Neues » back from a 3-0 hole

The volatile, and now tied, Western Conference Finals shift to Alamo City for a crucial Game 5 Thursday night between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Jordan Mailata Jersey . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. Ibaka helped OKC to victories in Games 3 and 4 and his defense has been a huge reason for the shift in momentum. With Ibaka back in action, the Thunder have held the Spurs to 40 and 36 points in the paint for the two games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Without Ibaka and the series at AT&T Center, San Antonio exploited his absence to the tune of 66 and 54 points in the paint. But Ibakas return isnt the only factor in OKC tying the series. Kevin Durant, the reigning MVP, has been brilliant, but Russell Westbrook has been amazing. The Thunder won Game 4, 105-92, and the dynamic duo of Oklahoma City was on full display. Westbrook finished with 40 points, 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds, while Durant poured in 31 points on just 22 shots. Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have a postseason game with at least 40 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. "I just think myself and Kevin, obviously we want to win, and we want to get better," said Westbrook. "Tonight, we came out with a defensive mindset. I thought we did a great job of helping each other out defensively, and that led to us getting out in transition, getting open looks, and it looked easy for both of us." The Thunder shot 50.8 percent from the field over the first three quarters to build a substantial lead, one aided by a staggering 21-0 advantage in fastbreak points. Tony Parker scored 14 points, while the other two-thirds of San Antonios Big 3 -- Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili -- totaled 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Kawhi Leonard scored 10 as the San Antonio starters, including Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, combined for 39 points, one shy of Westbrooks total. "Theyre talented obviously, but the athleticism and the length gives you a small margin of error, and youd better be smart the way you play, and you cant afford to screw that up as many times as we did," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "And I think we have to play harder." To that end, Pop sat his starters midway through the third quarter, bringing some back in the fourth. Afterward, he indicated that he was resting players for Thursday, but after practice on Wednesday, he said some changes, albeit small ones, might be in order. "Weve considered a couple of tweaks here and there just in the game plan." Popovich said. "I dont know exactly where thatll be, but we saw a few things that we think might warrant a little tweak here and there." The Spurs, who are 8-1 at home this postseason, saw a similar scenario play out two years ago. They beat the Thunder in the first two games, then lost the last four as OKC marched into the NBA Finals. "I dont think about it," said Pop. Maybe Popovich should think about this - the Thunder have won seven straight over the Spurs with a full lineup, including Ibaka. "We know what were playing for," said Durant. "We know that the series is far from over, and we know we havent done anything, but what were supposed to do, which is win at home, taking care of our home court." Game 6 will be Saturday night in Oklahoma City. Rodney McLeod Jersey .com) - The Denver Nuggets snapped a losing streak last time out and will try to carry that momentum Saturday night when they welcome the Indiana Pacers to the Pepsi Center. Halapoulivaati Vaitai Jersey .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-rasul-douglas-jersey . The Marlies centre set up three goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in American Hockey League action.CHICAGO -- Corey Crawford is playing so well right now that nothing seems to bother him. When the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal waved off in the second period Sunday, Crawford picked up the slack for his disappointed teammates. Crawford made 25 saves, Jonathan Toews had a big goal in the third and the Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. "Confidence has always been there," Crawford said. "Really the first thing is being prepared, having that preparation to try and have my game at the highest level it can be each time I get out there." He is on quite a roll right now, allowing only one goal in each of the past three games. The 29-year-old Crawford leads the NHL with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in the playoffs. "He does a good job of never getting too high or too low because tomorrows another day," teammate Brandon Saad said. "He did a great job tonight." Saad had a goal and an assist for defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago, which remained perfect in seven home playoff games this year. Duncan Keith had a tiebreaking score in the third period. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night. Playing just two days after a Game 7 victory over Anaheim, the Kings got a second-period score from Tyler Toffoli and outshot the Blackhawks 26-20 in the opener of a rematch from last years Western Conference final. But Crawford made a couple of solid stops in another terrific performance. "I think we can do a better of getting in front of the net and make it harder on their goalie because we had some pretty good shots, but nobody was hanging around, so he was able to see everything," Kings centre Anze Kopitar said. With the Blackhawks clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, Toews, Marian Hossa and Johnny Oduya got loose on a 3-on-1 break. Toews one-timed Oduyas pass right by Jonathan Quick for his sixth playoff goal at 16:10. Quick made 17 saves after he played a key role in Los Angeles rally from a 3-2 deficit in the series against the Ducks. The Kings also battled back from a 3-0 hole against San Jose in the first round. "We had a chance," Los Angeles forward Mike Richards said. "We shot ourselves in the foot a bit on their goals, and give them credit, theyre an opportunistic team. But we made a couple of mistakes and it ended up in our net." TToews 26th career playoff goal came after he had one waved off in a confusing stretch in the second period.