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allowed six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings
Topic Started: Mar 19 2014, 06:36 AM (17 Views)
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NEW YORK -- Neither Shaun Livingston nor the Nets were expecting to see the backup point guard playing this many minutes in his first season in Brooklyn. On a team dealing with a rash of injuries all season, Livingston has been one of the key figures in the Nets revival after a dismal start. Starting alongside Deron Williams with All-Star guard Joe Johnson sidelined, Livingstons seventh steal of the night with 5.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter helped sealed Brooklyns win 108-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. "Ive been on the wings obviously guarding some of the better scorers, but just trying to be active, be disruptive and help my teammates," said Livingston, who also had 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Paul Pierce scored 25 points and Deron Williams added 21 for the Nets, who stopped a three-game losing streak. The Nets saw their first big lead of the night, a 15-point advantage, go to waste in the first half as Philadelphia managed to take a 44-37 late in the second quarter before Brooklyn answered back with a 17-5 run to head into the half with a 54-49 lead. Brooklyn then seemed like it was about to run away with the game with a strong start to the third quarter, relying on its defence to force some key turnovers. After a bad pass turnover by Philadelphias Tony Wroten, Livingston found Williams for a 3-pointer that made it 78-59 with 4:21. Trailing 84-69 to start the fourth quarter, the 76ers made nine of 10 shots and James Andersons 3-pointer made it 104-102 with 22 seconds left. Pierce, who made all 14 free throws, hit a pair after Michael Carter-Williams fouled him to increase Brooklyns lead to 106-102 and Livingston sealed the victory by intercepting Carter-Williams pass, Philadelphias 26th turnover of the night, and converting a pair of free throws to put it away. Livingston has come a long way since that awful knee injury almost seven years ago as a 21-year-old with the Los Angeles Clippers. In 45 games for the Nets, the 6-foot-7 point guard has averaged 7.8 points and 3.1 assists over 24.6 minutes. As a starter, hes logged 29.2 minutes in 23 games, posting 9.4 points, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, showing flashes of the player that was supposed to be part of the Clippers future before his injury. "Honestly, Im not trying to jinx it and think about it. Its a situation where I know where Ive come from, mentally as well," Livingston said, adding that hes leaned on Kevin Garnett on how to manage his body. "I just want to continue my same confidence, continue to play with the same confidence and I give credit to (Nets coach) Jason (Kidd) as well because I talk to him every day. Just getting a chance to pick his brain gives me confidence and to see the confidence that he has in me as well." The Nets had lost to division leaders Toronto, Oklahoma City and Indiana after starting 2014 by winning 10 of their first 11 games, but got back on track against a Philadelphia team that has lost 13 of its last 16 games. Carter-Williams scored 21 points for the 76ers, who have lost three straight. Wroten had 18 off the bench and Thaddeus Young added 17. The Nets scored 32 points off Philadelphia turnovers. "I think we had some careless turnovers. We tried to force some shots that led to turnovers," Carter-Williams said. 76ers coach Brett Brown wished his team could have kept those mistakes down like they did in the final quarter, when they had just two turnovers. "Isnt that amazing? You actually get to shoot and have a chance to score," the first-year coach said. Mirza Teletovic had 20 points off the bench, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers. Johnson was held out of the game due to tendinitis in his right knee. The Nets were also without reserve forwards Andrei Kirilenko, who missed his last three games with a sore right calf, and Andray Blatche, who was out with a sore hip. NOTES: Former team minority owner and rapper Jay-Z and his wife, Beyonce, took in the game, sitting next to Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. . Brooklyns 15 steals were a season-high. . Garnett recorded five blocks, making him the 18th player in NBA history with 2,000 career blocks. http://www.louisvuittonoutletshop.com/Women-zs-16_Louis-Vuitton-Handbags-sa-81/ . Kidd, who missed four games earlier in the season with a back injury, left the court less than three minutes after the opening tip and headed for the locker room. He was soon ruled out the rest of the game. http://www.louisvuittonoutletshop.com/Women-zs-16_Louis-Vuitton-Sunglasses-jl-49/ . Jeremy Hill rushed for a career-high 127 yards and a touchdown, and the sixth-ranked Tigers controlled Texas A&Ms dual-threat quarterback to rally from an early deficit and beat the 20th-ranked Aggies 24-19 at Kyle Field on Saturday. http://www.louisvuittonoutletshop.com/Women-zs-16_Louis-Vuitton-Shoes-fv-88/. The former Vancouver Canucks bench boss informed Stars management on Friday that he was withdrawing himself from consideration for their position, opening up the speculation that he could take the vacant head coaching job with the New York Rangers. http://www.louisvuittonoutletshop.com/ .6 million). Lyon said on its website Friday that the fee could rise to 15 million euros ($18.7 million) and that Lloris had signed a four-year contract.BALTIMORE -- Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm. The Texas Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batters box against Baltimore right-hander Darren ODay, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment. "I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I dont hit one," Hamilton reasoned, "Ive still had a really good night." It turned out to be unforgettable. Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory Tuesday. Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against ODay. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the centre-field wall. "Obviously its, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career," Hamilton said. "I was saying after I hit two Ive never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got. "It reminds you of when youre in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing." Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high. "Amazing," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Josh came out tonight, and he wasnt going to be denied." The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900. "History was witnessed tonight," Washington said. "Its like anything else -- you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in," Hamilton said. "I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then." Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat. The last to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium. "Hes the best athlete in baseball," teammate Nelson Cruz said of Hamilton. "If anybody can do it, he can do it." Elvis Andrus got on base ahead of Hamilton in each instance, said, "He kept hitting bombs and bombs. It feels really good because I dont have to run that hard to score." Hamilton, who is in the final year of his contract and could become a free agent after this season, leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406. He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four hheld by eight players.dddddddddddd Hamilton has homered in five of his last six at-bats, counting his final trip to the plate Monday night. Hamiltons record-setting night is the latest accomplishment in a career that almost never was. He went from first round draft pick in 1999 by Tampa Bay to out of baseball all together because of drug and alcohol addiction. He recovered and returned to the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to the Texas, where he has become a star -- the AL MVP in 2010 -- while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a torrid start. "Understanding that what Im doing and what Gods allowed me to do coming back from everything I went through and allowing me to play the game at the level I play it, its pretty amazing to think about," Hamilton said. Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers. Coming off a 14-3 win in the series opener, Texas has won two straight for the first time since April 24-25 and are 20-10, their best-ever record after 30 games. Dating back to last season, Texas has won seven in a row over Baltimore by a combined 70-18 score. Rangers starter Neftali Feliz (2-1) gave up one run on four hits and had a career-high eight strikeouts. Converted to starter after notching 72 saves over the previous two seasons, Feliz had a 2-0 lead to protect before throwing his first pitch and maintained the advantage -- just like when he was closer. The Orioles entered the series with the best record in the majors after a 5-1 trip through Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, but they have looked more like a team with 14 straight losing seasons in these two games against the two-time defending AL champions. Arrieta (2-3) allowed six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He yielded a career-high three homers, matching the total he surrendered in his first six starts this season. His most notable flaw was his inability to keep Hamilton from hitting the ball out of the park. "It was the first time Ive ever seen anything like that. Very special hitter," Arrieta said on Hamilton. "He didnt miss tonight." J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis hit consecutive solo homers for Baltimore in the eighth, long after the outcome had been decided. The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Andrus drew a one-out walk and Hamilton hit Arrietas next pitch over the centre-field wall. It was more of the same in the third, and then some. After Andrus reached on a chopper off the plate, Hamilton lined an opposite-field drive into the left-field seats. Beltre followed with this sixth home run, the fourth time in 30 games that Texas has homered in successive at-bats. Andrus singled in the seventh before Hamilton sent a drive over the centre-field wall against Phillips, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game. After that, the only suspense was whether Hamilton would get another at-bat. He did, and made it count. NOTES: Andrus has reached base in 26 straight games. He is 16 for 33 on the road trip. ... Despite Baltimores surprising start, the game drew a meagre crowd of 11,263. ... Baltimores Chris Davis singled in the eighth to snap an 0-for-14 skid. ' ' '
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