Dein erstes Forum » years ago, then resuscitated himself by turning to

HOUSTON -- Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks showed his team each of the 12 3-pointers Houston made in its 73-point first half Thursday night. The halftime video session worked. The Rockets didnt make another 3, and were held to a franchise-low in points in the second half of the Thunders 104-92 win. Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Reggie Jackson added 23 to lift Oklahoma City to the victory. James Harden and Terrence Jones scored 16 points apiece for Houston, which had just 19 second-half points after its season-best performance in the first half -- setting an NBA record for the largest scoring differential between two halves. Houstons 19-point second half is tied for the second-fewest points in a second half in NBA history. "Ive never seen anything like that," Brooks said. "Thats inspiring." Houston coach Kevin McHale was troubled by his teams inability to build on its great first half. "We had a terrible time shooting the ball, laying it in, making simple plays," McHale said. "We couldnt sustain anything offensively in the second half. Give them credit. They got out and got after us." The Thunder used a big third quarter to erase a 12-point deficit and tie the score entering the fourth. The teams stayed within a basket after that until Jackson scored five points in a 7-0 run which gave the Thunder a 97-89 lead with about 4 minutes left. Oklahoma City stretched its advantage to 103-92 on a fast-break dunk by Jackson with 1:18 to go. Durant shook his head when asked about the vast difference in Oklahoma Citys defence after halftime. Along with shutting down Houstons 3-point shooting, the Thunder also held Harden scoreless after the break. "We were able to come down and stifle them a little bit and get them out of their rhythm," Durant said. "Theyre a great offensive team. They score the ball so quickly. I think we did a great job of just putting pressure on them." Oklahoma City was up by eight when Houstons Dwight Howard and Kendrick Perkins got tangled up fighting for a rebound. The two had to be separated and Perkins received a personal foul and they both were slapped with technicals for the scuffle. Serge Ibaka added 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Thunder. Howard had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets. Jeremy Lambs 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter made it 86-85, giving Oklahoma City its first lead since early in the second quarter. The teams each scored a basket after that before both offences went silent, with neither team scoring for about a 3-minute span. Jackson ended Oklahoma Citys scoring drought with a reverse layup with about 7 minutes remaining before Chandler Parsons ended Houstons with a bucket about a minute later to cut the Thunders lead to 90-89. The Rockets had a 12-point lead with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter before Oklahoma City went on a 15-3 run to tie it at 83 entering the final period. Ibaka scored four quick points to get the spurt going and also had a 3-pointer in that span. Durant had the big finish for the run, taking Parsons off the dribble and pulling up to sink a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Durant fell backward to the court after the shot and flipped over before getting up wearing a huge grin as he was mobbed by teammates. After matching a season high with 41 points in the second quarter, the Rockets had a terrible third, scoring just 10 points, and their nine points in the fourth were a season low. The Thunder led by seven in the second quarter before Houston got going. The Rockets used a 9-0 run, powered by four points from Jones, to take a 43-41 lead with about 8 minutes left in the quarter. Harden had a nifty play near the end of that run when he hit an off-balance layup before crashing to the court. Houston capped the 41-point quarter with a 13-1 spurt to take a 73-59 lead into halftime. Parsons hit two 3s in that run and Donatas Motiejunas added a third. Durant was having a tough first quarter and had three turnovers before getting going in the last 1 1/2 minutes of the period. He scored all nine of the Thunders last points of the quarter to leave Oklahoma City up 36-32 entering the second. He had two dunks and was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws in that span. NOTES: Houstons 73 points in the first half were a season high for a half. ... McHale received a technical foul for arguing with the officials in the second quarter. Adidas Nmd Danmark . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Adidas Nmd Dame Tilbud . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. http://www.dknmdskotilbud.com/adidas-nmd-herre-outlet-danmark/nmd-r1.html .J. -- Kevin Gilbride retired Thursday as offensive co-ordinator for the New York Giants. Adidas Nmd Sko Herre . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season. Adidas Nmd Dk .The 24-year-old quarterback spent four seasons at Northern Illinois and in 2013 was a finalist for the Heisman, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in U.MANGARATIBA, Brazil - A hard rain was falling when Gianluigi Buffon paused for a moment during an Italy training session Tuesday. Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Buffon first went to the World Cup back in 1998, although he didnt play a second-choice option behind Gianluca Pagliuca. He then took over the starting position from 2002 onward. "A fifth World Cup is a nice milestone but that doesnt mean Im satisfied," Buffon said before departing for Brazil. "Both individually and as a squad were preparing to surprise people." Buffon, of course, doesnt need to prove anything at this point in his career. He was one of the driving forces behind Italys run to the 2006 World Cup title, when he didnt concede a single goal to opponents during normal play over the course of seven matches — letting in only an own goal from Cristian Zaccardo and a penalty from Zinedine Zidane in the final won over France. He helped Parma to the UEFA Cup title way back in 1999 and has since won five Serie A titles with Juventus — including the last three. "As the years go by, Gigi still has the same amount of desire," said midfielder Claudio Marchisio, who plays with Buffon with both Italy and Juventus. "Hes a great professional, a great friend, and a top-level player. Hes a player who is able to give his all in every moment and always offer the right words of encouragement. "There are players here who are at their first big tournament and hes always there offering the right words of advice," Marchisio added Tuesday. Now that Buffon is setting records for longevity, its worth remembering what an early start he had. Born to members of Italys national teams in athletics (his mother) and weightlifting (father), Buffons distant relative Lorenzo Buffon was also Italys goalkeeper in the 1950s. Having played in midfield as a kid, Buffon decided he wanted to be a goalkeeper after seeing Thomas NKono defend Cameroons goal during the 1990 World Cup in Italy — when Buffon was 12 — and years later Buffon named his first son Louis Thomas after NKono. In 1991 when Buffon was just 13, Parma purchased his rights and put him in their youth system.dddddddddddd At 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut with Parma, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against AC Milan. At 19, Buffon made a memorable Italy debut on a snowy pitch in Moscow during a playoff with Russia for a spot in the 1998 World Cup. Coming off a frigid bench as an injury replacement for Pagliuca, Buffon first raised eyebrows by wearing shorts in the arctic-like conditions then made a series of impressive saves in a 1-1 draw. Fast forward to 2006, when Buffon was one of the few key players to stay with Juventus when the Turin club was relegated to Serie B due to a match-fixing scandal — meaning that a month after guiding Italy to the World Cup title, he was playing in small second-division stadiums. Then at the 2010 World Cup, Buffon struggled with back pain. He played only a portion of Italys opening match and the Azzurri were promptly eliminated after the first round. But he was back in place to help Italy reach the final of the 2012 European Championship. And last October, Buffon surpassed Fabio Cannavaro with an Italy-record 137th appearance. So how does Buffon keep going? "Motivation is the key," he said in a recent interview with Italian daily La Repubblica. "Reflexes diminish. At my age you dont improve anymore, so its better to reduce training and take better care of injury prevention, nutrition and gym work." Buffon has often recounted how he fell into depression about 10 years ago, then resuscitated himself by turning to literature. He has also been the subject of a couple betting scandals. In 2011, he married Czech model Alena Seredova but Buffon announced last month when Italy gathered to begin training that they had separated. In announcing their split, Buffon thanked Seredova publicly for not making things too difficult for him, and said that he hopes she will bring their two boys to watch him play in Brazil. Whether Seredova and the boys come is yet to be seen. Either way, Buffon has already inscribed his name in the World Cup record books. And who knows, maybe Buffon will continue playing and go back to Russia and the site of his Italy debut for the 2018 World Cup, when hell be 40 — the same age that one of his idols, Dino Zoff, was when he helped Italy to the 1982 World Cup title. "Ill keep playing as long as I dont become a reserve," Buffon said. "Once the day comes that I get benched, thats when Ill hang my boots up." ___ Follow Andrew Dampf at http://twitter.com/asdampf ' ' '