OKLAHOMA CITY -- The showdown between the NBAs top two scorers turned out to be a mismatch.
[b]Preston Smith Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant outscored New Yorks Carmelo Anthony 41-15, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New York Knicks 112-100 on Sunday. Durant, the leagues leading scorer, also had 10 rebounds and nine assists. Anthony, the leagues No. 2 scorer, had 15 points on 5-for-19 shooting for the Knicks. Thunder coach Scott Brooks took Durant out of the game with 1:24 remaining, leaving Durant short of a rare 40-point triple-double by a single assist. "I got on Serge (Ibaka)," Durant said, laughing. "He missed a dunk and he passed up a shot." Durant also was largely responsible for guarding Anthony. "He missed some shots that he normally makes," Durant said. "I just tried to play as strong as I can, contest some shots and not get discouraged when he hits them because he makes tough shots and hes a guy that can get hot. I just try to rely on my teammates, and they did a great job of helping me out, building a wall behind me, and I just tried to play as hard as I can." Reggie Jackson had 19 points and six assists and Ibaka had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who were coming off a 103-102 loss to struggling Orlando on Friday night. Raymond Felton and Amare Stoudemire each scored 16 points for the Knicks, who have lost four of five. The Thunder made 12 3-pointers and shot 55 per cent overall. Oklahoma City led 58-53 at halftime as Durant outscored Anthony 19-7. The Thunder asserted themselves in the third quarter. Jackson drained a 3-pointer to put the Thunder up 76-64 midway through the period. Durants 3-pointer gave the Thunder an 81-69 edge, and the Knicks called a timeout. New York cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 86-80 early in the fourth quarter on a dunk by Jeremy Tyler, but Oklahoma City pulled away. A 3-pointer by Durant pushed Oklahoma Citys lead to 95-86. "You can double him but hes a willing passer now and hes finding people all over the place. He was good tonight, real good," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. Oklahoma City led 97-88 with 5:34 remaining when Ibaka was issued a technical foul. Anthony made the free throw, but the Knicks didnt get anything out of the possession. The Thunder took control from there as a long jumper by Ibaka put Oklahoma City ahead 105-90. Durant scored his 40th point on a free throw with 1:41 remaining. NOTES: Knicks guard Metta World Peace, who as Ron Artest attacked a fan in the stands in 2004 while playing for Indiana, said Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart can learn from his incident with a fan on Saturday night. Smart shoved Texas Tech superfan Jeff Orr late in the game. "I think that emotion and that fire could be directed towards winning on the court instead of directed other ways," World Peace said. ... The Thunder shot 60 per cent in the first half. ... Anthony played the late minutes of the game with five fouls.
[b]Dexter Williams Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . And fellow Leaf, Jake Gardiner, hiking in Whistler.
[b]Jaire Alexander Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . 1 player in the world. So Duval gutted it out Thursday at the Byron Nelson Championship despite the pain from a muscle issue in his right elbow, a day after his stepson had to drive him because he couldnt even use that arm.MONACO, Monaco - For Monaco, life without Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez has proved less difficult than expected. At least in the Champions League.Leonardo Jardims team has been struggling with consistency in the French league but lost only once on Europes biggest stage so far this season. Despite a poor offensive record, it only needs a draw at home against Zenit on Tuesday to qualify for the knockout phase.Monaco can even top Group C depending on Bayer Leverkusens result at last-placed Benfica.Here are some things to know ahead of Tuesdays matches:___BERBATOV HITTING FORMMonaco could qualify with a goalless draw and by doing so become the first team to have ever progressed from the group stage with only two goals scored — the side current tally.Monaco has been struggling for goals since the departures of Falcao and Rodriguez, but the good news for Jardim is that Dimitar Berbatov has finally returned to form.The former Manchester United striker has looked rejuvenated over the past week, finding the net three times, including a brace in a 2-0 win over Toulouse on Friday as Monaco posted consecutive wins only for the second time this season.___RACISM ALLEGATIONSZenits 4-0 thrashing of FC Krasnodar on Saturday sent the St. Petersburg side into the Russian leagues three-month winter break with a seven-point lead. It also restored confidence after some mixed recent form at home and in Europe, including three defeats in the preceding five games in all competitions. But theres a racism row brewing after striker Hulk accused Russian referee Alexei Matyunin of telling him that he did not like black people.That referee was previously found to have racially abused a player from Russias North Caucasus in 2011, but cleared on appeal. Zenit coach Andre Villas-Boas has said he believes Hulk and the Russian Football Union has yet to decidee whether it will investigate.
[b]ZaDarius Smith Super Bowl Jersey[/b]. Zenits Alexander Kerzhakov and Javi Garcia are injured and have not flown out with the team to Monaco.___LEVERKUSENS POOR EFFICIENCYBayer Leverkusen is through but still hoping for first place in the group, although captain and midfielder Lars Bender is not travelling to Lisbon because of an abdominal muscle injury. Bender aggravated the injury in the 1-0 loss on Saturday at Bayern Munich.Director Rudi Voeller said Leverkusens goal in Lisbon is clear: We want to win the group.Leverkusen looked good against Bayern in the first half, but was outplayed in the second and was lucky to escape having conceded a solitary goal. Still, it is one of the few teams in the Bundesliga that has troubled Bayern. Had Karim Bellarabi converted his chance early in the match, the outcome might have been different.___BENFICAS WOEAlready out of the tournament, Benfica is trying to avoid another unhappy milestone. If the Lisbon club doesnt beat Bayer, it will have recorded its worst-ever group campaign.Benfica also went out at the group stage in the past two seasons, when it dropped into the Europa League.The second-tier competition also brought disappointment, though: Benfica reached the final in the last two seasons, but lost both times.___HOW THEY ADVANCELeverkusen will be guaranteed first place with a win at Benfica, or if it draws and Monaco fails to win.Monaco will progress with a draw, which will be enough to top the group if Bayer loses. Monaco will also finish first if it wins and Leverkusen fails to grab three points in Portugal.Zenit will qualify with a win and can seal the groups first place if Leverkusen loses. Benfica is condemned to fourth place whatever its result.___Nesha Stracevic in Frankfurt, Barry Hatton in Lisbon and James Ellingworth in Moscow contributed to this report. ' ' '
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