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Tim Duncan could have easily gone out on top, with his fifth NBA championship trophy under his arm and his health intact just a few months after his 38th birthday. Albert Pujols Authentic Jersey . Theres just no way. Duncan is having too much fun with his San Antonio Spurs coaches and teammates, and hes playing too well to call it quits now. Duncan has decided to exercise the option on his contract for 2014-15 and will return next season, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. The person requested anonymity because an official announcement has not been made. As the Spurs beat the two-time defending champion Miami Heat in the NBA Finals earlier this month, Duncan was asked several times about his future, as he has been for the last five or six years. He was noncommittal, saying he would take some time after the season ended to mull his decision. But after Game 5, most of the Spurs said they expected the group to return and now Duncan has reached his decision, which was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. He will make about $10.3 million next season in the final year of a two-year agreement that was drawn up specifically to allow the Spurs the financial flexibility to surround Duncan with top-shelf talent. "He feels a responsibility to his teammates," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the team won the championship. "He enjoys them. He wants to hang around as long as he can while hes useful and while hes having an impact on the game. He takes care of his body. He works out all summer long with a variety of different things, boxing, swimming. Hes very careful about what he puts in his body, so he does everything he can to maintain a level of play. "At some point," Popovich added, "that will stop." But not this year. When Duncan looked around at the Spurs, he saw every reason to come back and try to do just about the only thing the Spurs havent done during his 17 years there -- win back-to-back titles. In Popovich he has perhaps the best coach in the game, one who has established a culture of teamwork, success and stability that is unparalleled in the league. In Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, he has two trusted teammates who have been by his side for years, have sacrificed money, fame and statistics right along with him to build the Spurs organization into the envy of the NBA. And in Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, Duncan has a young, fresh-faced star on the rise to carry more of the load as the Big Three get older. "With the front office putting the teams together that weve had and us playing smaller roles and our roles changing over the years, and us happy to accept the roles that were in, I feel we can do it until we feel we dont want to do it anymore," Duncan said two weeks ago. Perhaps as important as anything, Duncan is still one of the best big men in the league. He was named first team All-NBA in 2012-13 as he helped the Spurs to the finals, where they lost to the Heat in a heart-breaking seven-game series. This season, Duncan averaged 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in just 29.2 minutes per game, playing in a system expertly devised by Popovich to limit the wear and tear on his body. He shot almost 57 per cent in the finals and dismantled Heat star Chris Bosh, who grew up with a Duncan poster on his bedroom wall. "Weve been on our last run for the last five or six years from how everyone wants to put it," Duncan said. "We show up every year, and we try to put together the best teams and the best runs possible because what people say doesnt matter to us. "As I said, as long as we feel were being effective, were going to stay out here and were going to play. We feel like we can be effective, and we have been." Custom Angels Jersey . Fortunately for the Ragin Cajuns, they had Corey Trim to make a game-changing play on defence. Trim returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown, Hunter Stover hit a go-ahead 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and Louisiana-Lafayette held off Tulane 24-21 on Saturday night for its third straight New Orleans Bowl victory. Mike Trout Authentic Jersey .com) - Top-seeded former winner Novak Djokovic, who survived an injury scare, and defending champion Andy Murray highlighted Fridays third-round winners at Wimbledon.Top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat last years runner-up Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix SAR. Hantuchova won five straight games to take the first set and lead 2-0 in the second. Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Peng Shuai of China and Shahar Peer of Israel also won their second-round matches. The fifth-seeded Muguruza broke serve six times in her 6-3, 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. Muguruza will face Peer, who overcame Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (3) in a match that lasted more than three hours. Peer took a 4-0 lead in the final tiebreaker after Mayr failed to serve out the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the last set. Nolan Ryan Authentic Jersey. The sixth-seeded Peng defeated Ukrainian qualifier Maryna Zanevska 6-4, 7-6 (5) to next play Hantuchova. Zanevska made five double-faults and dropped serve at 5-4 in the first set. Peng rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the final set and led 5-1 in the tiebreaker. In her return from injury, Polona Hercog of Slovenia cruised past seventh-seeded Zhang Shuai of China 6-2, 6-2 to move into the second round. Hercog broke Zhang twice in the first set and three times in the second. She has been sidelined by a right rib injury since the Australian Open where she retired in the first round because of a right shoulder injury. ' ' ' |
