Dein erstes Forum » lead over Brooklyn in the Atlantic. Bostons fate was s

MILWAUKEE -- When Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel benched his starters for the entire game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, it meant extended playing time for the teams reserves. Chris Copeland made sure to take advantage. Copeland scored a season-high 18 points and made a difficult driving layup with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving the Pacers a hard-fought 104-102 that moved them back into first place in the Eastern Conference. "Its big for our confidence, the second unit," said Copeland, who came in averaging three points. "Just to get the opportunity out there. A lot of us have been waiting for that all year. So it was very cool for us to get out there and get a win and show the starters that weve got their backs when they need rest." Copeland also tied a career high with four 3-pointers and matched a season high with 17 minutes of playing time. Following a pair of timeouts, the Pacers inbounded the ball to Copeland, who drove hard to the basket for the winning shot. "I tried to rip through to the basket and tried to use my size," Copeland said. "I saw help coming, so I shot it." Copelands shot came after Milwaukees Khris Middleton had tied the game at 102 after making three free throws. Middleton drew a foul while attempting a shot near the 3-point arc with 4.9 seconds remaining that referees initially ruled a 2-point attempt. After a review, the call was reversed, sending Middleton to the line for three shots. Luis Scola also recorded a season high with 24 points and Evan Turner added 23 for Indiana. Vogel made the unusual move to keep all of his regular first-team players on the bench after saying his team appeared tired following a 107-88 home loss to Atlanta on Sunday, when the Pacers were held to a franchise-low 23 points in the first half. "It was a great win for our guys, a great team effort," Vogel said. "We had a lot of good contributors." Even without the starters, Indiana moved a half-game ahead of the Heat heading into Fridays matchup in Miami. After leading the East most of the season, the Pacers had lost five of six games coming into the matchup with the Bucks. Still, the Pacers came in just a half-game behind Miami, which lost at Memphis. The Bucks, who had only eight players available due to injuries, have lost six in a row and were on the losing end of all four games with the Pacers this season. Brandon Knight had 25 points and Ramon Sessions 20 for Milwaukee. Jeff Adrien pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds. The game featured 23 lead changes. Usual Indiana starters Paul George, David West, George Hill and Lance Stephenson dressed but didnt play. Another starter, Roy Hibbert, was inactive for the game. All five are expected to start against the Heat. Vogel insisted that the move would allow the starters to get some minor injuries healed and for his reserves to play extended minutes. The Pacers starting lineup consisted of Scola, Turner, Rasual Butler, Ian Mahinmi and Donald Sloan. The five had a combined scoring average of 21.7 points, equal to Georges per-game average. "It was great for us starting guys to sit out and get some rest as well as our bench rotation guys to get some rhythm going late into the season," George said. "Its tough to be a spectator. But I had to be a good teammate." Adrien wasnt pleased with the benching of the Pacers starters. "It was kind of like a smack in our face," he said. Sessions also was surprised to see Indianas entire starting lineup on the bench. "They are fighting for something so it was a little surprising to see those guys sit," he said. The Pacers built a nine-point lead in the fourth before the Bucks late rally. Indiana held a 53-50 lead at the half, paced by Scolas 16 points and 14 from Turner. Sessions and Knight each had 11 first-half points for the Bucks. The game was tied at 25 after the first quarter. Scola tallied 12 points in the period for Indiana. Notes: Indiana guard C.J. Watson returned after missing 13 consecutive games with a hamstring injury. ... Milwaukee centre Larry Sanders was activated and began serving his five-game suspension for failed drug tests. ... New Marquette University mens basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski attended the game. Custom Belgium Jerseys .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. Romelu Lukaku Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.soccerbelgiumfansshop.com/Lea...lgium-Jersey/.C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Thibaut Courtois Jersey . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday. Dedryck Boyata Belgium Jersey . Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something.TORONTO - When Masai Ujiri and the Raptors hit a crossroads at this time a year ago, evaluating the sustainability of their unexpected turnaround, while weighing the merits of a potential rebuild, the decision to stay the course was aided by a changing landscape in their division. The Celtics - winners of the Atlantic in five of the last seven seasons - had recently hit the reset button, the Knicks and Nets failed to meet overzealous early-season expectations and the 76ers were, and continue to be, comically terrible by design. Opportunity knocked and Ujiri took advantage. Facing adversity 12 months later, the slumping Raptors find themselves in their most precarious situation since. Still, their woes pale in comparison to the varying degrees of misfortune that plague their neighbours in the division. A recently gutted Celtics team played the role of slump-buster on Saturday. Losers of four straight, the Raptors came into the game in search of the mojo that had fuelled their success throughout 2014. How would we know when theyve gotten their grove back, Dwane Casey was asked just ahead of tip-off. Youll see it, the Raptors coach responded. Youll see it. Everyone will see it. It didnt happen until about midway through the second quarter, but, when it happened, we saw it and we knew. The Raptors team weve become accustomed to - the one that grinds and outworks people - was back, albeit against a watered-down opponent. Plagued by first-quarter flatness, as Casey put it, over recent games, they stumbled out of the gate yet again, outscored after 12 minutes for the ninth time in 11 contests. Then, as suddenly as it vanished, the Raptors got their edge back, besting Boston 90-70 the rest of the way. I thought our defensive mojo was back, Casey said after his team snapped a four-game losing streak in their 109-96 victory over the Celtics. I saw guys moving their feet, cracking down, rebounding, doing the things we needed to do with activity and anticipation. We was tired of it, said James Johnson, who returned to the starting lineup Saturday evening. Everybody buckled in. Everybody took responsibility for what they were doing and we started playing Toronto Raptors defence. Less than halfway into the season, Toronto has the Atlantic all but locked up, almost by default. Saturdays win was their sixth in six games against divisional opponents, giving them a 9 1/2-game lead over Brooklyn in the Atlantic. Bostons fate was sealed during the summer of 2013 when Danny Ainge pulled the plug on the teams aging core, exchanging Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and coach Doc Rivers for younger players, expiring deals and draft picks. Now, that liquidation process is nearing its completion. Over the last month, Ainge has jettisoned Brandan Wright, is in the process of moving Jeff Green and sent long-time Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks while accumulating up to 14 total picks (first and second round) in the next two drafts. In the Celtics and 76ers, this division features two of the most blatantly aggressive tanking franchises in recent memory - maybe ever. Meanwhile, the Nets are stuck in limbo, handcuffed by an aging core, sizeable contracts and an injured point guard (Deron Williams - out indefinitely with a rib ailment). The last-place Knicks - losers of 15 straight - have hit rock bottom, recently ridding themselves of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, while Carmelo Anthony contemplates shutting it down for the season.dddddddddddd. With both mismanaged New York franchises on the hook for the majority of their draft picks over the coming years, neither are in an enviable position in the near future. Expediting the rebuilding process is not easy, but its also not unprecedented. The Celtics won just 24 games in 2006-07 before utilizing the assets they had accumulated to acquire Garnett and Ray Allen, ultimately winning a title the following season. The Raptors themselves are proof that theres no exact science to turning around an ailing franchise. But even as the Raptors struggle to reestablish their defensive identity, make no mistake, any of these other four organizations would trade places with them in a heartbeat. And when was the last time that could be said? Barring an unforeseen fall from grace or a speedy rebuild effort from one of their counterparts, equally unlikely, the Raptors seem poised to maintain control of the Atlantic for years to come. JOHNSON PROMOTION After a series of uninspiring starts over their recent slide, Casey had been mulling over a temporary rotation shake-up. As expected, he pulled the trigger on Saturday, reinstalling James Johnson into the first unit in place of Landry Fields at the small forward position. Fields had started nine of 14 games for the injured DeMar DeRozan, sitting out with a concussion in between. Filling in for Fields, Johnson excelled, averaging 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 block and 1.4 steals on 62 per cent shooting in five starts last month. Most coaches are hesitant to give away a players starting spot as a result of injury - Casey has long been a proponent of this philosophy - so Fields got the job back upon his return. Ultimately the teams play, primarily in the first quarter and early in the third, forced his hand. Johnson found out about the change when he arrived to their pre-game shootaround less than three hours before tip-off. I came in at the regular time, got my work in, Johnson said. We split off to groups. I went to white squad (the second unit) like usual and coach switched me Logging 36 minutes in his return to the first unit, Johnson recorded a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, giving the Raptors a much-needed energy boost at the position. He covers up a lot of mistakes, said Kyle Lowry, who scored 19 points himself. He covers a lot of floor, a lot of ground. His effort has been unbelievable this season and we need him to keep it up. We love his energy, we love his enthusiastic nature and what he brings to the table. Johnson - a 58-per-cent-shooter and owner of the teams second-best defensive rating - has been one of Torontos most reliable performers on both ends of the floor this season. Still, Casey has been hesitant to increase the versatile forwards role, given his long-standing reputation of trying to do too much, primarily on offence. Slowly, the Raptors coach is coming around to the new and improved Johnson, who has made a concerted effort to play within himself in his second stint with Toronto. I think hes been under control, Casey said ahead of Saturdays game. James plays within himself. Hell do things just out of playing the game that he gets caught up in every once and a while on both ends of the ball, defensively and offensively. Hes becoming more disciplined from that aspect. 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