Dein erstes Forum » ONeal made a big-time block in overtime

OAKLAND, Calif. -- In one corner of the Golden State Warriors locker room, Stephen Curry iced a welt on the left side of his forehead. On the other, Jermaine ONeal limped out of the training room with bandages around his waist and wrist. The Warriors emerged from 53 minutes of basketball battered and bruised by the NBAs hottest team but delivered their own kind of knockout blows. Curry converted a tying layup with 3.2 seconds left in regulation and finished with 25 points, ONeal made a big-time block in overtime and the Warriors outlasted the Rockets 102-99 Thursday night to halt Houstons eight-game winning streak. "Thats one of our biggest wins of the year," said ONeal, who grabbed 10 rebounds and defended Dwight Howard as well as anybody has this season. Just after James Harden hit a go-ahead jumper, Curry came back with a left-handed layup over Howard to send the game to the extra session. The Warriors got a big boost in overtime when ONeal, who had surgery on his right wrist earlier this season and was filling in for injured centre Andrew Bogut, blocked Chandler Parsons baseline dunk attempt at the rim. Curry followed with two free throws to give Golden State a 98-95 lead with 15.9 seconds left. The teams traded free throws as the Rockets ran out of time. "There were so many big plays that we made both offensively and defensively," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We were patient, we executed and it was just a big-time win for us." Harden scored 34 of his 39 points in the second half to rally the Rockets, but said he hyperextended his right elbow in a collision during the closing minutes. Harden had an X-ray but the results had not come back. Hes scheduled to have an MRI in Phoenix, where Houston plays its next game Sunday. "When it first happened, I thought it was over. I thought I broke it or whatever," said Harden, who stayed in the game. "Its still painful. Its throbbing but hopefully its nothing too serious." The Warriors outshot Houston 39.8 per cent to 36.6 per cent and made just enough plays late. David Lee had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Klay Thompson and Jordan Crawford scored 12 points each in Golden States all-round defensive effort. Howard grabbed 21 rebounds, but scored just 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting, and Parsons added 21 points and eight rebounds as Houston lost for the first time since Jan. 25 at Memphis. It was the Rockets longest winning streak since a franchise-record, 22-game run in 2007-08 season. "It just wasnt a crisp game for us," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. Playing on consecutive nights made for two tired teams until both picked up the intensity late in the fourth quarter. Harden stripped Lee as he turned to shoot out of the post, then hit a go-ahead shot from 23 feet over Thompson that put Houston ahead 89-87 with 6.9 seconds to play in regulation. After the Warriors called timeout to advance the ball to half court, Curry received a pass from Andre Iguodala while running off a screen and drove to his left and to the hoop. With Howard approaching, Curry floated a left-handed layup over the Rockets centre for the tying score before Harden missed a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer. Curry said the play was designed for him to shoot a 3-pointer but defenders overplayed him. "At that point, it was just about getting into the lane as quick as possible and try to get it on the rim," said Curry, who was inadvertently bruised by Howards leg as the two dove for a loose ball earlier. "Dwight was there to protect and thankfully I was able to get a little bit of touch on it and it went in." The Warriors took control for good when Parsons sprinted down the baseline, received a pass from Harden and went up for a one-handed dunk only to be emphatically denied by the veteran ONeal, bringing the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 roaring to their feet. "He made a great play going baseline, and when youre big, you kind of look at it like being a free safety," ONeal said. "I wanted to make sure I got to the rim in time to save the dunk." "It was just perfect timing on his part," Parsons said. The Rockets were forced to foul Curry with time running out. He made both free throws, then the Warriors intentionally fouled Harden so he couldnt attempt a tying 3-pointer. Harden and Curry swapped free throws before the Warriors stole the ball to finish off a thrilling game between teams that could see each other in the Western Conference playoffs. NOTES: Steve Blake, acquired by the Warriors in a trade with the Lakers on Wednesday, finished with three points, two rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes. ... Houston won the season series 2-1 over the Warriors. ... McHale was whistled for a technical foul for arguing a charging call against Jeremy Lin at the end of the first quarter. The foul on Lin was waved off after officials ruled time had expired following a video review. The technical stood. Fake Nike Shoes From China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Discount Nike Shoes From China . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. https://www.nikeshoeschina.us/ . The team announced the defensive coordinator will not be offered a contract extension. Nike Shoes From China .com) - Quarterback Cardale Jones will return to Ohio State next season. Clearance Nike Shoes From China . Giants manager Bruce Bochy told The Associated Press of the decision before NL West-leading San Francisco opened a 10-game homestand Monday night with the first of three games against second-place Arizona.TORONTO - Masai Ujiri remembers being a boy attending a basketball camp in his native northern Nigeria, and the excitement of being given an Hakeem Olajuwon T-shirt.It was a small gesture with a big impact.My eyes were so wide, to get that T-shirt was unbelievable, Ujiri said.Ujiri speaks passionately about the power of sports to change lives. Hes seen it first-hand through his Giants of Africa camp and Basketball Without Borders, and is himself living proof as the president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors.Its a determination he shared with the late Nelson Mandela, who Ujiri and the Raptors will celebrate Friday in an all-star benefit.How many people in those kinds of positions ever have any kind of relations with sport in some ways other than being like a guest of honour or something? Ujiri said in a phone interview Thursday. But Nelson Mandela, with what he did with rugby, the way he supported sports, I thought it was so impactful because he said it best: sports has the power to impact people and society, and youth. And so I think its a great message for us, its not only a great game, but its a great day to spread that message around the world that we are blessed to have sports and we are blessed to participate in something fun like this.When South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela famously donned the Springbok sweater, a gesture he hoped would help unite his racially-fragmented country.Friday marks the one-year anniversary since Mandelas death at the age of 95.Ujiri has assembled an all-star lineup for the event, including NBA legends Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo, along with UN Goodwill Ambassador and 1999 Miss Universe winner Mpule Kwelagobe. Other guests include Raptors alumnus Tracy McGrady, Toronto Maple Leaf goaltender Jonathan Bernier and Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, former Toronto Argonauts star Michael (Pinball) Clemons, deputy commissioner of the NBA Mark Tatum and Amadou Fall, vice-president of NBA Africa. Funds raised will go to both the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Ujiris Giants of Africa.Ujiri founded Giants of Africa in 2003, both as a means to enrich the lives of children in Africa, and to shine a spotlight on the abundance of untapped talent there.He signed a deal with Nike to outfit the players. He sees himself in the kids he helps.You see these kids, their faces when you give them shoes and you give them gear, socks and shorts and jerseys and T-shirts, its remarkable how that affects them in some kind of way, and how they want to play the sport more, and even dedicate themselves more, Ujiri said. But its come to a point where I look at myself, and say: We have to look at it even beyond playing. I say How do we really use basketball as a tool? Because now sports has become so general, its important to expose Africa and kids to other aspects of sport.What about sports medicine, and sports journalism, and sports agencies, coaching, and all the different thinngs that you can do in sports, he said.dddddddddddd. It doesnt have to be making the NBA or it doesnt have to be playing. You can figure out how you can use basketball as a tool and guidance to maybe do something very very reasonable and very very good for your life, and to grow.It doesnt necessarily have to be playing basketball. Im the prime example of that.The six-foot-four Ujiri played basketball in the U.S. at Bismarck State College, and then spent six years playing professionally in Europe. He virtually chiselled out a post-playing career for himself, working as an unpaid scout for the Orlando Magic. He paid his own way on trips at times, and bunked with other scouts and players.He went on to be an international scout for Denver and Toronto, then won NBA executive of the year in 2013 with Denver, where he was the first African-born GM of a major North American sports team. He returned to Toronto to be the teams president and GM in 2013.Ujiri said his summer trips to Africa are the times he looks forward to most. Going spending it in the grinds of not only travelling in Africa and seeing different cultures and different people, but seeing different communities and people, and what makes them tick and what makes them live, and how they live happy, and some of the struggles that they have. It puts life in perspective, Ujiri said. Its a huge part of who I am and what I want to do.Our concentration is sports and how we can build sports, and going into communities to help, whether its teaching basketball, whether its us figuring out charities or foundations that we can help, or us figuring out little courts that we can build, or give them a net, give a basketball team basketballs . . . those are the things we want to continue to build and grow over there. Thats the impact it has on me when I go back in the summer, he said.A big believer in never forgetting where youve come from, Ujiri said his experiences in Africa remain with him in his daily work back in Toronto with the Raptors.Honestly, it puts things in perspective, he said. We take things for granted a lot of times, and I would never forget to be humbled by the position that I am in, and the blessings that I have to be in this position, with such good people around me that give me that opportunity to go help other Africans, and other youth.I have to be a voice, and I have to make an impact on other people. If not, what Im doing here means really nothing.Fridays celebration will begin with a panel discussion. It will continue into Fridays Raptors game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, with video tributes. The Raptors will wear special edition shooting shirts and management will don Giant of Africa lapel pins. The Giant of Africa T-shirts will be for sale, featuring Mandelas five pillars; being a leader, fighting for freedom, creating a better future, committing to the community and using sport to inspire change. Proceeds from sales go to Giants of Africa. ' ' '