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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Luol Deng was surprised. George Brett Authentic Jersey . His mom was shaken. After learning he had been traded from the Chicago Bulls to Cleveland, Deng said the most difficult aspect of knowing he would no longer be playing for the Bulls after nine seasons wasnt packing his bags or saying goodbye to teammates. The hardest part was explaining to his mom, Martha, he had to move. "She couldnt understand why," he said. "She feels like Im a nice guy, I get along with everybody, so I had to explain to her. She was asking me, Are you not playing well? Whats going on? That was the hardest part." Its gotten a little easier. Deng began a new chapter in his NBA career on Wednesday when he practiced with the Cavaliers for the first time. Cleveland acquired the two-time All-Star small forward Tuesday from the Bulls in exchange for centre Andrew Bynums salary cap-friendly contract and future draft picks. Deng said he didnt see the trade coming. The 28-year-old knew a deal was always possible and an end to his run with the Bulls was inevitable, but it caught him off guard. "Ive been very lucky," he said. "Not a lot of guys can say theyve been with one organization for too long. I was definitely surprised. You hear stuff, you hear rumours, but some of its true and some of its not. When it happened, I couldnt believe it. It took a while to hit me. But its not like Im stopping from playing basketball. Ive been traded from one great organization to another one." The Cavs are counting on Deng to make a difference on and off the floor. A dependable scorer, solid defender and leader, Deng brings a winning attitude to a young Cleveland team undergoing growing pains. "Hes a veteran whos still in his prime," said coach Mike Brown. "He adds to the culture of what were trying to do here. Hes definitely a two-way player that can add an amount of professionalism, a maturity, and winning ingredients to any ball club." Brown said Deng, who averaged 19 points and 6.9 rebounds, will likely start Friday night when the Cavs open a five-game road trip in Utah. The trip will help Dengs transition. "Its great for him to get to know us, soon and better, and for us to get to know him," Brown said. "So you couldnt ask for it to happen at a better time." During his first interview with Cleveland media members, Deng flashed his wide smile and charmed reporters while recounting the whirlwind 36 hours since the trade was completed. Deng recently turned down a contract extension from the Bulls, whose season shifted from contention to rebuilding after star point guard Derrick Rose was injured. Several of his former teammates expressed disappointment in seeing him leave, and Deng said it was tough knowing he wont play with them again. "Its basketball at the end of the day, and its my job," he said. "But the hardest thing is those are friends. Its really hard when you wake up the next day and know that your friend is gone and hes going to be competing against you. I think they understand the business part of it. Its a contract thing, and my time has come up. Thats the direction the organization chose to go." Deng is in the final year of his contract worth $14 million this season and is eligible for free agency this summer. Hes willing to discuss a long-term contract with the Cavs, who are just 12-23 and currently out of playoff position. "Im definitely open to talking about it," he said. "I have no problem with that." Deng said he felt like a "college kid" and was amazed as he toured Clevelands lavish training complex for the first time. "Youve got a food place and a chef there the whole time," he said. "You pick whatever you want, then youve got a TV and a hot tub, cold tub. I was caught up with that." When it came time to practice, Deng had to wear No. 8, but afterward he convinced Cavs rookie guard Matthew Dellavedova to give him No. 9, which he has worn his whole career. "We sat in the locker room for a little while looking at each other. It was almost like we were about to break up," Deng said with a laugh. "It was really hard, but hes such a nice guy. He gave up the number. Im definitely going to have to pay him back for that." Deng explained No. 9 has special meaning for him. "Im one of nine kids," he said. "I always wore nine for my mother because she gave birth nine times. It was always my payback to her." Now theres a trade she can appreciate. Alex Gordon Jersey . The Stars were up 3-1 in the third. Stars and Jets will meet at the MTS Centre Sunday night (TSN Jets, TSN 1290) in what is a must win for the Jets. The Jets and Stars will meet in Dallas later this month, the Stars have two games in hand. Billy Butler Jersey . -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings.LOS ANGELES -- Coming off a resounding victory over the Lakers in which they posted the largest winning margin in franchise history, the Los Angeles Clippers had to fight to the bitter end against the Atlanta Hawks after squandering an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. Blake Griffin had 27 points and eight rebounds, Chris Paul added 19 points -- including a go-ahead layup in the final minute -- and the Clippers beat the Hawks 109-108 on Saturday night for their season-high seventh straight win. "In the locker room, I almost felt like we lost the game, because we expect a lot from themselves," Paul said. "But the name of the game is winning. So obviously, were happy we won. But theres a lot of things we need to clean up." The Pacific Division leaders got 13 points and 12 rebounds from DeAndre Jordan, and 17 points from Matt Barnes on the eve of his 34th birthday. The Clippers shot 53.2 per cent from the field, improving to 22-1 when shooting 50 per cent or better. "The Clippers are a really dangerous team," Atlantas Kyle Korver said. "We tried to eliminate their fast-break points, and they had one little stretch in the third quarter and they had a couple of plays that were hurting us with Blake and Chris. But other than that, I think we did a pretty good job." Griffin made 11 of 19 shots while extending his career-best streak of games with 20 or more points to 22. Jamal Crawford had three points in 10 minutes off the bench after missing three games with a left calf strain. DeMarre Carroll scored 19 points in Atlantas 14th loss in 15 games and sixth in a row. The Hawks have gone from four games over .500 to 26-35 during this sudden freefall but are still eighth in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of Detroit for the final playoff berth. The Clippers had lost seven of the previous nine meetings, including 107-97 defeat in Atlanta on Dec. 4. Barnes missed that game because of a torn retina in his left eye. "The first thing you do is watch the last time you played them, and that was a good basketball team that night," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They were playing so well at that time, then all of a sudden they just fell on hard times. A lot of that is confidence. When you start losing, you start pressing. Theyve also made a lot of trades and (roster) moves, and I think that affects your team." The Hawks have dropped their last 10 on the road, their longest drought since losing their final 13 in 2006-07. The Hawks were 12 for 28 from 3-point rannge. Greg Holland Royals Jersey. It was the 27th time they made at least 10 from behind the arc, tying the club record they set last season. All-Star forward Paul Millsap scored 14 points in his second game back, after missing the previous five with a bruised right knee. Korver was 3 for 3 behind the arc against the team with the leagues best 3-point defence, two games after his NBA-record streak of 127 games with a 3-point basket ended at Portland. Paul began the final quarter on the bench with the Clippers holding an 88-78 advantage. Danny Granger, playing his third game for the club since signing as a free agent, hit a 16-footer and a 20-footer 33 seconds apart and Willie Green added a 3-pointer for a 98-87 lead with 8:41 to play. The Hawks closed to 102-100 with an 11-2 run capped by Korver, who recorded his seventh four-point play of the season and 12th of his career. He also had a four-point play in the previous meeting. Jeff Teagues driving layup tied it at 107 with 1:35 remaining, but Paul responded with a driving layup with 54 seconds to go. The Hawks, whose 19 turnovers were converted into 25 points by the Clippers made a costly one under their own basket with 33 seconds left. But Griffin missed two free throws, giving Atlanta another life. Teague was fouled by Jordan with 1.2 seconds left and after missing the first free throw made the second when he was trying to miss. "I just told Blake in the locker room that I think this is the worst Ive felt about a win this season," Barnes said. "This was just a nasty win, a different kind of win. But at the end of the day, it was a win. We still have a lot to work on. With my game, its more mental that anything -- cut down turnovers and play solid defence." Already playing without injured forwards J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, the Clippers had to go the final 9:50 of the second quarter without newly acquired forward Glen Davis after Big Baby picked up his first three fouls in a 3:53 span. Davis finished with four points in 13 minutes. NOTES: Rivers played eight seasons with Atlanta and is still the Hawks career assist leader with 3,866. "Its shocking, especially because of the fact that I didnt know I still had it," said Rivers, whose final regular-season game with them was on April 21, 1991. "Mookie Blaylock didnt break that? Then its going to stand forever. Im going to talk to Danny Ferry (the Hawks GM and president of basketball operations) and every time a guy gets close, Im going to request that he get traded."cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
