miaowang123: the pair split in March and Murray has been

the pair split in March and Murray has been

5 Aug 2019 at 00:47

TORONTO - The game, according to DeMar ;DeRozan, was the kind that players live for. David Johnson Jersey . The ending was not. Kevin ;Durant calmly drained a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors in double overtime on Friday. The buzzer-beating bomb from 31 feet out capped a 51-point performance by Durant, the leagues top scorer. Still, DeRozan said there was plenty to take from the game that almost became the Raptors second win this season against one of the best in the West. "Thats a helluva Western Conference team right there, and we fought with them to the end, we were blow for blow," DeRozan said. "It came down to the last shot, those are the types of games you live for. "We cant win every game and we wish we would have got that one, but it still was a helluva game." DeRozan scored 33 points to top the Raptors (38-30) in just their sixth loss at home in 22 outings. Kyle Lowry added 25 points, including a three-pointer that forced a second overtime period, while Amir Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Greivis Vasquez finished with 21 points. Reggie Jackson added 25 points for the Thunder (51-18), while Russell Westbrook had 15 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with yet another knee injury. Durant extended his scoring streak — of at least 25 points a game — to 34 consecutive games. Its the leagues longest scoring streak since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. "Straight up, that was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of," Durant said. With the capacity crowd of 19,800 fans on their feet, and a playoff vibe palpable at the Air Canada Centre in the game that saw 23 lead changes, the Raptors dominated the second overtime period to nearly secure the hard-fought win. DeRozan pumped a victorious fist when he scored on a pullup jumper with 2:37 left to put Toronto up by five. Fans chanted "M-V-P!" when Lowry stepped up to the line to sink two free throws that gave Toronto an eight-point lead. But the Thunder rallied to pull within two on a three by Derek Fisher with 15.7 seconds left, then John Salmons missed on two free throws that surely would have sealed the victory for Toronto. Then, with Johnson on Durant, the Thunder superstar pulled up and calmly launched his second three of the games final minute to send Torontos fans home unhappy. "Yeah, yeah. . . I thought we had it," DeRozan said. "Just give us one of those threes and the game is ours." Added coach Dwane Casey: "Great players make great plays and (Durant) made a great shot." DeRozan said that during a third-quarter timeout, Johnson had asked Casey if he could guard Durant. "It means a lot, man," DeRozan said of his teammates request. "Ive got the utmost respect for him. . .That takes a lot of guts to go out there and play great defence. Got to give it to K.D., he made a lot of tough shots." Johnson said he thought he might be able to throw Durant off with his height. Both Johnson and Durant are six foot nine. "It was tough, hes my height out there shooting from halfcourt, theres not too much you can do but double team that," Johnson said. "It just came down to the stretch where he hit one off the glass (with 47 seconds left) and then that last shot was a tough shot. What can I say about that? It was just a tough shot." The game had gone into a second overtime tied 107-107 thanks to a three-pointer by Lowry with seven seconds left. The game might have been bad news for Westbrook, who sprained his surgically-repaired right knee and with 7:37 left in the third quarter. Lowry had inadvertently bumped into the same knee the Thunder player had undergone his third surgery on in late December. Lowry apologized to Westbrook, as he was being helped to the locker-room by teammate Hasheem Thabeet. Westbrook had sat out the Thunders 102-95 win at Cleveland the previous night to rest his troublesome knee. Westbrook insisted afterward that he didnt expect to miss any time. "Well just see how it goes," he said. "It was fun," he added on the game. "I was in the back wishing I could go out there and help them out but as you see, Kevin took care of that." The Raptors trailed Oklahoma City 72-71 going into the fourth quarter in a scrappy see-saw affair that saw 22 lead changes. The Thunder stretched their lead to seven points when Jackson chucked up an alley-oop to Durant for a dunk with 9:14 left to play. Toronto chipped away at it, eventually taking a 90-89 lead with 3:08 left after a thrilling 30-second segment that saw five points and a steal from DeRozan, and a basket by Johnson. The Raptors were trailing by three with just under a minute to go when Johnson hit one of two free throws then a layup with 17 seconds to go to send the game into the first extra period 96-96. The Raptors had beaten the Thunder 104-98 on Dec. 22 at Oklahoma, ending the Thunders 13-game unbeaten streak at home. That victory was one of the Raptors first significant wins after they overhauled their roster in a seven-player deal, and their solid play has continued as theyre poised to make the post-season for the first time in six years. Durant and the Thunder got some revenge Friday. Asked about Durants game-winning shot, Westbrook said: "Just letting it all hang out. Hes been doing that all season and tonight it was a win or go home. Hes playing at an MVP level as hes been doing all season." Durant and Westbrook scored eight points apiece in a first quarter that saw the lead change hands several times and neither team lead by more than five. Durant scored on a stepback jumper with seven second to go to send the Thunder into the second half with a 22-20 lead. The Raptors held their visitors to 24 per cent shooting in the second quarter, and a stepback jumper by Vasquez put the Raptors up by eight about four minutes into the frame. Westbrook drained a three with 1.9 seconds left to cut Torontos lead to 46-42 at halftime. Durant had 14 points in a third quarter that saw the lead change hands nine times, and the Thunder led by one heading into the fourth. NOTES: The Raptors had won six of their previous seven games against Western Conference teams. . . The Thunder have won 12 of 14 games on the road against Eastern Conference competition. . . Three-time world figure skating champion Patrick Chan was at the game. He was presented with a No. 14 Chan jersey. . . The Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, a game that marks the return of The Raptor. The team mascot ruptured an Achilles tendon during training camp. Adrian Wilson Womens Jersey . The veteran NFL receiver received his work permit and is in Montreal for the start of the Alouettes rookie camp. Johnson even took in the Montreal Canadiens Game 5 win over the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre Tuesday night. Zach Allen Youth Jersey . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion.PARIS -- Andy Murray headed out on court with an opportunity to reach the French Open final for the first time. Rafael Nadal, however, didnt give him a chance. Murray, who missed the tournament at Roland Garros last year because of a back injury, reached the semifinals for the second time in four years. But for the second time in four years, he was beaten by Nadal in straight sets. "It was a tough day for me," said Murray, who lost 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 Friday. "It was a bad, bad day." Murrays serve was broken six times, the same number of break-point chances Nadal had. On the other end, Murray failed to even earn a break chance. "He missed hardly any balls," Murray said. "I mean, his forehand -- especially with the conditions the way they were today -- was incredibly hard to control the ball." Murray is now 7-7 in Grand Slam semifinals. He has won two major titles, including at Wimbledon last year where he became the first British man to win the grass-court tournament in southwest London since Fred Perry in 1936. But clay is a tougher surface for a player who likes the speedier courts. And playing on clay against Nadal, an eight-time French Open champion with a 65-1 record at Roland Garros, is tougher still. "Today, I was mis-hitting a lot of balls. It was incredibly fruustrating," Murray said. Hakeem Butler Jersey. "In some ways you start trying too hard, and it doesnt always appear that way. But you want to do stuff too badly, and you end up making more mistakes and things get worse." The weather didnt help. After nearly two weeks of overcast skies and cool weather, the sun was out and the temperature soared to 28 degrees C (82 degrees F). Perfect conditions for Nadal on his favourite court in the world. "He served well and I didnt return well. Simple," Murray said. "Ball was coming through the court quicker today." Murray won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2012. That was after losing his first four major finals, and it was also after hiring Ivan Lendl as coach. The Czech great helped Murray finally become a major champion, and a Wimbledon champion a year later, but the pair split in March and Murray has been without a coach since. With another Wimbledon coming up, the defending champion said there was a 50-50 chance he would have a new coach in place by the time the tournament starts on June 23. But he wasnt even too sure about that. "I dont know. I dont know," Murray said, shaking off a reporters question as he tried to shake off the defeat. "I would hope to have someone in place. I dont know." ' ' '



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