if he were Jack Morris pitching for the Twins in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, but manager Ron Gardenhire told him Joe Nathan would be taking his place. "He gave me the death stare," Gardenhire said. Bruce Chen pitched eight shutout innings against the Twins for the second time this month, and the Royals turned to Blake Wood (5-3) for the ninth. Pinch-hitter Denard Span hit a one-out double, after Gardenhire told him to do just that. Span took third on a groundout and trotted home on Plouffes sharp single to left. Plouffe raced around first base with his teammates chasing him from the dugout for a celebratory pileup, completing a season that was anything but fun. The Twins (63-99) still finished with the second-worst record in their 51 years in Minnesota. Plouffe was careful, though, to clarify 99 losses is just as bad of a performance, pinning the exuberance on the desire to send the customers home happy. The Twins finished 33-48 at Target Field this year. "We wanted to show the fans that we dont give up," Plouffe said. Chen gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked two, capping a solid season for the crafty lefty. The Twins were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position until Plouffes winner. The Royals finished 71-91, a slight improvement fromm last season, but their cadre of rising stars gives them plenty of eagerness for 2012. wholesale nfl jerseys. First baseman Eric Hosmer made himself a candidate for AL Rookie of the Year with a .293 batting average, 19 home runs and 78 RBIs, and centre fielder Melky Cabrera had an exceptional season. Kansas City threatened in the eighth. Mike Moustakas led off with a high fly down the line that Cuddyer let bounce off the wall in right, then skip by him. The Royals were cajoling Moustakas from the dugout to try for an inside-the-park homer, but he heeded third base coach Eddie Rodriguezs stop sign and settled for a triple. But Lorenzo Cain and Mitch Maier were each retired on comebackers to the mound -- Cains a hot shot and Maiers a slow roller -- and Alcides Escobar grounded out to end the inning. This wasnt quite Game 7 of that 1991 World Series, when the Twins took down the Atlanta Braves 1-0 in 10 innings, but the crowd -- paid attendance was 36,488 -- emitted a lively cheer after Pavanos escape. The attempt to avoid reaching triple digits in the loss column provided some rather amusing drama to an otherwise-meaningless game. One local sports talk radio host even snarkily pushed the "Hunt for Hundred" campaign on Twitter and on the air so the Twins would have a glaringly large round number to stamp on this collosally unsuccessful season. One fan in the club seats held up a sign to honour the slogan. But there were no Bronx-style cheers audible on this night. Pavano got a standing ovation as he finished a perfect ninth and walked to the dugout, and the roar was even louder when Plouffes bat hit the ball. "We havent given them a very good show this year, but again tonight they showed up and packed it and they were standing on their feet at the end," Gardenhire said. "Thats typical. You kind of expect that around here, but it sure makes you feel a lot better going into the off-season." John Gordon, the primary radio voice of the Twins since 1987, called his last game in the broadcast booth, which the team named after him in honour of his retirement. The Twins didnt give him many highlights at all to narrate this year, but he choked up during a pre-game ceremony and took off in a sidecar next to broadcast partner Dan Gladdens motorcycle for a spin around the warning track to wave to the fans. NOTES: The Twins were 60-102 in 1982, their worst season. ... The Royals finished September 15-10. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
