rs.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and

HOUSTON -- Tony Parker showed why he is so valuable to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 20 points in their 106-100 victory over Houston, but Parkers court presence proved to be the biggest difference between this victory and Wednesdays nights 101-99 home loss to the Rockets without him.Hes a great point guard, very smart, knows where guys spots are on the floor, and hes been here before, Leonard said. He knows what (Gregg Popovich) expects, and if one of us gets out of line or if were doing well, he tells us. He just makes us better.Parker missed three games with knee soreness last week, and the Spurs lost consecutive home games for the first time since December 2014. On Saturday night, he scored a season-high 16 points and played 27 minutes, his second-highest total of the season.He gets us organized, Popovich said. He hasnt been with us so much this season. Hes just a stability factor, and that was a big help.Parker was not made available to reporters.The Spurs improved to 5-0 on the road, where they have outscored opponents by an average of 12.8 points.James Harden had a triple-double for a second straight game against the Spurs, finishing with 25 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, but also added seven costly turnovers. A deep 3-pointer by Eric Gordon cut the lead to four with 2 minutes remaining, but Houston struggled to make stops down the stretch.Just messed up coverages, Harden said. Theyre a really good team. They make you mess up.Gordon scored 27 points off the bench, going 7 of 12 on 3-pointers. Houston attempted 47 3s in the game, making 15 (31.9 percent).The Rockets have lost three of their last four home games against the Spurs in the I-10 rivalry after winning seven of the previous eight. With the Spurs up 16 early in the fourth, a loud Go Spurs Go! chant overtook the Toyota Center crowd.LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points, Pau Gasol scored 15 and Manu Ginobili added 12 off the bench.Harden hit a running 39-footer at the buzzer to cut San Antonios lead to 26-22 after one. Leonard tried a buzzer-beater of his own to end the second quarter with a deep 3, but it clanked off the front of the rim, and the Spurs led 49-40 at the half.TIP-INSSpurs: Danny Green returned to the starting lineup after resting for Friday nights win over Detroit. Green scored five points in 27 minutes. ... Houston native SF Jonathon Simmons scored six points in 16 minutes. ... San Antonio entered Saturdays game leading the league in free throw percentage (86.3 percent) and ranking second in 3-point percentage (39.6 percent) and finished 19 of 24 from the line and 5 of 18 from 3.Rockets: Houston went scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the game, missing its first eight shots. ... PG Patrick Beverley was inactive as he continues to recover from knee surgery but participated in pregame warmups and plans to play later this week. ... Trevor Ariza had 15 points, and Clint Capela added 12 points and 10 rebounds.HARDENS MINUTESHarden entered Saturday ranking fifth in the league with 37.6 minutes per game and played 39 minutes on Saturday night. Coach Mike DAntoni said reducing those minutes as much as possible is important in keeping Harden healthy down the stretch, and he believes getting Beverley back in the next few games will allow Harden some added rest.Thats just too many minutes, DAntoni said. Pat will be able to alleviate a lot of that.ANOTHER ONEHarden joined Elvin Hayes as the only players in franchise history to record consecutive triple-doubles. The Rockets fell to 9-2 in the 11 games where Harden has had a triple-double.LIVE BY THE 3.Houston forward Ryan Anderson said Leonards defense was a factor in holding him to 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.Obviously, their main goal is to get me off the 3-point line, Anderson said. They did a great job of taking away normal shots, but at the same time, I had a lot of open looks that I just missed and thats on me.ALL TOGETHER NOWWith plenty of early season absences from Green, Parker and others, Saturday night was the first time this season where the Spurs had everyone in their usual rotation available in the game.UP NEXTSpurs: Host Miami on Monday night.Rockets: Host Philadelphia on Monday night.Wholesale Shoes Cheap . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Replica Wholesale Shoes . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/ . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Wholesale Shoes From China .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Wholesale Shoes Nike . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66.MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee.The journey to get here I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing when you surround yourself with good people how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Folwes blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early inn the fourth quarter.ddddddddddddParkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead, putting the Lynx in trouble.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason format with the field ordered by overall record regardless of conference sure worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes and 11 ties with no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish befitting a game for the trophy.Even Johnson was there, wearing all black while sitting courtside to root for the Sparks team hes a part-owner of and spoke to after the loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, were playing baseball in Los Angeles at the same time in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions so I give them a lot of credit to.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too, with Timberwolves players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica in the seats to support the women they share an arena with. ' ' '