|
MILWAUKEE -- The Atlanta Hawks got a confidence boost before the playoffs. Dwight Freeney Chargers Jersey . The Milwaukee Bucks found out they were being sold. It turned out to be a big night for two teams headed in different directions with the regular season coming to a close. Mike Scott scored 17 points to lead Atlanta in a 111-103 win Wednesday, hours after Milwaukee owner Herb Kohl announced he was selling his team. Mike Muscala added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Hawks, who rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half. "I think the defence after the first quarter really picked up. It was where we want it to be and need it to be," coach Mike Budenholzer said. Atlanta is locked into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round date with the Indiana Pacers. Scott started for forward Paul Millsap, who was rested to get ready for the post-season. "We feel like we are playing about as well as we have played all year for the most part. So the regular season is done, we will take a couple days and get ready for Indiana," forward Kyle Korver said. Brandon Knight scored 31 points to lead the Bucks, who finished an NBA-worst 15-67. Their dismal season is over, though there is more certainty about the teams future after the prospective new owners said they wanted to build a new arena in Milwaukee. Kohl came into the locker room and addressed the team before the game. Coach Larry Drew thinks his team may have been a little distracted, on top of playing the last game of the year. "I would like to think that the concentration was there, but I think I would be lying if I said it was," he said. "This was a big day with all that has happened." The NBA is expected to approve the estimated $550 million sale to New York investment firm executives Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, who also committed $100 million toward a new arena to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Kohl, a former U.S. senator, also promised to fork over $100 million for a new facility. Wearing a dark green suit to match the Bucks dominant team colour, Kohl received a standing ovation and watched about four rows from the floor at centre court as his team went out and scored 39 points in the first quarter, a season-high for the opening period. But Atlanta took control in the second half, even if the team didnt have much at stake. The top goal was to stay sharp but injury-free, and Budenholzer limited the minutes for key players Korver, DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague on top of having Millsap sit out. The contest had the up-and-down feel of a playground pickup game at times, especially during a first half in which the Bucks shot 63 per cent to the Hawks 60. Atlanta trailed by as much as 12 in the first half before going up by double digits in the fourth quarter. "We just wanted to end the season playing good basketball," Korver said. Atlantas second unit seemed to have more energy down the stretch in pulling past the Bucks. At one point, Ramon Sessions had his pass deflected in the backcourt and bounce past teammate Jeff Adrien, who momentarily froze. It was enough time for Cartier Martin to track down the loose ball and coast in for an uncontested layup during a 15-4 run that helped Hawks take a 97-87 lead with 6:54 left. Another second half during which the Bucks ran out of steam -- a season-long issue. "We had some rough nights. This is a humbling experience," said forward John Henson, who had 19 points. "I think for me and everybody on this team, Im pretty sure nobody imagined this could have happened." Khris Middleton finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee. Six players scored in double figures for the Hawks. NOTES: The Hawks entered Wednesday having won six straight against the Bucks. ... Teague finished with 11 points, extending his career-best streak of scoring in double figures to 12 straight games. ... Atlanta has reached the playoffs for seven straight years, the longest active streak in the East. ... Drew was the Hawks head coach from 2010-13. ... G O.J. Mayo sat out the finale with a sprained left ankle.D.J.Fluker Jersey . The Seahawks made the roster moves Saturday before Sundays game against Tennessee. Walters saw action in four games for the San Diego Chargers in 2011 with two catches for 27 yards. Jeremiah Attaochu Womens Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh net. The official in that zone didnt pick up any of the pieces even when the play went deep in the Columbus end. I know he has other responsibilities, but it would only take a couple seconds to gather the sticks up and remove them from play. Ive seen other times where a ref does pick up a broken stick while the game is still in play and dumps it to the nearest players bench. So why do broken sticks sometimes get picked up but not other times? Personal choice or something else going on? Louis Frlan III Louis:You are correct in your assertion that the ref has other (more important) responsibilities with play in progress; particularly to watch for the presence of a penalty infraction; which by the way I would like to see called more consistently! If any debris (broken stick) or lost equipment (glove, helmet) can be easily accessed, most refs will pick up the obstacle(s) and discard them or return them to the players bench or penalty box as they pass by in the normal flow of action. I did this whenever I was able to do it "safely". An objective of every referee is to sustain game flow. In picking up debris I applied referee rule No. 1 - common sense and foresight! From a safety issue there is potential (no matter how slight) for a player to step on a broken stick and crash into the boards or fall awkwardly thereby sustaining a needless injury. With an eye toward the potential for bad things to happen, I was always concerned that a player would shoot a broken stick in the direction of the puck or puck carrier which could result in an interference infraction or the assessment of a penalty shot. I could prevent any opportunity for these things to occur by picking up the debris with a quick swoop whenever the play dictated. The refs are cautioned about being distracted through picking up broken sticks that could result in missing something elsewhere. For this reaason some refs just arent comfortable veering their focus away from the play.Keenan Allen Jersey. . I can appreciate that fact and it is their personal choice, Louis. The debris behind and around the Penguins net on this play however was an accident waiting to happen. Play continued for one minute and 30 seconds after Brooks Orpiks stick was slashed hard by RJ Umberger and broken in half below the goal line at the side of the net which allowed Columbus to gain puck possession (no penalty call but deserved). On the other side of the net the remnants of Sidney Crosbys broken stick eventually provided additional obstacles for players to maneuver around. The Blue Jackets applied puck pressure for 10 seconds before the Pens safely dumped the puck into the Columbus end zone. This would have been a prime opportunity for the referee on the Pittsburgh goal line to safely swoop in and collect the trash. Until the play was finally stopped when the same referee called a tripping penalty to Matt Niskanen, the Penguins had sustained puck possession throughout the neutral zone and into the Blue Jackets end for extended periods. Another primary missed opportunity for the ref to play pick up the sticks took place when a Blue Jackets dump-in was retrieved by Niskanen. Matt set up behind the Pens goal and led an uncontested breakout after contacting one broken shaft with his skate and avoiding the others as he carried the puck out of Jackets end zone. The ref could have easily followed behind Niskanen, bent down while looking at the play with his head up and quickly gathered the sticks but obviously wasnt comfortable in doing so. Twenty seconds later the Blue Jackets attacked and play forced the referee to skate backwards behind the Penguins net. The ref maneuvered through the obstacle field bumping into and stepping over portions of broken sticks, as did the players, until Niskanen tripped Brandon Dubinsky to stop play. While it makes good sense for a referee not to forsake his primary duties by going out of his way to become a trash collector, I believe that "common sense" should be applied to remove obstacles when the opportunity is safely presented. ' ' ' |
