Termine » going to honour him

ATLANTA - With their season on the verge of slipping away, the Atlanta Hawks arent going for style points, theyre just glad to string together a couple of wins. Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-97 Thursday night for the Hawks first back-to-back victories in nearly six weeks. The Hawks (28-35) expanded their lead over the surging Knicks (26-40) for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the East to 3 1/2 games. Their victory over the team with the worst record in the NBA followed Mondays 104-102 victory over Utah, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference. Like the Bucks (13-52), the Hawks entered the game having lost 14 of 16, and their first home game after a six-game road trip had an odd feel. "The last two havent been pretty, but theyre wins and its two in a row so were going to try to build on that," said Korver, who was 4 for 4 from the foul line and 3 for 4 from the field in the final period, including 2 for 3 on 3-pointers. "The first game back after a (long) road trip is notoriously a trap game, and I think we fell for it a bit in the first half and didnt come out with the right energy and focus, at least I didnt." Korvers backcourt mate, Jeff Teague, scored 22 points with eight in a final period that saw 12 lead changes and four ties. The Hawks took the lead for good when Korvers 3-pointer gave them a 90-89 edge with 2:15 left. That came moments after Korver missed from long distance, and reserve centre Elton Brand grabbed the rebound and fired it back to the sharpshooter. That play more than any ruined the Atlanta homecoming of Bucks coach Larry Drew, who was the Hawks head coach from 2010-13. He was not asked to return for the final season of his contract, although Atlanta never officially fired him. "If we come up with that rebound were not in that position," Drew said. "You cant leave a guy like that that open. Or even put him in that position, because Kyle is, if not the best shooter, hes one of the top three in our league." Korvers 3 triggered a 9-0 run that was punctuated by Teagues thunderous dunk with 27 second remaining for a 96-89 lead. Ersan Ilyasova had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, and guard Brandon Knight added 20 points. Every Atlanta starter, even centre Pero Antic, made at least one 3-pointer. The Hawks were 13 for 29 from beyond the arc. Milwaukee had just eight turnovers and a modest 43-41 rebounding edge, but went 3 for 19 on 3-point attempts. Trailing 53-47 at halftime, the Hawks took a 68-67 lead by closing the third quarter with a 9-0 run during which they made four straight shots. Milwaukee shot 4 for 21 in the period, and scored one point over the final 4:08 of a 14-point quarter. "Our defence picked us up and allowed us to get back in the game," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We keep talking about being better defensively, and at some point weve got to carry it over to the court." Both teams found energy in the final quarter, when the Hawks outscored the Bucks 34-30. Teague, who pitched in eight assists but also committed seven turnovers, was happy with the win because, he said, "Nobody is bad in the NBA. On any given night, anybody can beat anybody." Budenholzer was more mindful of Atlantas opponent. He did not consider his team to be back on track. "No; not really. I think were going to have to play a whole lot better than this going forward," Budenholzer said. "Wins are important ... but I dont think anybody thinks were settled." NOTES: Hawks centre Al Horford, who has been out since tearing his right pectoral muscle Dec. 26 in an overtime win at Cleveland, said he will not return to play this seven even if Atlanta makes the playoffs. He returned after suffering a similar injury to his left pectoral in 2011-12. "No. I think it would be hard. This injury, honestly, was a little more severe than the other one," he explained in his first meeting with reporters since the injury. "And its my right side, shooting arm, and I need to feel 100 per cent confident with it, so I think its going to be a little bit slower." Gary Gentry Jersey .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis. Marcus Stroman Jersey . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/1050l-ro...html.Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield. Mo Vaughn Jersey . Louis Cardinals have agreed to a one-year contract. Stitched Mets Jerseys .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player.In 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were in their second season under skipper Joe Maddon. They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. They had a slugging first baseman in Carlos Pena who ripped 46 homers and drove in 121 runs while batting .282. They also had an up-and-coming outfielder in B.J Upton who hit 300 while ripping 24 homers and driving in 82 runs. The Devil Rays had two pitchers who managed to get into double digits in victories in James Shields who went 12-8 with a 3.85 ERA and left Scott Kazmir who racked up a 13-9 mark with a 3.48 earned run average. They also had a closer in Alberto Reyes who saved 26 games. Otherwise, it was pretty grim. They scored 782 runs but surrendered 944. The team ERA was a horrendous 5.53. Their attendance of 1,387,603 was the worst in the American League. Back-to-back years like ‘06 and ‘07 could have been enough to cost some managers their jobs, but the Rays had a plan and they also had some blue chip prospects on the way. In 2006, they drafted a highly regarded third baseman in Evan Longoria third overall,. In 2007 they grabbed hard throwing lefty David Price number one. Those were their best two picks since B.J Upton in 2002. In 2008 Tampa Bay got rid of the Devil and became simply known as the Tampa Bay Rays. The turnaround season was remarkable. They went from 66 victories to 97. They shaved their team ERA from 5.53 to 3.82. The Rays actually scored eight fewer runs in ‘08 than they did in ‘07, but they cut their runs against by 273 to 671. All five of their starters, James Shields, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine, Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir -- all betweenn 24 and 26 years of age -- won in double digits with Shields and Jackson leading the way with 14 apiece. Four of the five pitched at least 183 innings. Shields had a staff high 215 and four of the five starters made at least 30 starts. They also added veteran closer Troy Percival who saved 28 games. He also had a great support staff in J.P Howell. Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour who chipped in with 17 victories. Though Penas numbers dropped off a bit to a ,247 average with 31 homers and 102 runs batted in, Longoria emerged as a force with 27 homers and 85 RBIs while batting .272. Former Blue Jays rookie of the year Eric Hinskie chipped in with 20 homers and 60 runs batted in off the bench. The key though was pitching depth. That 2008 staff had eight pitchers who established themselves as manager league starters including&nbbsp; Shields, Garza, Jason Hammel, Jackson, Kazmir, Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann and Price who pitched in relief late that season.dddddddddddd The 2008 Rays went all the way to the World Series where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five. Over the last six seasons they have racked up a record of (550-423) and been to the post-season four times. The only thing that hasnt improved greatly is their attendance. The incredible season of 2008 boosted the turnstyle count by nearly half a million from the year before to 1,811,986. But by last season the numbers had diminished again to 1,510,300 -- the worst in the American League. The Rays has still never come close to matching the attendance figures of their inaugural season of 1998, when they drew 2,506,293. Its sad really, but at least it is living proof that a well managed, small market club can compete and in fact thrive in the American League East. The Blue Jays have the star power in Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, some possible blue chippers in Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus, a decent bullpen and a couple of solid veteran pitchers in R,A Dickey and Mark Buehrle. They just havent been able to stay healthy enough or keep grinding out pitching prospects the way the Rays have. Its still too early to predict how the A.L East is going to unfold in 2014, but in some circles, the Rays are already being called to win the division with the Blue Jays to finish last behind Baltimore. The Blue Jays are still waiting for some kind of solid return on the Roy Halladay trade. Back on December 16th of 2009, they shipped "Doc" to the Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis DArnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor. They wound up flipping Taylor to Oakland for Brett Wallace and then sent Wallace to Houston for Anthony Gose. The Astros designated Wallace for assignment this week when they signed veteran right hander Jerome Williams. Wallace never really developed as a hitter and didnt play well enough defensively at first or third. The Jays are still waiting for Drabek and Gose to arrive as major leaguers and DArnaud was used as part of the package to get R.A Dickey from the Mets. I bring all this up because Halladays illustrious career is now over. The Phillies are going to honour him on their alumni weekend this summer during a series against the Mets. On Aug. 8 the Phils will hold a special ceremony for Roy and will give the fans a special Halladay bobblehead. That same weekend on Aug. 9, the Phillies will induct Charlie Manuel to their wall of fame. ' ' '