SAN ANTONIO -- Even though it was an ugly victory, the banged-up San Antonio Spurs were just happy to end a three-game losing streak given their troubling rash of recent injuries. Sheldon Rankins Jersey . Tim Duncan had 23 points and 17 rebounds, Tony Parker added 18 points and 10 assists, and San Antonio rallied past the skidding Sacramento Kings 95-93 on Saturday night. The win came in San Antonios final home game before departing for its annual "Rodeo Road Trip" that lasts nearly a month. "Its huge to start the road trip like that," Parker said. "We needed a win. Obviously we were in a little slump with those three losses. We wanted to get back on the right track." Patty Mills scored 15 points and Boris Diaw added 14 for San Antonio, which wont play at home again until Feb. 26 against Detroit. Despite playing Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento almost spoiled the going-away party for the Spurs. Isaiah Thomas had 26 points, Rudy Gay scored 23 and Derrick Williams added 14 for the Kings, who have lost seven straight. "Were playing the San Antonio Spurs; theyre going to make their runs," Gay said. "Theyre going to make tough plays. They do that time and time again. Its not were surprised that they did that. But we still had a chance to win and I still wish I had the shot back." After scoring 22 points primarily against Marco Belinelli, Gay was limited to one in the fourth with the 6-foot-8 Diaw guarding him. Gay missed a potential game-winning, 15-foot jumper over Diaw with 0.5 seconds remaining. "The rim. The rim," Gay said when asked what he saw on the final shot. "I mean, honestly, I wish I had that one back; I dont think I miss that too many other times." After being outplayed by Gay and Thomas for much of the game, the veteran Spurs took over down the stretch to end their longest losing streak of the season. Parker and Duncan scored San Antonios final eight points, but they also gave Sacramento hope by going 1 for 3 on free throws in the final 12 seconds. Duncan missed both his attempts with the Spurs clinging to a 94-93 lead. "Very, very, very (frustrating)," Duncan said. "Not many times I get that situation. Just disappointed I couldnt step up and knock them out." The Spurs were sluggish on offence with newly signed Shannon Brown starting and Tiago Splitter returning from injury, giving them their third different starting lineup in three games. Brown, signed to a 10-day contract, had two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. "We need minutes," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We have to use those minutes so that guys that know the system can be out there at the end of the game. Otherwise, theyre going to be too tired at the end. He gave us good minutes so that we could get everybody else in." San Antonio shot 6 for 20 in the third quarter while falling behind by as many as 10 points. Gay and Thomas matched that production themselves, going a combined 6 for 13 in the third. Williams first 3-pointer gave Sacramento a 76-66 lead with 2 minutes left in the third. Matt Bonner hit a 3 for the Spurs and a jumper that tied the game at 85 with 6 minutes remaining. Then he drove the lane for a runner off the glass after Thomas went flying past him at the 3-point line. That gave San Antonio an 87-85 lead, its first since early in the third quarter. "(Bonner) was great," Duncan said. "He stepped up and scored a bunch of points in a row for us. Made some plays for us. Its going to be big for guys to step up as we have people out." The Spurs are still without Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, but Splitters return lifted their spirits. Splitter scored only two points but grabbed four rebounds and helped solidify the teams interior defence. "It was great to be back on the court with the guys," Splitter said. "I wasnt that aggressive on offence, but I just tried to help the guys on defence with the coverage and helps. Most importantly, we won, so Im happy." The Kings were missing leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins, who sat out his sixth straight game due to a sprained left ankle. Gay and Thomas made up for his loss offensively, accounting for half of the teams 53 first-half points. NOTES: Splitter got his loudest ovation of the season when he was announced in the starting lineup after missing 12 games with a sprained right shoulder. He came off the bench in the second half. ... Cousins suited up but did not play. He is day to day. ... Ginobili (strained left hamstring), Leonard (broken hand) and Green (broken left index finger) all sat behind the Spurs bench. Rick Leonard Jersey .5 million. University officials released the term sheet signed by Harsin Wednesday, the day the former Broncos walk-on player and Boise native was named the successor to Chris Petersen, who left for Washington last week. Josh LeRibeus Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest.Its been 29 long years since the Kansas City Royals have been in this position. Who can blame them for wanting to stick around a little longer? After one of the more thrilling games in baseball history the Royals continue their first postseason run since 1985 against Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Thursday in Game One of the American League Division Series at Angel Stadium. Kansas City outlasted Oakland in Tuesdays wild card game, as Salvador Perezs 12th-inning single scored Christian Colon to give the Royals a wild 9-8 come- from-behind victory in a contest that lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes. Thats the most incredible game that Ive ever been a part of, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Oakland had scored five times in the sixth to take a four-run lead, but the Royals crossed the plate four times in the final two innings to send the game to extra innings. The As then put themselves in front with a run in the top half of the 12th, only to see the Royals score twice in the bottom half to secure their first postseason win since 1985. Everyone is screaming at the top of their lungs, said Eric Hosmer, who scored the tying run in the 12th after a triple. I think we feed off their energy. You get a couple guys on base, you hear the crowd, everyone is on their feet like that, you feed off that energy. This team, this city, this crowd, everybody, theyve showed no quit. The victory may have taken Yost off the hook for his dubious use of the bullpen in what could have been a pivotal sixth inning. With starter James Shields at just 88 pitches, Yost opted to lift him after he put two runners on for rookie starter Yordano Ventura, who threw 73 pitches on Sunday, rather than Kelvin Herrera. Ventura proceeded to give up a three-run homer and before the inning was done, the Royals trailed, 7-3. You know, when we have these games, we map out our pitching, and we try to cover all scenarios. If something happens early, weve got (veteran starter Jeremy) Guthrie. If we get it past the fifth inning, were going with our power arms. ... We wanted to bring the gas for the sixth, and we wanted to bring the gas for the seventh with Herrera, Wade (Davis) and (Greg Holland) with a one-run lead. It just didnt work out. With Shields unavailable, the Royals will turn to veteran left-hander Jason Vargas, who will be making his first-ever postseason start against the team he pitched for last season. You know, I feel great, Vargas said, Its a lot of trust put in me, so I feel good about it. The fact that its a team that I played for before and played for last year, I think all of us have friends throughout baseball, so when we get in between the lines, its just us vs. them. Vargas was 11-10 with a 3.71 ERA in his first yeear with the Royals, but stumbled to the finish line, going 0-3 with a 9. Marcus Davenport Jersey. 00 ERA over his final four starts. Like most of our guys, hes gone through really, really good stretches and then some struggles in sections of the season, Yost said. What he does so well is commands his fastball in, commands his fastball down and away, has a tremendous changeup and a nice curveball. He keeps everybody off balance because when they start looking for the changeup, hell pound you in. When you start looking in, he starts throwing you the changeup and mixing in his curveball every once in a while. Vargas is certainly familiar with the Angels and is 5-4 with a 3.02 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) against them. Los Angeles, meanwhile, steamrolled its way to an AL West title, going an MLB- best 98-64, to get back into the postseason for the first time in five years. Things looked bleak, though, for the Angels on Aug. 20 when emerging ace Garrett Richards was lost for the season with a knee injury. However, rookie Matt Shoemaker and veteran Jered Weaver picked up the slack for an Angels team that eventually won the division by 10 games. Shoemaker has his own injury concerns, but the ribcage strain that caused him to miss the final two weeks of the season appears to he healed and he should be ready to go in this series. Weaver reverted back to ace form this season and will be on the hill Thursday. Weaver, a college teammate of Vargas, tied for the AL lead in wins and was 18-9 with a 3.59 ERA. We have that opportunity again to extend our season, Weaver said, and its up to us to try to decide on how far we want to go with this. Weve got a great group of guys. Its been a fun clubhouse to be part of this whole season, and were going to push on to get our main goal -- and that is to win. Trout, of course, could be on his way to an AL MVP Award this season and will be making his postseason debut in this his third season. He hit .287 to go along with 115 runs scored, while setting career-highs with 36 home runs and 111 RBI. However, he did lead the AL with 184 strikeouts. Trout is a special player, Angels teammate and three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols said. Players like him dont come often, maybe once every 30 or 40 years. This city is blessed to see a young player like Trout. Trout could not have asked for a better opponent in his maiden voyage into the postseason. In 19 career games against Kansas City, Trout is hitting .361 with seven homers and a 1.154 OPS. Los Angeles split six games with the Royals during the season with each team taking two of three in their ballpark. This is the first postseason meeting between the Angels and Royals, former division rivals in the American League West from 1969-93. Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Sale Authentic College Jerseys MLB Jerseys China Stitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '
