Buchholz matched his season high of three walks

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Serge Ibaka pointed to the sky, soaking in the cheers from the adoring home crowd moments before coming out of a game that just a few days earlier, he never imagined he could play. He scored 15 points in a dramatic return from what was thought to be a season-ending left calf strain, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-97 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Ibaka started after missing the first two games of the series. The Thunder originally said he would miss the rest of the playoffs, but changed course Friday. His presence helped the Thunder dominate and cut the Spurs lead in the series to 2-1. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks took Ibaka out with 3:17 remaining and the Thunder ahead by 20. "When you talk about a teammate, thats everything you want in a teammate," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. "I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, thats something you want beside you." Ibaka made six of seven shots and was a threat that gave Durant and Russell Westbrook relief. Westbrook had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds. On defence, Ibaka was a strong physical presence who blocked and altered shots and used his still formidable mobility to close out on shooters. He had seven rebounds, four blocks and a seemingly endless amount of energy. "Serge has put so much work in throughout the season that missing a couple of days didnt hurt him," Westbrook said. "Tonight, he jumped right back into where he was." Manu Ginobili scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Oklahoma City. The Thunder outrebounded the Spurs 52-36 after losing the battle of the boards in the first two games. San Antonio, which shot at least 50 per cent in the first two games, shot just 40 per cent on Sunday night. The first two games looked like a layup drill for the Spurs. This time, they were forced to reset numerous times. The passes were not as quick or as easy. "I was very disappointed that we didnt come out with more of a foot in the neck sort of attitude," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "They killed us on the boards, they beat us in 50-50 balls and thats very disappointing to me." San Antonio won Game 2 112-77, leaving the Thunder humiliated. "I knew that we were a better team than losing by 30," Brooks said. "Its not us. It was us that night, but were a much better team than that. I have a lot of respect for San Antonio, but theyre not that much better than us." Things were different from the start with Ibakas return. Brooks also inserted speedy Reggie Jackson into the starting lineup in Thabo Sefoloshas place. Jackson finished with 15 points. "We bounced back tonight. We always talk about that bounce-back ability and we had that tonight," Brooks said. The crowd roared when Ibakas name was announced during pregame introductions, and it got even louder when he started playing. He had eight points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over six minutes of play in the first quarter. Twice in the final minute of the first half, Ginobili hit 3-pointers, and both times, Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer. The last one, with 0.6 seconds left, gave the Thunder a 57-53 lead. Oklahoma City shot 56 per cent in the first half but turned the ball over 12 times. Ginobili had 20 points and made 5 of 7 3-pointers before the break to keep the Spurs close. Oklahoma City extended its lead to 83-76 at the end of the third quarter. A runner by Durant, then a 3-pointer by Caron Butler pushed the Thunder lead to 90-76 with just over 10 minutes to play. "Hopefully we realize that if were not intense, not very sharp and dont hustle like crazy, were not going to win here," Ginobili said. "They showed us reality. Hopefully we react in game four and play a much better game." Notes: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins picked up his third foul eight minutes into the game. He played just 13 minutes and finished with four points and three rebounds. Backup centre Steven Adams, a rookie, had seven points and nine rebounds. ... Thunder G Derek Fisher took a hit and was bleeding from the top of his head in the first quarter. He got six stitches. ... The Thunder shot 63 per cent from the field in the first quarter but trailed 29-28 at the end of the period. ... Ginobili scored just three points in the second half. Draymond Green Warriors Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. Swingman Mitch Richmond Jersey . Ho-Sang is a highly regarded prospect, as seen in TSNs Midseason Rankings. This was Game 3 of their playoff series and that wasnt the only strange incident in Londons 10-2 win over Windsor. http://www.gswarriorsonline.com/womens-mitch-richmond-basketball-jersey/ . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. Tim Hardaway Jersey . Coach Jorge Sampaoli resisted naming any major surprises in the list published Tuesday at the site of Chiles football association. Chile is pinning its hopes on the recovery of Vidal. Andre Iguodala Jersey . The redshirt freshman finished the regular season with nearly 3,500 passing yards, and 35 touchdowns with another three on the ground while leading the Seminoles to the top of the BCS Rankings. ATLANTA -- David Ortiz homered and drove in four runs as the Boston Red Sox ended their 10-game losing streak, rallying from a five-run deficit to defeat the Atlanta Braves 8-6 on Monday. The defending World Series champions trailed 6-1 after the fourth, with starter Clay Buchholz walking a career-high eight in only three-plus innings. But Ortiz tied it by hitting a three-run homer off Ervin Santana in the fifth. With Red Sox fans at Turner Field chanting "Papi! Papi!" the World Series MVP then gave Boston the lead with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Ian Thomas (1-2) in the seventh. Following pregame declarations of confidence from manager John Farrell and general manager Ben Cherington, the Red Sox came back to end their worst skid since an 11-game slide in 1994. The losing streak was the longest for a defending World Series champion since the depleted 1998 Marlins had two 11-game skids. Justin Upton drove in three runs with two hits for Atlanta. Edward Mujica (2-1) got the win with a scoreless sixth inning following a 1 1/2-hour rain delay. Chris Johnson singled with one out in the ninth before Koji Uehara capped his 10th save with Andrelton Simmons game-ending double-play grounder. Uehara was Bostons seventh pitcher. Buchholz began the day with an unsightly 6.32 ERA, but even with his poor start he hadnt walked more than three batters in a game. He couldnt overcome unprecedented control problems, as he allowed six runs and four hits. Buchholz was wild from the start. He walked leadoff hitter Jason Heyward and catcher A.J. Pierzynski visited after a first-pitch ball to the next hitter, B.J. Upton. Pitching coach Juan Nieves made his first walk to the mound when Buchholz walked Freddie Freeman. Buchholz matched his season high of three walks in the second inning and added three walks in the Braves three-run third. Justin Upton had a two-run double and Gerald Laird had a run-scoring singlle off Buchholzs left foot.dddddddddddd Buchholz didnt get out of Atlantas three-run fourth. Heyward walked and scored on B.J. Uptons double, and Justin Upton and Simmons added RBI singles. As Bostons early deficit grew, the frustration from its players became more obvious. After his groundout in the fourth, star Dustin Pedroia stalked around the dugout, shouting in anger before slamming his hand on the bench. He seemed to be upset about a ball-strike call earlier in the at-bat. The Red Sox rallied with five runs in the fifth against Santana. Pedroia drove in two runs with a single before Ortiz hit his tying homer to left-centre. It marked the third straight start Santana allowed at least five earned runs. He gave up five runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. Following the rain delay, Thomas walked two batters following an infield hit by Brock Holt, loading the bases. Ortiz drove in Holt with a fly ball to right field, giving Boston a 7-6 lead. Pierzynskis single up the middle pushed the lead to two runs. Heyward led off the eighth with a single to centre field off Andrew Miller but slid past second base trying for a double. He was tagged by Pedroia while reaching back for the bag. NOTES: The crowd was a sellout of 48,501. Most fans remained during the rain delay. ... Buchholz singled in the second inning for his second hit in the majors. ... Holt had two hits and scored twice. ... The Red Sox recalled C-1B Ryan Lavarnway from Triple-A Pawtucket and optioned RHP Alex Wilson to Pawtucket. Lavarnway had a pinch-hit groundout in the seventh. ... Ortiz made his first start of the season at first base. The team placed 1B Mike Napoli (sprained finger) on the 15-day DL on Sunday. ... Braves LHP Jonny Venters, trying to return from his second Tommy John surgery, had more discomfort throwing from the mound before the game. ... Braves RHP Aaron Harang will face Red Sox LHP Jon Lester on Tuesday night. Wholesale NFL Jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '