INDIANAPOLIS - If you ask the Phoenix Suns about their promising start to the NBA season, coach Jeff Hornacek is optimistic while the players are focused on the long-term goal of getting back to the playoffs.After making a late-season playoff push last spring, the Phoenix Suns have picked up where they left off and are blazing their way through their first extended road trip of the season.Gerald Green scored a game-high 23 points, Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points off the bench and two other starters scored in double figures Saturday in Phoenixs 106-83 road win over Indiana. With the victory Phoenix (9-5) got its fourth straight win - all on the road during a six-game road trip.Things are looking up in the Valley of the Sun.Were getting a little bit of a rhythm, Hornacek said. Its something about being on the road. These guys have come together and everybody is contributing.The Suns improved their road record to 5-2 this season and remain one of the leagues highest-scoring teams. And it was their ability to score in bunches that allowed the Suns to seize control against the Pacers.Green, going against his former team, caught fire with three minutes left in the first quarter and stayed .... until he took himself out with seven minutes left in the half. In that stretch, Green dumped 18 points on the Pacers and helped the Suns maintain a lead that they took into the half (55-48).Hes among the group inside the organization that feels the team has turned the corner with Hornacek at the helm. But that group also says last seasons late run and this seasons early success only will be meaningful if the Suns can be consistent over the course of an 82-game schedule.Were potentially a 48-to-50 win team, Green said. But potential doesnt mean anything if you dont prepare your potential. Right now were just trying to take it game-by-game. Just because you win four games in-a-row doesnt mean youre guaranteed to make the playoffs so were just trying to use this to build on.With the loss, the Pacers not only saw their two-game win streak end, but they lost starting centre Roy Hibbert midway through the first quarter due to a sprained left ankle. He attempted to return with 9:23 left in the first half but was unable to remain in the game. Hibbert logged just under seven minutes in the game.In his absence, Ian Mahinmi recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds but was limited in the fourth quarter because of foul trouble. The Pacers werent certain on Hibberts status immediately after the game. He had already left the arena before the game ended.Should Hibbert miss any action other than the 2 1/2 quarters he sat out Saturday, hell join fellow starters George Hill, David West and Paul George on the sidelines. Those three starters have not yet played a game for the Pacers this season.Despite relying on role players in the starting lineup because of the number of injuries, Indiana (5-8) had won four of its last five games entering Saturdays contest. Indiana was led by Rodney Stuckey, who scored 14 points off the Pacers bench. Hill scored 13 and grabbed six rebounds. Markieff Morris added 13 for Phoenix and Goran Dragic had 11.Now headed out for a two-game road trip against Dallas and San Antonio, the Pacers say theyre still confident in themselves and in the way theyre approaching games despite having three starters who havent played and awaiting an update on Hibberts left ankle.I think were here mentally. Were in every game, said Hill, who hit the game-winning shot Wednesday for Indiana in an 88-86 win over Charlotte. We still believe in each other.___TIP-INSNO HARD FEELINGS - Going against his former team, Gerald Green torched the Pacers for 18 points in an 8-minute span. Indiana had no answer, and Greens run came to an end only because he pulled himself out of the game to catch a breather.THEYRE FREE - Phoenix has taken advantage of its trips to the foul stripe this season, leading the league at 82.9 per cent going into Saturdays game. Against the Pacers, the Suns knocked down 18 of 20 free throws.UP NEXTIndiana plays on the road Monday at Dallas.Phoenix travels to Toronto on Monday.
Cheap Jerseys USA . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line.
Cheap Authentic Jerseys Online http://www.cheapjerseyssell.us.com/. -- Brad Gushue of St.
Cheap NFL Jerseys . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning.
Cheap NFL Jerseys Store . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall. DENVER -- The Calgary Flames broke out of their offensive doldrums in a big way. Jiri Hudler and Joe Colborne had a goal and assist each, and Mike Cammalleri scored a power-play goal at 16:30 of the third period to lift Calgary to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Sean Monahan also scored and Karri Ramo stopped 22 shots for the Flames, whose snapped a four-game skid with the offensive outburst. "It feels very good. Its been a tough little stretch for sure," Cammalleri said. "When things like that happen, its easy to get negative." Calgary came into the game having been shutout in three of its last four games. The Flames only goal since Dec. 23 came in a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia. "We wanted to come in and have fun and be loose a little. We had nothing to lose coming in here," TJ Galiardi said. "We wanted to string something together and this was a good place to start for us." Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and Paul Stastny had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche, who had won three straight coming into the game. The Avalanche may have lost more than the game. MacKinnon, who has four goals in the last two games, took a shot to the ankle late in the game and was visibly hurting. Colorado coach Patrick Roy said the rookie was going for an X-ray after the game. "He got the puck on the ankle at the end of the game," Roy said. "Well have more details tomorrow." The game was tied at 3-all when Colorado drew a bench minor for too many men on the ice. With Jamie McGinn in the penalty box, Hudler fed Cammalleri in front of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the winner. Giguere finished with 15 saves. The Avalanche pulled Giguere for an extra skater with about a minute left but couldnt get a shot on net. Giguere said the Flames played with more intensity throughout the game. "They were hungrier," Giguere said. "They got, some would say, lucky bounces, but they created those bounces by going to the net, by creating traffic and thats how you score a goal in this game, in this league. Im not sure we were willing to do that in front of their net." Roy saw it differently than his goaltender. "We may not have had the jump that we should have, but Giggy should have been better," Roy said. "He hasnt playyed well in the past four or five games and he should stand up and say, Im not playing up to what I should.dddddddddddd He needs to be better and we need to have him playing better. Period." After scoring just one goal in 240 minutes, the Flames scored twice in a span of 2:28 of the second period to take the lead. Colborne tied it when he tipped Galiardis shot from the point with 2:32 left in the frame. Hudler gave Calgary the lead when he battled for position in front of Giguere and then flicked a backhand through the goalies legs to make it 3-2. It was small consolation for Hudler, who was disappointed after he was left off the Czech National Team for next months Olympics in Sochi, Russia. "Right before the game we took a little walk with Jiri. He knows that people sit in the room, theres debate, you get picked, you dont get picked," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "Obviously, everyone wants to be in the Olympics to represent their country so youre disappointed. But we saw that hes a pro." The Avalanche got a power play at the end of the period but couldnt capitalize. They tied it on Stastnys 12th goal of the season at 9:33 of the third. The Flames took a 1-0 lead just 1:08 into the game. Monahan took a shot from the right circle that Giguere saved, but the rebound went off McGinn and into the net. It was Calgarys second goal in the last five games and its first lead since beating St. Louis two weeks ago. The celebration didnt last. MacKinnon tied it on the power play six minutes later when his shot from the side of the crease went off Ramo and through the goaltenders legs into the net. The Flames took a bench minor for too many men on the ice, MacKinnon struck again. Stastny sent him a pass to the slot and MacKinnon buried it to make it 2-1 at 14:32 of the first. NOTES: Colorados Gabriel Landeskog extended his points streak to seven games with his 100th assist. ... Avalanche D Nate Guenin (ankle) was out after getting hit with a puck Saturday. Tyson Barrie took his place in the lineup. ... Flames RW David Jones was a scratch. He has one assist in his last 15 games. ... Colorado D Ryan Wilson was sent to Lake Erie of the AHL for a two-week conditioning assignment. Wilson has missed 22 games with a back injury but has been a healthy scratch for the last two games.
Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '