Neues » American rivals met

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed toward the All-Star break on a high note. Sean Doolittle Jersey . So is Anthony Bennett, the much-maligned No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. As the Cavaliers avenged a 44-point loss to Sacramento with a 109-99 win over the Kings on Tuesday night, Bennett had 19 points and 10 rebounds -- both career highs -- in Clevelands third straight win. "Youre starting to see a little bit of what we see in practice and the reason why we drafted him," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "Hes a talented young man and hes starting to come to life a little bit. Hes even better than what you saw tonight." Former general manager Chris Grant, who was fired last week, was roundly criticized for taking Bennett with the first pick in June, but the rookie from UNLV has made major strides after being a non-factor until mid-January. "Anthony Bennett kicked our butt," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Im sure Chris Grant is smiling at home -- and deservedly so -- because that was his No. 1 pick." Bennett was smiling, too. Asked when the last time he had fun playing basketball he said, "I dont remember, but today was one of those days." Bennett hit two 3-pointers in a little over a minute in the second quarter and scored 11 points in the first half. His 3-pointer with 4:40 left in the game gave Cleveland a 100-85 advantage. Bennett was aggressive going to the basket -- going to the line nine times. Bennett had shoulder surgery before the draft and didnt play in the summer league. He adjusted slowly once the season began, and his minutes were limited when he played. That has changed. "It feels great," Bennett said. "All the hard work Ive put in with the players and coaching staff is paying off." Brown began giving him playing time last month after he showed progress in practice. "Its not anything that all of a sudden happened overnight," Brown said. "Hes a good basketball player. He can pass it. He can shoot it. He can run the floor. He can finish in traffic. He can rebound." Luol Deng led the Cavaliers with 22 points, and Dion Waiters added 20. The Cavaliers, beaten 124-80 in Sacramento on Jan. 12, took a double-figure lead early in the second quarter and were in control the remainder of the game. Cleveland has won three in a row for the second time this season. Cleveland also won three straight from Dec. 7-13. The Cavaliers will go for a season-high, four-game winning streak in their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday at Detroit. Cleveland has won all three games since Grant was fired. DeMarcus Cousins scored 21 points to lead the Kings, who have lost 10 of 12 and seven straight on the road. The Cavaliers built a 67-49 lead in the third quarter. The Kings cut their deficit to seven points early in the fourth, but Cleveland went on a 7-0 run, sparked by Kyrie Irvings 3-pointer, to go ahead 91-77. Irving, who was 3 of 14 with seven points in the first meeting, had 13 points and six assists. The Cavaliers broke a three-game losing streak against the Kings. Cousins, taking advantage of a matchup with Cleveland centre Tyler Zeller, had 11 points and six rebounds in the first quarter. The Cavaliers played without starting centre Anderson Varejao, who missed the game with a sore back. Cousins didnt score again in the half. The Cavaliers used a combination of Zeller, Tristan Thompson and Henry Sims in an attempt to neutralize Cousins, who was averaging 22.7 points going into the game. The 6-foot-11 centre attempted only two more shots the rest of the game and was 11 of 16 from the foul line. "The effort wasnt there," Cousins said. "It was just bad overall. I dont really have an answer, but whatever it is, it needs to be fixed. After the All-Star break, well start fresh, which is what we need right now." Tristan Thompson had 16 points and 13 points for the Cavaliers. Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points, and Rudy Gay added 14 for the Kings. Sacramento has dropped the first three games of a four-game trip that ends Wednesday against New York. The Kings are 6-19 on the road. C.J. Miles (sore right foot) also missed the game for Cleveland. NOTES: Asked to describe Varejaos injury, Brown said, "With Andy, its his back and really his whole body that is sore, so it will be good to get him some rest, but obviously, you hope that its not a long-term thing." ... Varejao wont travel to Detroit ... Malone spent five seasons as an assistant under Brown with the Cavaliers from 2005-10. ... Thomas and Kings F Jason Thompson each picked up two fouls in the first quarter. Thompson committed his third foul 34 seconds into the third quarter and was scoreless for the game. Max Scherzer Jersey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Cheap Nationals Jerseys Authentic . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying. http://www.cheapnationalsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-bryce-harper-jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a course-record 10-under 62 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament.Once again, the two greatest powers in womens hockey will collide with Olympic gold on the line. Canada and the United States square off for the gold medal on Thursday. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio starting at 11:30am et/8:30am pt. Both teams were able to show their strength in the semifinals but in different areas of the game. The United States pummeled Sweden 6-1, bringing their output to 20 goals for the tournament thus far. Three American forwards – Amanda Kessel, Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker – sit tied for second in tournament scoring with six points apiece through four games. The trio combined for seven points against Finland. The Canadians, meanwhile, won a war of attrition against Switzerland. Stymied often by Swiss netminder Florence Schelling, the Canadian women showed grit and resilience in a 3-1 victory to make their fifth straight gold medal game. In two games against Switzerland, Schelling stopped 109 Canadian shots on goal. Canada was timely with their offence in the semifinal, however, scoring their three goals in a span of just over four minutes in the first period. Canada and the United States have met in three of the four gold medal games in Olympic history. Canada won gold in 2002 and 2010 with the Americans claiminng gold at the inaugural tournament in Nagano, Japan in 1998. Adam Eaton Jersey. Canada also won gold in 2006 after Sweden beat the Americans in the semifinal. The Canadians got the best of the Americans in the preliminary round, winning their round robin finale 3-2 thanks to a pair of goals from Meghan Agosta-Marciano. That game marked just the second time in the history of the Olympic womens tournament that the North American rivals met without the gold being at stake. Prior to the Olympics, the Americans topped Canada at the 2013 Womens World Championships in Ottawa, beating Canada 3-2 in the gold medal game on Amanda Kessels game-winner. Canada would respond by topping the U.S. in the 4 Nations Cup in November, winning their game 4-2 en route to claiming the tournament title. The continental rivals have also met six other times since October in an exhibition series. The United States took the final four games of the series which were all contested in December. Canada won the opening two games of the set, back in October. History – The Olympic Gold Medal Game 1998: USA 3, CAN 1 – Nagano, Japan 2002: Canada 3, USA 2 – Salt Lake City, USA 2006: Canada 4, Sweden 1 – Turin, Italy 2010: Canada 2, USA 0 – Vancouver, Canada ' ' '