Minecraft Disskusion » with Durant on the bench to open the fourth

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Arizona Coyotes Store . -- With Kevin Durant on the bench to start the fourth quarter, his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates put together a run that helped end one of the most impressive scoring streaks in NBA history. And Durant says nobody is happier its over than him. Caron Butler made all six of his 3-point attempts to finish with 23 points, and the Thunder began the fourth quarter on a 16-0 spurt to pull away for a 107-92 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Durant finished with 23 points but was never needed in the final quarter, stopping his streak of scoring at least 25 points in 41 consecutive games. Only Oscar Robertson (46 straight games in 1963-64) and Wilt Chamberlain (all 80 regular-season games in the 1961-62 season) have longer such streaks. "I was getting so many texts after every game. Im glad thats over with and we can just focus on the team," said Durant, who shot 8 for 13 in 31 minutes. "If we played well and I had 25 points, that took away from how well the team was playing, so I didnt like that. If we lost, it was all about me scoring 25 points and I didnt like that either. Im glad we can just talk about the team now." Coming off losses at Memphis and Phoenix, Oklahoma City certainly has plenty of bigger things to play for during the seasons final two weeks. Serge Ibaka added 19 points and four rebounds for the Thunder, who rested Russell Westbrook ahead of Wednesday nights game at the Los Angeles Clippers. Oklahoma City (56-21) is 1 1/2 games ahead of the Clippers (55-23) for the Western Conferences No. 2 playoff seed. Even still, Durant said he was aware of how many points he had but never thought of asking coach Scott Brooks to go back in the game. Brooks insisted it never crossed his mind, either, saying the most impressive thing about Durants streak is that he didnt even realize it ended because Durant has been the "trademark for consistency." "Hes about team," Brooks said. "If he wasnt, he would have played golf and tried to chase (Jack) Nicklaus record of 18 majors." DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Travis Outlaw scored 24 points in Sacramentos third straight loss. Even with three regulars out with injuries, the Kings made the Thunder work through the first three quarters. Oklahoma City built double-digits leads throughout the game only to watch Sacramento surge back each time. But with Durant on the bench to open the fourth, the Thunder finally created a lead big enough to stick. The Thunder held Sacramento scoreless for nearly 6 minutes to go ahead 101-77. "We had some guys that played with no energy," frustrated Kings coach Michael Malone said. "It looked they didnt even want to be out there, to be honest." With the matchup in Los Angeles looming large, Brooks decided to rest Westbrook -- as he has done during one game of back-to-back sets since Westbrook returned Feb. 20 following right knee surgery. The Thunder got some relief with Thabo Sefolosha playing for the first time since injuring his left calf against Memphis on Feb. 28. He finished with two points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. Sacramento, already among the conferences worst teams, played even more short-handed. Kings big man Reggie Evans and forward Rudy Gay sat out with back injuries, and point guard Isaiah Thomas missed his eighth straight game with a bruised right quadriceps. Oklahoma City looked every bit like the better and deeper team at the start. The Thunder surged ahead 9-0 in the first two minutes before Cousins brought the Kings back with his perimeter shot, slicing Oklahoma Citys lead to 30-27 at the end of the first quarter. The Thunder began to pull away again with a 17-4 run in the second quarter propelled by Butler, who made all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half. Oklahoma City led 61-49 at intermission and didnt have a turnover until the second half. Durant credited the communication and ball movement for pulling away late, and he said he hopes the focus can shift from his scoring streak to his teams improved play. "When I sit back after the seasons over thats when I reflect on everything that Ive done, that the teams done, and Im sure Ill appreciate (the streak) then," Durant said. "But now, Im just focusing on game to game and how we can get better as a group and how I can help the team get better." NOTES: The Thunder swept the four-game season series against the Kings. ... Oklahoma City has won 10 straight and 16 of 17 over Sacramento. ... A fan made a shot from half court during a timeout in the first half to win a car. Clayton Keller Jersey . In the late match, Shinji Okazaki scored two goals to pace Mainz to a 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. Goals from Milan Badelj, Maximilian Beister and Hakan Calhanoglu ended Hamburgs two-match losing run and kept Hannover winless in seven games. Jordan Oesterle Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/1028z-phil-kessel-jersey-coyotes.html . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts.TORONTO – Heres what we know after watching R.A. Dickey for a season and a half in a Blue Jays uniform: we dont know. Who knows what to expect from a pitch, the knuckleball, that in one moment confounds a hitter and in the next is traveling, with plenty of spin, more than 400 feet in the opposite direction? Who knows how to manage a knuckleball pitcher? When is the right time to remove him from the game? These guys dont tire as quickly because they dont strain their arms and you cant predict when the pitch is going to flatten out just that once, which could be the difference in the game. All of the above came in to play in Friday nights 5-4 loss to the White Sox, a game in which Dickey no-hit Chicago for four innings but left without recording an out in the seventh. By then hed allowed five hits, four of which landed on the other side of the outfield fence. Actually, three of them did. One of them hit the foul pole. “One less home run, we win that game,” said Dickey. “Its just a really bizarre outing to strike out nine guys, get all those swings and misses on what I felt like was a really good knuckleball tonight.” Then, some home run talk. “Three of the four home runs were possibly mistakes, two I know,” said Dickey. “Normally, theyre a foul ball here or a miss hit here, but they just didnt miss them tonight.” Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo hit solo home runs in the fifth to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Those were Chicagos first two hits of the evening. The Blue Jays bounced back with back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth, one from Edwin Encarnacion and the other off the bat of Dioner Navarro. Krys Kolanos Jersey. . Dickey, sporting an 11.81 ERA in the seventh inning this season, couldnt give his team the shutdown frame it needed. Abreu clubbed his second home run of the night to lead off and, after Adam Dunn walked, Alexei Ramirez clanked a two-run shot off the left field foul pole. The knuckleballers night, so promising two innings before, was over. In six-plus innings, Dickey allowed five earned runs on five hits (four home runs) and one walk. He struck out nine. He was so good and then he wasnt. Theres no discernible pattern outside of his bloated fifth (9.39) and seventh inning ERAs and who knows what to make of those? Dickeys ERA in the sixth is 2.38. “I thought his knuckleball was as good as its been,” said manager John Gibbons. Then, some home run talk. “Its a pitch that can come and go,” said Gibbons. “I mean, one inning it can disappear, one hitter it can disappear and all of a sudden it clicks in. Its tough.” Then, he offered an admission: its hard to determine what to do with Dickey as a game wears on. “Its a totally different way to manage a game,” said Gibbons. “But hes here to win games for us and he needs to stay out there.” Dickeys loss on Friday night dropped his season record to 6-7. His ERA climbed from 4.04 to 4.24. In 51 appearances with the Blue Jays in a season and a half, Dickeys allowed 51 home runs. His win-loss record: 20-20. So there is some symmetry amid the unpredictability. ' ' '