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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder coach Scott Brooks joked during pregame that he didnt like what he saw from Kyrie Irving at the All-Star game. Richard Rodgers Jersey . Brooks coached the West and watched as Irving led the East to a comeback win on his way to earning MVP honours. Brooks didnt like what he saw from Irving on Wednesday night, and it was no joke this time. The point guard made it look like All-Star weekend again, scoring 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Oklahoma City 114-104. Irving also had nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. "Kyrie had a huge performance for us," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "He was very efficient in the 43 minutes that he played tonight, I thought offensively, especially." The young Cavaliers, still adjusting to roster changes since the trade deadline, picked up a meaningful victory. Cleveland shot 14 for 21 from the field in the fourth quarter against the Western Conference-leading Thunder. "To come here and get a win in this building versus this team and those players and that coaching staff, for us, is a good confidence booster," Brown said. "Everything for us right now to be a positive will help us long term just as much as it will short term." It was Oklahoma Citys third straight home loss since the All-Star break. The Thunder lost three games at home the entire season before the break. "No one in the locker room, including myself, feels good about it," Brooks said. "The exciting thing is we know we can do better. We just have to maximize our potential." Jarrett Jack scored 21 points, Spencer Hawes scored 19 and Tristan Thompson added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Kevin Durant had 28 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Russell Westbrook had 24 points and nine assists and Serge Ibaka added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City is 0-3 since Westbrook returned from his latest knee surgery. Brooks said the bigger issue for the Thunder is their suddenly porous defence. Oklahoma City, one of the leagues top defensive teams all season, allowed 103 points on 55 per cent shooting against Miami and 125 points on 52 per cent shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers before its latest collapse. "Its a defensive toughness," Brooks said. "We have to get tough on the basketball because were giving up too much penetration. We have to fight through screens. These are things that weve done a great job at, we just have to get back to it." In the closing seconds of the first half, Westbrook dribbled as the clock wound down, then pulled up in front of Irving and drained a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 52-51 lead at the break. The Thunder committed 12 turnovers in the first half, but made up for it by shooting 57 per cent from the field. Durant scored 15 points before the break and Westbrook had 13 points and six assists. Irving had 14 points, four assists and three steals at halftime. The Thunder opened the second half with 3s from Durant and Thabo Sefolosha to take a 58-51 lead. A mid-range jumper by Ibaka stretched Oklahoma Citys lead to 62-53, leading Brown to call a timeout. Cleveland regrouped and cut Oklahoma Citys lead to three on an unusual play. The Cavaliers Luol Deng shot a jumper and Nick Collison was called for goaltending and issued a technical foul for grabbing the net. Irving made the free throw to make it a 69-66 game. The Thunder led 76-72 at the end of the period. "Oklahoma City, they came out and kind of punched us in the mouth a little bit in that third quarter, and our guys didnt panic," Brown said. "They kind of stayed with it." Matthew Dellavedova tied the game at 81 with a floater early in the fourth quarter. Later, a breakaway dunk by Alonzo Gee gave the Cavaliers a 90-86 edge with 7:10 to play. Durants 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 97-95 lead, but the Cavaliers responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Jack and Irving, and they controlled the game from there. "Obviously, playing against a great team, youre going to get up for it," Irving said. "Everyone in the league wants to play against a great team like this, especially on their home floor. But this game doesnt mean any more than any other game that we have coming up. Every game just means a lot at this point, no matter who were playing." NOTES: It was the second consecutive start for Thunder C Steven Adams. He replaced Kendrick Perkins, who is out for six weeks with a groin injury. ... Hawes started for the second time since being traded from Philadelphia. ... Durant was honoured during pregame for being selected as the Western Conference player of the month for January. ... Thunder G Derek Fisher was issued a technical foul early in the second quarter, his third of the season. Kyle Murphy Jersey .com) - The fading Ottawa Senators have a chance to make up some ground in the playoff race on Tuesday night as they play host to the New York Rangers. Custom Green Bay Packers Jerseys . Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Quinte...rs-Jers ey/ . Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders may have come up with the best description of what its like to play the Golden State Warriors these days.Ever play RISK? Saunders said, referring to the classic board game. I feel like Im Macedonia with two people and Im surrounded by 50 people and have to roll 12s 49 straight times.For those unfamiliar with the game of strategy and world domination, thats really, really hard to do. Just like beating the Warriors.Stephen Curry overcame an off night from long range to score 21 points and seven assists and the Warriors extended their franchise-record winning streak to 13 games with a 102-86 victory over the Timberwolves.Im proud this meant something to us, Curry said. The streak is what it is, but I think more so we want guys to understand were playing well and this is a game we should win and kind of just rising to the occasion.Curry missed six of his seven 3-point attempts, but the top-ranked Warriors defence forced the short-handed Timberwolves to shoot 36 per cent and turn the ball over 19 times to improve to an NBA-best 18-2. Klay Thompson added 21 points and the Warriors breathed a sigh of relief after Andrew Bogut left with a knee injury early in the first quarter.Bogut left with right knee irritation, but both he and coach Steve Kerr said they didnt think it was anything serious.Bogs is fine, Kerr said.Andrew Wiggins had 21 points and six rebounds for the Timberwolves, who are playing without three starters and have lost six in a row. Thaddeus Young added 13 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota.Bogut left the game after just three minutes. He was labouring up and down the court and went back to the locker room with the teams athletic trainers to get checked out.Every time Bogut leaves the game with any injury is cause for concern. He is the linchpin of their stifling defence, but his seasons have been often derailed by injuries, including last year when fractured ribs kept him from playing in the first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.Perhaps looking past a short-handed Timberwolves team at the bottom of the Western Conference, the Warriors gave the Wolves every opportunity to stay in the game in the first half. Jason Spriggs Jersey . They shot 38 per cent, committed 10 of their 17 turnovers and Curry went 0 for 4 from 3-point range.The Wolves shot just 35.6 per cent in the first half and turned it over 13 times to go into the locker room trailing by nine.Curry missed his first five 3-pointers, but hit one during a 13-0 run in the third quarter that put the game on ice.That never happens, Wolves forward Corey Brewer said of Currys misses. We had luck with us tonight and just couldnt capitalize.TIP-INSWarriors: Kerr joins Syracuses Al Cervi as the only two NBA coaches to start their careers going 18-2. ... Shaun Livingston had 12 points and Marreese Speights had 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. ... Curry is now 2 for 12 from 3 in his last two games and went 1 for 10 from long distance on Nov. 28 against Charlotte.Timberwolves: Brewer had five steals in the first half. ... Shabazz Muhammad scored 14 points in 19 minutes after being listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle. ... Zach LaVine had a rough game with nine points, eight assists, six turnovers and a missed dunk in the first half.STEPH RESPONDSWarriors owner Joe Lacob created a minor stir when his remarks to a group of venture capitalists that were critical of former coach Mark Jackson were made public. Lacob told Bay Area News Group that he planned to apologize to Jackson, and Curry said he thought that was appropriate.I think its an unfortunate distraction from what is going on right now, Curry said. Obviously were playing well and you can pick whats the difference between this year and last year. But you were talking about two great coaches. I feel like coach Kerr is doing his job great and coach Jackson did his job the way he thought was right and obviously there was a lot of success with it.UP NEXTWarriors: Host Houston on Wednesday.Timberwolves: Host Portland on Wednesday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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