Durants hefty ticket purchase gave him a convenient excuse

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Norman Powell scored 23 points to help UCLA remain unbeaten at home in Pac-12 play and knock off No. 11 Utah, 69-59. The Bruins lost three players to the first round of the NBA draft in 2014 and havent been able to replace the productivity that Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Zach LaVine provided. They are in the midst of one of the worst seasons in recent memory, though Thursdays upset over Utah was certainly a step in the right direction. Bryce Alford had 14 points and seven assists and Isaac Hamilton scored 11 for UCLA, which exacted revenge from an embarrassing 71-39 loss to Utah on Jan. 4. Alford went scoreless on 0-for-10 shooting in that game. We did a good job in the first half to start the game and then we were terrific in the second half, UCLA coach Steve Alford said. UCLA (12-9, 4-4 Pac-12) snapped its two-game losing skid. Delon Wright and Brandon Taylor gave 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Utes (16-4, 6-2), who may have lost more than a game. Freshman center Jakob Poeltl, one of the best young 7-footers in college basketball, left the game with an apparent foot injury. UCLA outplayed us and out-scrapped us. We only really played hard enough for about five minutes all game, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. Powell scored six straight points and eight total during UCLAs prolonged 12-0 run to open the second half. His layup to cap the flurry at 13:00 made it 45-30. Taylor scored their next eight points around three UCLA free throws to cut the deficit to 10, but Hamilton countered with a layup, three-point play and triple from the top of the key over the next 1 1/2 minutes to help the Bruins keep Utah at arms length. Utah led by seven points early on before UCLA stormed back to take a 33-30 lead into halftime. Game Notes Utah fell to 2-2 over its last four games following a seven-game win streak ... UCLA center Tony Parker (back) returned from a two-game absence and grabbed six rebounds ... UCLA improved to 3-0 at Pauley Pavilion against Utah since the Utes joined the PAc-12. The Bruins have won those three games by a total of 51 points. Wholesale Air Max 270 China .com) - Ames, IA (SportsNetwork. Buy Air Max 270 . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. http://www.discountairmax270.com/ . -- The Minnesota Twins have granted relief pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release, making the 35-year-old right-hander a free agent. Wholesale Air Max 270 . Every. Single. Game. Thats 1,230 in total to cover the regular season. The man is Corey Sznajder, a soft-spoken 23-year-old Salisbury University grad who lives in Annapolis, Maryland and has been charting zone entries and zone exits throughout the NHL. I love big projects, he said. No kidding. At the 2013 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, I met Eric Tulsky, who presented research on the value of controlled zone entries (short answer: about twice as valuable to enter with control of the puck rather than dumping it in) and Sznajder had charted a couple hundred games that were included in that study. Air Max 270 Cheap Online . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners. WASHINGTON -- The first half ended with a case of the Marquee Miscues. Kevin Durant lost the ball to John Wall, and Wall then missed an open fast-break layup at the horn. It was Durants fourth turnover and Walls seventh miss in a row. At halftime, Wall changed his shoes. Maybe that was the difference. The newly minted first-time All-Star guard scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and the Washington Wizards took advantage of a rare off-night from Durant and snapped the Oklahoma Thunders 10-game winning streak Saturday with a 96-81 win. "I didnt like how I played on the road trip in my white shoes, so I tried the red ones," Wall said. "They didnt work in the first half, so I got rid of them and went back to my old white ones, and they kind of helped me out. Im kind of superstitious." Wall also had 15 assists and six steals and went 7 for 11 from the field after halftime, more than making up for the 0-for-7 first half. Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Trevor Ariza added 18 points and did a solid job defending Durant, whose 26 points came on 8-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range, and enough calls to make him 10 for 10 from the free-throw line. He also committed five turnovers. "Just stay in his grille, man," Ariza said. "Just try to make him take tough shots. Try not to give him no easy, easy looks." Durant had a streak of 12 consecutive 30-point games end during a 25-point win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Sitting at his locker before Saturdays game, his legs hooked up to compression tubes for a high-tech massage, he talked about the 100 or so tickets he had to secure for family and friends in D.C. Whether it was hometown jitters -- or fatigue from the night before -- or the unfamiliarity of the new balls with Adam Silvers signature on the first day of work for the new NBA commissioner -- or the solid defence of Ariza -- the citys native son had a rough night fighting the Wizards defence. "They made me see a crowd," Durant said. "There were a few shots that I should have it hit. I had some good looks, but they did a good job." The Thunders only lead was 2-0. They committed 10 of their 21 turnoovers in the first quarter.dddddddddddd "We were just a step slow in everything," Durant said. "We didnt start up with enough energy and intensity and that falls back on me as a leader." The victory moved the Wizards to .500 for the seventh time this season, which means they get yet another chance to overcome an obstacle that has flummoxed them in recent weeks. A win Monday against Portland would give Washington a winning record for the first time since October 2009. "Thats cool for yall. I dont know if its cool for us," said guard Garrett Temple, when the subject that has become increasingly taboo in the locker room was broached by reporters. "But weve got to not even worry about that. Weve got a tough team coming here on Monday night." The Thunder had averaged 110.2 points during the winning streak, but they matched their season-low in points in a game against the Wizards. They did have a chance to tie the score in the second half when Derek Fisher was fouled while making a 3-pointer, but he missed the free throw that would have evened the game at 58. From there, Wall and the Wizards pulled away. A Durant turnover became a Wall dunk. Walls floater gave Washington a 78-64 lead after three quarters. The Thunder didnt challenge the rest of the way, failing to get within single digits in the fourth. "Twenty-one turnovers, 10 in the first quarter. Thats basically six minutes of basketball, giving them the ball back without ever trying to score," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "It wasnt good enough -- bottom line." NOTES: Temple went 3 for 4 with the new balls. "My shot felt real good. Even with those now Adam Silver balls," he said. "It was slippery at first, but we got into a rhythm." ... The Thunder had won nine straight road games against Eastern Conference teams, while the Wizards had dropped five in a row at home vs. the West. ... Durants hefty ticket purchase gave him a convenient excuse to laugh off the notion that he would think about playing for the Wizards someday. "I spent a lot of money on tickets today -- imagine if I played here," Durant said. "I dont even want to think about that." Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '