ORLANDO, Fla.
nba jerseys from china . -- The Boston
Celtics are prepared to go through growing pains this season as they continue
learn to adapt to life without franchise stalwarts Paul Pierce and
Kevin Garnett. Coach Brad Stevens is ready for a long process, but will take a
few wins like Friday night along the way. Brandon Bass had 16 points, including
a pair of free-throws in the closing seconds to help the Boston Celtics fight
back from an early hole and hang on for a 91-89 victory over the Orlando Magic.
"We talked before about making winning plays in winning time, and we did. That
was neat," Stevens said afterward. "Overall, Im very pleased with the result but
we still have a lot to work on. Were not that much different than if we wouldnt
have won the game." Trailing by three, the Magic had a chance to tie the game in
the final minute, but Arron Afflalos jumper came from just a half-step inside
the 3-point line. The win is the Celtics second straight and extends their win
streak over Orlando to nine games. They will try to make it three straight
Saturday at defending champion Miami. Avery Bradley added 14 points and eight
rebounds for the Celtics. Boston survived a 36 per cent shooting night from the
field and 2-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. It was the fourth straight
opponent that the Magic held under 40 per cent. But after taking an early lead
they let the Celtics back in the game by committing a season-high 20 turnovers
that led to 25 points on the other end. Afflalo led the Magic, who had their
three-game win streak ended, with 23 points. Nik Vucevic finished with 14 points
and 13 rebounds but was mostly bottled up by Bostons defence. Magic coach
Jacque Vaughn said the turnovers also contributed to Vucevics off night. "That
didnt help us initiate our offence and then secondly, they did a good job of
trying to deny him the basketball," he said. "Youve got to give them credit for
their defence." Boston slipped out at a seven-point lead to begin the fourth
quarter, but the Magic fought back to tie it at 75. The cushion grew again when
Bradley stripped Victor Oladipo at midcourt and sprinted ahead for a dunk and
eventual three-point play to put the Celtics back up 81-77 with under 6 minutes
to play. Afflalo knocked down a 3-pointer and was fouled by Bradley with 1:38
left. He promptly completed the four-point play to pull the Magic within 86-84.
Kelly Olynyk responded with a jumper on Bostons next possession, but after
rebounding a Magic miss on the other end, a floater by Jeff Green caromed off
the rim and landed out of bounds. The Magic werent done. Afflalo saved a shaky
possession with a driving layup and three-point play to cut the Celtics lead
back to 88-87 with 26.5 remaining. Boston tried to run down the clock and Bass
was eventually fouled and was able to connect on both of free-throws. Following
a timeout, Afflalo got loose and banked in a jumper from the wing, but a review
confirmed it he was inside the 3-point line. Bradley was fouled and connected on
1 of his 2 attempts. Oladipo then missed a desperation 3-pointer off the
backboard at the buzzer. "We stuck together when we were missing shots, a lot of
easy shots," Celtics guard Jordan Crawford said. But everybody stuck together as
a team." Afflalo said the loss stings because they felt it was a throwback to
lessons they thought they learned a year ago. "This team has been through a lot
last year in understanding how valuable wins are," he said. "Outside of that
opener (10-point loss to Indiana), weve lost two games now that we felt we
should have won. So we are learning in a process, but I think we came to play.
"I think the focus just needs to be sharper for a team thats trying to be a team
that just won three in a row." NOTES: With the college basketball season opening
on Friday night, Stevens said that he has stayed in tune with his former Butler
team. "Yeah, I pay attention to it," he said. "Youre always invested more in the
people you know and the people that youre really tight with and friends with.
Ill be interested to see if my family watches our game (Saturday) night or the
Butler game."... Magic F Tobias Harris missed his sixth straight game with a
sprained left ankle. ... Pro golfer Bubba Watson sat courtside at Fridays game.
cheap nba jerseys .C. -- Al Jefferson is
happy he didnt make the All-Star game.
cheap
nba jerseys china . The above paragraph could be rewritten,
verbatim, with Marcus Stromans name in place of Romeros. After both men had
disastrous outings in Tuesdays 18-4 mauling at the hands of the Tigers, its
clear that neither is the best option to begin the season in Toronto.SAN
FRANCISCO - Pablo Sandoval singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning,
lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 victory over the rival Los Angeles
Dodgers on Wednesday night and into first place in the NL West. The struggling
Sandoval came through after reliever J.P. Howell (1-1) intentionally walked
Hunter Pence with two outs. Sandoval, who entered the game batting just .164,
grounded into centre field to score Joaquin Arias from second. Jean Machi (3-0)
pitched out of a bases-loaded jam earlier in the seventh for the win.
Buster Posey broke an 0-for-13 skid with an RBI single in the third to give the
Giants a 1-0 lead. Dee Gordons tying triple in the sixth accounted for the
Dodgers lone run. Los Angeles at least dodged worse news. Shortstop
Hanley Ramirez left in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch from
Ryan Vogelsong on the top of his left hand. The team said X-rays on Ramirezs
hand were negative. Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save,
striking out Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp to end the game. Vogelsong allowed
the one run and four hits in six-plus innings to help the Giants win their third
straight game. He struck out two and walked two to match Paul Maholm most of the
way. Maholm gave up one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out two and
walked three to rebound from a loss in his only other start this season on April
5, when he allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings to the Giants. San Francisco
improved to 4-1 against the Dodgers this season in a race that could remain
tight through the summer. Both teams began the day with a 9-5 record. The
starting pitchers kept the game moving at a far brisker pacee than the nearly
5-hour contest Tuesday night that ended when Hector Sanchez singled home the
winning run with two outs in the 12th inning to give the Giants the win.
cheap
authentic nba jerseys. The biggest blemish came when Vogelsong hit
the top of Ramirezs left hand to open the seventh. Ramirez slammed his helmet to
the ground and hopped around in pain before being replaced by Justin Turner.
After the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, Machi fielded a hard comebacker
from Juan Uribe to start a home-to-first double play. The biggest hold up came
from baseballs new replay system after Vogelsong pick of Kemp at first base in
the second inning. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenge the play, which
umpires upheld after a 4:25 video review that drew light boos from some fans
during the wait. NOTES: Dodgers ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner
Clayton Kershaw, who is on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his back,
threw breaking balls off flat ground. He is scheduled to throw off a mound
Thursday. ... An MRI on Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley showed no ligament damage
in his elbow, Mattingly said. Billingsley has some tendinitis that will delay
his recovery. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford sat out with tightness in his right
hamstring but said he expects to play Thursday. ... The Giants activated lefty
reliever Jeremy Affeldt (sprained right knee) from the 15-day disabled list and
optioned OF Juan Perez to Triple-A Fresno. ... Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig
entered in the seventh and grounded out in the eighth. ... Giants LHP
Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound opposite Dodgers LHP
Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 2.57 ERA) in Thursdays series finale.
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