Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.
[b]Darrel Williams Jersey[/b] .com) - The Steelers are back in the playoffs. Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass and Pittsburghs defense held strong in a 20-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Heinz Field. The Steelers (10-5) secured a wild card berth and will host Cincinnati next Sunday for the AFC North title. The Bengals (9-4-1) host AFC West-champion Denver Monday night. Pittsburgh, in the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 season, held the Chiefs (8-7) out of the end zone and limited them to four Cairo Santos field goals. Kansas Citys playoff hopes are slim heading into next Sundays home game against San Diego (9-6). Shaun Suishams 23-yard field goal widened Pittsburghs lead to 20-9 with 4:04 remaining. That capped a 12-play, 70-yard march that took 6:14 on the clock. The drive was aided by a 24-yard pass interference penalty on Jamell Fleming on 3rd-and-3 from the KC 48. Santos split the uprights from 23 yards out with 1:37 left, but the Steelers were able to kill the clock when the Chiefs failed to recover the onside kick. Roethlisberger completed 18-of-25 passes for 220 yards. LeVeon Bell rushed 20 times for 63 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburghs third consecutive win. Alex Smith finished 31-of-45 for 311 yards for the Chiefs, who also received 29 rushing yards from Jamaal Charles. Suishams 23-yard field goal capped Pittsburghs 11-play, 80-yard drive to open the game. The big play of the march was a 44-yard reception by Martavis Bryant down the right sideline during a 3rd-and-4 play from the Pittsburgh 21. Santos tied the game with a 35-yard field goal on KCs first possession, during which Smith converted a key 3rd-and-16 with a 19-yard connection to Albert Wilson. The Chiefs pushed the envelope twice in the second quarter in an attempt to get into the end zone. First, they faked a field goal, and Travis Kelces 6- yard gain gave the Chiefs a 1st-and-goal from the 6. The drive stalled, and Santos kicked a 25-yard field goal with 9:25 left in the half. Pittsburgh battled back to grab a 10-6 edge. Roethlisberger converted a 3rd- and-7 with a 13-yard pass to Markus Wheaton to the KC 32. A 14-yard reception by Heath Miller brought the ball to the 6, but the Chiefs made two stops from the 1 on a pair of incompletions. On 4th-and-goal, Bell rushed off right tackle into the end zone with 4:18 remaining. Smith led the Chiefs from their own 16 to the Pittsburgh 12. but on 4th-and- inches and under 30 seconds left in the half, the Chiefs opted to run Charles up the middle. He was met by linebacker Lawrence Timmons and a host of Steelers for no gain. On the play prior, DeAnthony Thomas caught a 5-yard pass, which would have been a first down, but replays showed Thomas knee hit the ground before he stretched the ball to the marker. Charles was stripped of the ball midway through the third quarter. The turnover led to Roethlisbergers 3-yard TD connection to the middle of the end zone to Antonio Brown with 34 seconds left in the quarter for a 17-6 margin. Roethlisberger appeared to injure his knee during the scoring play when defensive tackle Vance Walker stuck his foot out and made contact with the Pittsburgh QB just as he stood in the pocket and threw the TD pass. Roethlisberger went to the locker room but returned in time for Pittsburghs next offensive series after Santos drilled a 43-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Game Notes Brown had seven receptions for 72 yards ... Bells TD was just the third rushing one allowed by KC all season ... Pittsburgh has won six straight games in December.
[b]Tyrann Mathieu Jersey[/b] .com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday.
[b]Charvarius Ward Jersey[/b] . The CFL club is making the move after holding its camp and regular-season practices at the University of Toronto campus in Mississauga, Ont.TORONTO - As Patrick Patterson was getting reacquainted behind the three-point line two years into his NBA career he hoped to, eventually, emulate one of the leagues most clutch shooters at his position. I always wanted to be like Robert Horry, said Patterson, who was one of the last players in the gym, getting up shots after practice on Thursday afternoon. A guy who came through in the clutch for whatever team he was with - Houston, L.A., the Spurs. Just a guy who was always hitting clutch and key shots. Thats what I wanted to be, he told TSN.ca. They called him Big Shot Bob, so I wanted to be Big Shot Pat. Granted, it doesnt have the same ring to it, but the Raptors reserve forward has grown into one of the leagues premier players at a hybrid position that Horry himself helped pioneer - the stretch four. It was a path that he forged just a few years ago, not necessarily one he was destined for as a young player, urged to take advantage of his height. At 6-foot-9, Patterson aimed to please early in his career. He was a chameleon, a product of the system he found himself in, a jack of all trades but master of none. Playing for Billy Gillispie in his first two years at Kentucky, Patterson was asked to man the paint, a task he embraced, shooting nearly 60 per cent from the field but attempting only four threes for the Wildcats. The next season, his final year in college, John Calipari was the first coach to introduce him to the perimeter. He wanted me to shoot it, Patterson recalled, hoisting 69 three-balls that year, despite shooting a modest percentage. He wanted me to be aggressive with it. Graduating after his Junior season, Patterson was drafted 14th overall by the Houston Rockets. The Raptors, selecting one pick earlier, strongly considered the Washington, D.C. native but opted for Ed Davis, a stronger rebounder, instead. Pattersons skills in the low post did not set him apart and he had just begun to refine his game on the perimeter. Where did he fit? His first two seasons in the NBA were a mixed bag. He played for Rick Adelman in the Rockets elbow offence, which, again, restricted his opportunities to step out and shoot the three - he attempted just five. Led by general manager Daryl Morey, a proponent of analytics, the Rockets changed their philosophy to emphasize the value of three-point shooting more than ever before. Kevin McHale took over as head coach, James Harden was brought in, and Patterson was asked, again, to alter his game. McHale wanted him out on the perimeter, so he spent the summer of 2012 getting reacquainted with a shot he had left behind in college, where the three-point arc is three-feet closer. My touch for the three-pointer pretty much just disappeared, Patterson admitted. I just had to work on it, work on it every single day in practice, after practice, days off and focus a lot on it during the summertime and the offseason. I think with the encouragement from the coaching staff and my fellow players it just made me want to keep working on it more and more and just keep improving and be that stretch four that everyone thought I could be. Between Houston and Sacramento - where he would be traded midseason - Patterson hit 39 per cent of his 132 attempts from beyond the arc that year. After struggling with the Kings to begin last season, the 25-year-old found new life playing alongside KKyle Lowry, a former teammate, in Dwane Caseys offence with the Raptors.
[b]Tanoh Kpassagnon Jersey[/b]. He has thrived as a long-distance shooter ever since. In 70 games with Toronto, Patterson is shooting the three-ball at an impressive 43 per cent clip. Only two players - Jason Kapono and Mike James - have a higher career mark as a member of the Raptors. This season, hes been remarkably efficient. Of the 40 NBA players 6-foot-8 or taller that have launched 50 or more three-pointers, Patterson and Miamis Shawne Williams are shooting the highest percentage (.452). Overall, amongst players at any position, that pair ranks seventh in the league (minimum 50 attempts). A gym rat by nature, Patterson credits repetition and his consistent, day-to-day routine, which hasnt changed since he integrated the long-ball into his game over two years ago. I have the same focus I had when I was missing shots, said Patterson, who is 13-for-22 from three-point range in December. Its just an everyday grind. I still do the same routine every single day, still get up my extra shots every single day. So I try not to alter what Im doing. Regardless of whether Im missing shots or if Im making shots, I still shoot the same amount of shots after practice and before practice. Its just staying confident, staying focused and believing in myself as my teammates do. Thats one thing that he works on everyday, Casey said. Hes a threat there. Theyre running at him and hes doing a great job of making plays off the dribble, because they are running so hard at him to get him off the three-point line. So thats a sign of respect. Horrys inexplicably successful career will not be easily matched. Known for his late-game heroics, the 16-year vet never missed the playoffs, winning seven NBA championships, more than Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, which requires a fair amount of luck. But Big Shot Bob did have a flare for the dramatic, a quality Patterson has demonstrated down the stretch in each of Torontos last two games. His big moment came in Mondays overtime win over the Nuggets. Patterson had already hit a corner three to cut a five-point deficit down to two with just over two minutes left in regulation. Now, down three in the final minute, Lowry drove into the heart of the defence, sucking in Pattersons defender before kicking it out to the open forward, who drilled the game-tying bucket from the top of the key. Patterson had been screaming over the sound of a sellout crowd in the hopes of getting Lowrys attention. The two have developed a great feel for one another on the court, Patterson says. He was also on the floor in crunch time the following night in a loss to Cleveland, hitting a big 18-footer to give the Raptors their last lead of the game. The fifth-year forward has become cerebral in moments like these. I hear everything, he told reporters after Mondays win. I hear fans in whatever section, I cant remember which one, there was a guy screaming, hey P-Pat. Theres another fan after I made that three say, yea thats what Im talking about PD-Pat, lets go Patman save the day. I hear everything. Its a huge responsibility, that I want to have, said the self-proclaimed Big Shot Pat. Whether its hitting crunch-time shots like that, hitting game-changing shots like that. Thats what I want to do. Thats what I want to be known for. ' ' '
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