DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki was frustrated by his poor shooting performance in Dallas previous game. That disappointment, plus a little help from an old friend, turned into another big performance by the veteran forward. Nowitzki scored seven of his 32 points in overtime, leading the Mavericks to a 128-119 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Nowitzki also had 10 rebounds and six assists. In Dallas loss to Brooklyn on Sunday, he was 2 for 12 from the field in his worst shooting performance of the season. "The last game was disappointing for me," Nowitzki said. "I was just hesitating too much, so I had to go back to having fun out there and just being me. "That was a heck of a game, and it was fun to be a part of." The 7-foot Nowitzki was 11 for 23 from the field and 8 for 8 at the line. "His emotion and his attitude carried the team," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Hes a prideful guy. I think great players are great for a reason. They never let anything keep them down for long. Hes bounced back from every adversity hes ever had in his career, so this is no surprise." Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 43 points. He has scored at least 25 in 36 consecutive games in the longest such streak since Michael Jordans 40-game run during the 1986-87 season. Dallas had seven players score in double figures. Jose Calderon went 6 for 8 from 3-point range and finished with 22 points. Nowitzki said he spent time on Tuesday with Holger Geschwinder, his longtime basketball mentor from his home country of Germany. He said they got in a little shooting work. "I guess he was tired of watching my shooting percentage," Nowitzki said. "Its always good when hes there." Russell Westbrook scored 23 for Oklahoma City. All of his points came in regulation, when he played 31:50. He added another minute in overtime. Westbrook is limited to 30 to 32 minutes per game because of his oft-injured right knee. Oklahoma City was coming off a 117-96 victory over Denver on Monday night. The Thunder had won four in a row. "Im proud of our guys effort and energy, coming back from back-to-back games," coach Scott Brooks said. "I cant complain about anything we did tonight." "We didnt make the big play," said Durant, who has scored 40 points or more 13 times this season. "They made shots in overtime. You have to give them credit." The Mavericks scored the first five points of the extra period on two free throws by Nowitzki and a 3-pointer by Calderon. They never trailed again. The victory pushed Dallas into eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of idle Phoenix. The Mavericks improved to 3-2 on a franchise-long, eight-game homestand, with three of the games going to overtime. They began the homestand in seventh place, 1 1/2 ahead of the ninth-place Suns. Calderon returned to the starting lineup after being knocked out of Sunday nights game in the first minute. He was whacked in the face by Brooklyns Mason Plumlee, chipping a facial bone between his nose and mouth. Calderon said the injury only hurts when he talks or laughs. "And I dont have to laugh during games," he said. Another of Calderons 3s came with 26.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter and sent the game into overtime. "It felt good from the beginning," he said, "but you dont know until that ball goes through the rim." Dallas won 109-86 at Oklahoma City on March 16 in the Thunders worst loss of the season. Westbrook missed that game because the team wants to limit the activity for his surgically repaired knee, choosing to rest him in one part of back-to-back games. Westbrook was the catalyst of Oklahoma Citys second-quarter rally after the Thunder fell behind by 10. He scored 10 points in the period, including a foul shot that gave Oklahoma City a 57-48 lead with 1:25 to go. But the Mavericks answered with three consecutive 3-pointers - one from Calderon and two from Vince Carter - to tie it with 33.4 left in the half. Durant then hit a 3 to give Oklahoma City a 60-59 lead at the break. The Thunder hit 14 of 18 shots in the period and shot 57.1 per cent for the half. NOTES: Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins, sidelined since Feb. 20 with a groin strain, is hoping to return at Houston on April 4. ... If Dallas finishes among the leagues top-10 teams, Oklahoma City will get the Mavericks first-round draft choice next summer as a result of a series of trades. . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford. .85 million contract with the two-time Gold Glove outfielder. Parra earned his second Gold Glove last season when he set a club record with 17 outfield assists.
http://www.airmaxsuomi.com/. -- When the Los Angeles Kings are on top of their formidable defensive game, they revel in the silence they can create in a frustrated road arena. . -- LeBron James warned the Orlando Magic to stop double-teaming him and ignoring James Jones. .com) - The surprising Calgary Flames host the winless New Jersey Devils at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings will suspend special teams co-ordinator Mike Priefer without pay for three games this season and donate $100,000 to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups, in response to former punter Chris Kluwes allegations of anti-gay slurs and taunts made by Priefer. The Vikings announced the punishment Friday as part of a summary of findings by outside lawyers hired in January to investigate Kluwes accusations, which included a claim he was released because of his gay-rights advocacy. The Vikings said Priefers ban could be reduced to two games at their discretion, provided he attends individualized anti-harassment, diversity and sexual-orientation sensitivity training. Such education has been required for all Vikings employees, coaches and players on an annual basis for the past several years, the team said, and the improvements for the programs will be considered. Chris Madel, a former Justice Department attorney, and Eric Magnuson, a former chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, from the Minneapolis-based law firm Robins, Kaplan, Ciresi and Miller recently presented their report to the Vikings after interviewing 31 people and examining 121 gigabytes of data. Priefer was questioned three times. According to a 29-page analysis of the investigation by employment law consultants Littler Mendelson and Donald Prophete, commissioned by the Vikings and released Friday, Priefer initially denied making a remark Kluwe alleged about "putting all the gays on an island and nuking it" but later acknowledged he might have. Long snapper Cullen Loeffler told the investigators he heard the same comment Kluwe did, but that he assumed Priefer was joking. Also in the analysis of the investigation released by Mendelson and Prophete: -- Vikings officials were nearly unanimous in deciding Kluwes 2012 season was substandard, and the report said Priefer actually gave Kluwe a higher grade than any of the front-office evaluators. The Vikings have maintained the move to cut Kluwe was strictly football-based after they drafted Jeff Locke in the fifth round and Kluwe was due to make $1.45 million in the 2013 season at age 31. -- The investigators asked former Chicago general manager Jerry Angelo and former NFL punter Craig Hentrich to analyze Kluwes performance as well, and Hentrich gave Kluwe a "C" grade overall. -- The report also cited anecdotes from several interviewees about the penchant for off-colourbehaviour by Kluwe, whose Internet and Twitter criticisms of various institutions and individuals have often contained obscenee language.dddddddddddd According to the report, Kluwe poked fun at Tom Kanavy, the strength and conditioning coach at the time, in a vulgar manner that made light of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal at Penn State, where Kanavy attended and later worked. In a statement from the team, Priefer apologized to owners Mark Wilf and Zygi Wilf, the organization, the fans, his family, the LGBT community, Kluwe and "anyone else that I offended with my insensitive remark." Added Priefer, who was hired by the Vikings in 2011: "I regret what has occurred and what I said. I am extremely sorry, but I will learn from this situation and will work on educating others to create more tolerance and respect." Kluwe, however, said Friday he will still sue the team for discrimination, against his gay-rights activism and agnostic beliefs, as well as defamation and wrongful interference of his contract. His attorney, Clayton Halunen, said the complaint will be filed in Hennepin County District Court as early as Monday, seeking $10 million in damages. They announced earlier this week their impending lawsuit and did not reach a settlement agreement with the team. "Here we have this company, this Minnesota company whos getting $400 million out of taxpayers funds to build the stadium, and yet they are violating state law by engaging in discriminatory conduct, and that is unacceptable," Halunen said. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: "We support our teams enforcing their workplace policies and commend the Wilfs for doing a thorough investigation and taking appropriate steps in response to the findings." The Wilf brothers, in a joint statement provided by the team, said Madel and Magnuson "were in full control of the investigation at all times." They said theyre pleased Mendelson and Prophete "concluded that there was no wrongdoing" by the Vikings in releasing Kluwe. "We are very disappointed with some of the findings contained within the report," the Wilfs said. "As we have said in the past, we consistently strive to create -- and believe we have -- a supportive, respectful and accepting environment for our players, coaches and staff, and we strongly disassociate the club from the statement that Coach Priefer made. Coach Priefer is a good man, and we know that he deeply regrets the comment. We do not believe that this error in judgment should define him." In his scathing article posted Jan. 2 on the website Deadspin.com that spelled out the allegations, Kluwe said Zygi Wilf expressed support for his gay-rights advocacy. ' ' '
