MeeBay Forum » Nelsen joked that hes played through goal-scoring

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs are rolling toward a return to the NBA Finals, and Oklahoma City looks powerless to slow them down without Serge Ibaka. Tony Parker scored 22 points, Danny Green made seven 3-pointers and added 21, and the Spurs used a dominant third quarter to decimate the Thunder 112-77 on Wednesday night and take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Tim Duncan added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw had 11 points apiece off the bench in San Antonios second straight rout. "We just did our job. We won our first two games at home and Im sure theyre going to go back and say we have to do our job and win two games at home," Parker said, recalling that the Spurs blew a 2-0 lead against the Thunder in the 2012 West finals. Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each had 15 points, but the third-quarter barrage made spectators of both -- not that they accomplished much when they did play. The star duo combined to shoot 13 for 40, including 4 for 14 in the third quarter. Game 3 is Sunday at Oklahoma City, and the Spurs are trying to remind themselves it probably wont remain this easy. "Manu said its a dangerous win but I believe in our group," Green said. "I believe that we have the maturity, the character and the experience to stay focused and not take this win to head." Playing without the injured Ibaka and given two days to adjust to dropping Game 1 by 17 points, the Thunder performed worse. San Antonio closed the first half on a 25-8 run, then Parker and Green each had eight points in the third quarter as San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City 33-18. "If they had won this game by one point, wed still be down 0-2," Durant said. "(We) lost by a lot two games in a row. Its hard for you to stay together, but we have a group of guys that are not front-runners and well figure it out." It was a shocking turn for the Thunder, who started well. "It definitely doesnt feel good and it shouldnt," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I hope our locker doesnt feel good. You shouldnt feel good. We got our butts kicked. But we have a good opportunity to come back and win Game 3." Oklahoma City opened more aggressive on both ends, especially defensively. The physicality disrupted the Spurs early and frustrated them emotionally. Duncan was issued a technical with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter after complaining when Ed Malloy ruled he threw a hip into Durant. It turned out the Spurs veteran had little to worry about, as the Thunder finished just 4 for 9 on free throws. The Thunder scored five straight to open the game, with Westbrooks 3 capping the early run and producing what would become their largest lead of the series at 5-0. Oklahoma City did not go under on pick-and-rolls as they did in Game 1, which allowed Parker more scoring opportunities. He took four shots in the opening five minutes. His first two baskets came on driving layups, including running right down the middle of the lane with Thabo Sefolosha trailing by a couple of steps. San Antonio continued to struggle with its shot, but righted itself with offensive rebounding. Green hit consecutive 3s to extend the Spurs advantage to 55-44 with a minute left in the first half. San Antonio later rebounded a missed layup by Ginobili and Parkers errant 3-pointer, leading to a high-arcing 3 by Ginobili for a 58-44 lead. Ginobili then drew a charge on Westbrooks 3 on the ensuing possession. Durant and Westbrook opened the game 9 for 26 in the first half. Durant had one field goal in the final 16 minutes of the first half. Durant made his first two field goals of the second half, but did not have another for the rest of the half. Oklahoma City went scoreless for two minutes midway through the third quarter as San Antonio built its lead to 76-50 on a pair of free throws by Duncan with 6:20 remaining. NOTES: Parker is one assist shy of becoming the 10th player with 1,000 career post-season assists. The list includes Parkers three favourite childhood idols: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. . Oklahoma Citys Perry Jones, who only played the final 2 minutes of Game 1, started the second quarter. He finished with two points in 24 minutes. . Minnesota Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf, who plays on the French national team with Parker and Diaw, was in attendance, as was musician Steve Miller. Ander Herrera Jersey . For the Miami Heat, that was outstanding news. LeBron James scored the last of his 32 points on a layup that put Miami up for good with 11. Marouane Fellaini Jersey .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament. http://www.manutdfcsoccershop.com/c-14-d...-fc-jersey.aspx. CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. Anthony Martial Jersey . John Albert Elway, 24, was booked into jail early Saturday morning after an incident near a college campus in downtown Denver, according to jail records. Eric Bailly Jersey . Algeria led 3-0 at halftime, but withstood a stronger South Korean second half performance to claim its first World Cup win since 1982 and move into second place in Group H with one match left to play. Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.TORONTO - Jermain Defoe has been where Gilberto is — under the microscope and unable to score goals. Defoe insists its only a matter of time before his Toronto FC strike partner starts finding the net. And hes told Gilberto the same thing several times. "Everyones trying to talk to him, not just me. The manager and everyone. . . all the boys are just trying to be positive," Defoe said. "Im sure hes experienced enough to know its just a matter of time. Hes been unlucky. "Hopefully when he gets the first one, hell score many more. Still got a long way to go, its a long season." Toronto FC (4-4-1) hosts the Columbus Crew (4-4-4) at BMO Field on Saturday, a game that coach Ryan Nelsen said, in the event of a victory, could "springboard us forward for the rest of the season" Gilberto was part of Torontos much-celebrated off-season makeover, acquired to boost the clubs underpowered offence. The 24-year-old Brazilian has come oh so close numerous times, banging shots off the post and sending balls just wide of the net. But he remains without a goal in eight Major League Soccer appearances. And with his near-misses comes increasing scrutiny, which Defoe said comes "part and parcel with playing football." "I suppose at any level really where youve got to perform, people will expect you to perform, and obviously if you dont people are going to ask questions," Defoe said after Fridays practice at the clubs sun-drenched training grounds just north of the city. "But on the flip side, when youre playing well and youre scoring goals, everyone loves it and you get all the praise. So if its not going well, I suppose you have to just take it on the chin, as they say in England." Nelsen joked that hes played through goal-scoring droughts that lasted years — he, of course, was a defender. But he believes the scrutiny is a bit unfair. "Strikers, they get referred to as goalscoring, with defenders its conceding, . . sometimes (playing) just feels wrong. And its not just in football, its in your job," Nelsen told reporters. "You have a couple of months where its just tough, things just dont seem to go your way. Its life. "The only trouble in our job is everybody is watching you when it happens. Everybody talks about it, everybody wants to know about it, everybodys picking your brain about it. You all go through it, sometimes its just more out front, its just right out there in the media." Gilberto scored 14 goals in 24 games for Portuguesa of Brazils top division last season. He signed with Toronto as a Designated Player in December, and is set to earn US$1.2 million this season — 12th highest in MLS. One TFC official mused before the season kicked off that the Brazilian may score even more goals than Defoe, but the former Tottenham Hotspur striker leads the way with four goals in six games. "I think every striker has been through speells where at some stage in the season you might go a few games without scoring," Defoe said.dddddddddddd "But youve just got to keep working hard and getting into position where youre going to score. Youve got to remain positive and thats all you can do really. "Obviously its difficult because your confidence gets really low. But hes working hard. Im sure its just a matter of time before he scores." Defoe missed Torontos previous game against Columbus with a hamstring injury — a 2-0 road victory on April 5 that boosted the teams record to 3-1. Both Defoe and Nelsen said they like where the team is positioned right now. Theres a sense that its turned the corner after a disappointing stretch. "Were starting to strengthen ourselves and trust our squad and get a bit hardened," Nelsen said. "Going to have our ups and downs of course, but were starting to become an MLS squad which is literally competitive in every game. And considering what we inherited here, its a good little evolution. "I know everybody wants to just flip the switch and you go from nobodies to champions overnight and it doesnt happen like that. If you just step back, you can look where we were and look where we are, you kind of see an evolution or developments that other teams — probably because they werent as low as us — are not making. Thats what I like about our team, everybodys just getting a wee bit better, and the squads just getting a wee bit better every day." Nelsen was happy to have midfielders Jonathan Osorio (hamstring) and Jackson Goncalves (concussion) back practising Friday. The two will be available to play against the Crew. "Im anxious to come back. I hate missing games, obviously. I even hate missing practices," said the Toronto-born Osorio. "Im more excited that Im healthy, Im feeling good, so Im excited (Saturday) to just play without any worries, without any knocks on me, and to be 100 per cent." The club will be missing captain and defender Steven Caldwell, who will serve his suspension for a red-card he received in Torontos last league game — a 2-2 draw at Kansas City. Coincidentally, Toronto was also missing Caldwell in last months meeting. "Hopefully we can repeat that (win with him)," Nelsen said. "But I think youve seen in Bradley Orr, and Doneil Henry and Nick Hagglund weve got some pretty decent cover there, so hopefully whoever plays at centre back will be right up for it." Toronto will also be without recently-acquired midfielder Collen Warner. "His brother is getting married in Denver, and hes the best man," Nelsen said. "On several levels, us guys may have told him to tell his brother hes making a bad mistake," Nelsen added, laughing. "(Warner) says hes batting well above his average, so he should do it as soon as he can so. . . To tell you the truth, thats like me exactly." 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