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CHARLOTTE, N. Kate Spade Handbags Outlet .C. -- Patty Mills said Saturday night reminded him a little of playing for the Australian Olympic team in 2012. He was counted on to shoot, score and run the offence. "The Olympics are fun," said Mills, who led all scorers in the 2012 Games with 21.2 points per game. So was Saturday night. Mills, getting added playing time for the ailing Tony Parker, turned in a near-perfect game, scoring 18 of his season-high 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-100 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats for their fourth win in five games. Mills was 10 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 5 in the fourth quarter. He also connected on 8 of 9 foul shots and had four 3-pointers to help the Spurs defeat the Bobcats for the sixth straight time. Parker started for the Spurs and played 26 minutes, but it was obvious hes not back to full speed after sitting out Thursday night with back spasms. "Its important for all of us to step up, whether youre in the backcourt or not," Mills said. "We have managed to do OK without (Manu Ginobili and Parker). Everyone has been able to collectively step up." Mills stayed in the game for the entire fourth quarter, and coach Gregg Popovich made sure he called plays to get him the ball. "His motor is always going," Popovich said. "He doesnt need me to do anything to get him going. Hes a competitor. Hes played on the Australian Olympic team for I dont how many years. Hes a competitor. Hes not impressed with the NBA. He just comes and plays." Tim Duncan finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season. Nando De Colo tied a career-high with 15 points, including two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to seal the victory. The red-hot Al Jefferson led the way for the Bobcats with 26 points and nine rebounds. Gerald Henderson had 23 points. The Spurs trailed by one entering the fourth quarter when Mills took over, knocking down jumpers and floaters in the lane to push the lead to nine. The crucial play came with the Spurs leading 99-95 with 26 seconds left when Josh McRoberts stole the ball from Duncan at the top of the key. But an overanxious McRoberts, looking ahead to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for a fast break, turned the ball over. Charlotte cut the lead to 102-100 when Henderson knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner after corralling an offensive rebound with 3.1 seconds left, but De Colo put the game away for the Spurs, who own the leagues best road record. "He was incredible tonight," said teammate Boris Diaw. "He really stepped up and made some incredible shots and brought a lot of energy." Henderson said Mills is a tough player to cover. "Not only is he a good shooter, hes a smart scorer and he can set the team up," Henderson said. San Antonio came in having won its last three games against the Bobcats by an average of 28 points. In this one, the Spurs never led by more than four points in the first three quarters. The Bobcats jumped out an 18-6 lead behind Jefferson, who was active in the low post on both sides of the ball with 10 points and three steals in the first quarter. Popovich countered by moving the more physical Diaw to bang in the low block with Jefferson instead of Duncan. Diaw turned out to be the best option, particularly with centre Tiago Splitter sitting out with a calf contusion. That helped slow Jefferson and the Bobcats. Jefferson was limited to four points the rest of the half with the Bobcats missing 22 of their last 31 shots before the break. "He keeps (Jefferson) in front of him better," Popovich said of Diaw. "And he stays down on Als pump fakes, which are maybe the best in the league. Theyre ridiculous." Charlotte is clinging to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and aiming for its first playoff berth since 2010. "We didnt play with level of discipline that we need to," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "It was a good effort but were going to have to play a much more disciplined game to beat a team like that." NOTES: Along with Ginobili and Splitter, the Spurs were without Marco Belinelli (back spasms), Kawhi Leonard. ... Jefferson had scored at least 30 points in four of his last five games. Charlotte fell to 13-6 in games when Jefferson scores 22 points or more. They are 4-19 when he doesnt. ... Kidd-Gilchrist had a season-high 12 rebounds for the Bobcats. ... Mills 18 points in the fourth quarter were the most in any quarter by a Spurs player this season. Kate Spade Outlet Online . Harrison combined with four relievers on a five-hitter to get his first victory since September 2012, in his first home start since April 2013, and the Rangers won 5-0 Thursday night after being overwhelmed by the Rockies the previous three games.Kate Spade Outlet .S. -- Kelsey Rocque remains the only unbeaten womens skip at the Canadian junior curling championships.TORONTO -- While his players and Leaf Nation might be looking forward to Wednesdays Winter Classic against Detroit, Toronto coach Randy Carlyle is playing the role of Scrooge when it comes to the holiday season outdoor game. "I wasnt waving the pom-poms to be involved with it to start with," Carlyle said after a 5-2 win over Carolina on Sunday night. "Its been a trying time. "Specifically we havent played as well as wed like to hang our hat on. Our group, we believe, has got lots of room to grow, so that always put added pressure on. And then youre much more under the microscope if you can believe it. Were under the microscope with you (media) guys alone and then you add the element of HBO and then the event, theres a lot of factors. "Again were here to win hockey games and thats the most important thing and our focus is going to be on the game." Friends and family will be enjoying the event more than the actual participants, he suggested. The Leafs (20-16-5) head to Ann Arbor, Mich., on a winning note and having picked up points in their last five games. But they needed a pair of goals from sniper Phil Kessel, solid goaltending from Jonathan Bernier and a few lucky bounces to dispose of the Hurricanes before a crowd of 19,452 at the Air Canada Centre. Carolina (14-16-9) outshot Toronto 43-27 on the night, only to see its winless streak stretch to five games. The Hurricanes have won only one of their last nine outings (a stretch that has featured four OT losses). "We had enough chances to win a hockey game," lamented Carolina coach Kirk Muller. "The chances were there. They scored and we didnt." Carlyle agreed it had been a loose performance from the Leafs. "I thought at times we seemed like we were overmatched in a lot of areas," he said. The Hurricanes followed a popular, simple strategy against Toronto -- dumping the puck in and forcing the Leafs to play defence. "We havent been able to handle that or manage the game properly in that area and we have to get better at it," Carlyle said. Kessels second goal allowed him to reach the 20-goal plateau for the sixth straight season and he could have had more on the night, missing on two breakaways. Toronto also got goals from Nikolai Kulemin, Paul Ranger and Dion Phaneuf, with an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining. Nathan Gerbe and Justin Faulk replied for Carolina. Centre Tyler Bozak returned to the Leafs top line after a 12-game absence due to an oblique injury. He showed off some of his playmaking skills with three assists and made an important backcheck, snuffing out a Hurricanes threat. The Leafs were loose on defence and were fortunate the Hurricanes did not punish them more. "We had some lapses in the D-zone," said Bozak. "We got some good bounces as well ... The puck was kind of following us around tonight." The game marked the halfway point of the season for Toronto, while setting the table for playing in front of an exxpected crowd of 100,000-plus at the Big House. Kate Spade Outlet Store. . "Its going to be a pretty cool event," said Bozak. "I know most guys have lots of family here, including me. Im excited to get to Detroit and see what its all about." Added Ranger: "I think its going to be fun ... Backyard rinks, thats where I spent most of my childhood. Its just a bigger backyard rink." Leafs forward David Clarkson went to the dressing room in the second period to have his elbow stitched up but returned in the third healthy enough to smash Tuomo Ruutu to the ice. "Probably the best period of hockey hes played for us," said Carlyle. The Leafs previous four games were shootouts -- a club-record streak that featured two wins and two losses. After surviving a horrendous start against Buffalo to win via a shootout Friday, it seemed like more of the same Sunday for the Leafs. Leading the league in giveaways with 475 going into the game, Toronto coughed it up 15 more times against the Hurricanes. Toronto also did not manage a shot on net until 11-plus minutes into a first period that saw the Leafs wobble at times in their own end. Bernier seemed the lone defender on duty and Toronto was lucky not to go down. The Leafs went ahead after a faceoff when Bozak dug the puck out to Kessel, whose backhand from behind the goal-line somehow went in off goalie Cam Ward for his 19th of the season at 16:56. It was perhaps payback for the freak goal that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 win in Toronto in October when a bad bounce off the boards on a shoot-in bounced in off Bernier with the Leafs thinking icing might be called. The five-foot-five Gerbe tied it up at 1:36 of the second period after talking a pass from Alexander Semin in the corner and beating Bernier from near the faceoff dot. Semin outmanoeuvred Jake Gardiner to set up Gerbes ninth goal. Toronto pulled ahead with two goals in 76 seconds in the second period. A pretty passing play between Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk made it 2-1 at 13:42 with JVR unselfishly sending the puck back to Kessel from in-close. Kulemin then beat Ward with a shot from the top of the circle at 14:58 to make it 3-1, prompting Muller to call a timeout in a bid to stop the bleeding. It was Kulemins fifth of the season. A four-on-three helped the Carolina cause with Faulk scoring his third of the season on a slap shot with 2:17 remaining in the period to close the gap to 3-2. Ranger added an insurance goal at 4:58 of the third, firing a low shot through traffic that eluded Ward for the defencemans second goal of the season and the 100th point of his NHL career. For Toronto, it was Berniers 28th appearance of the season, compared to 18 for James Reimer. Bernier has started nine of the last 15 games, with Reimer pulled during two of his six starts during that stretch. Carlyle refused to interpret the numbers when asked what it meant that Bernier had started three straight. "Hes played three straight games. That what it says." cheap jerseys' ' ' |
