There is hope for the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday | Forum
wzh123
Mar 13 '18
SAN ANTONIO -- Utah point guard George Hill used the lessons he learned in three seasons with San Antonio to hand his former team a rare home loss. Aaron Rodgers Jersey .Hill had 22 points and the Jazz made a season-high 15 3-pointers, handing the Spurs their first loss of the season 106-91 on Tuesday night.He had a great game, San Antonio veteran Manu Ginobili said. For three quarters they played good solid basketball and in the fourth he just took over. Made some big shots, good plays off the pick-and-roll. Hes a great player, we know he can do it.Utah handed San Antonio only its second home loss since March 2015. The Spurs didnt lose their first home game last season until April 10 and finished 40-1 at the AT&T Center.Every loss is disappointing to me, said Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who had a game-high 30 points. Just disappointed in our defensive effort. Our energy wasnt there in the first quarter. They were knocking down shots in the fourth quarter. They scored 33 in the fourth and thats not good either.Hill made four straight baskets starting with about 6 minutes left in the fourth, scoring 10 points to give the Jazz a 96-88 lead with 4 minutes remaining.The Spurs rallied from an anemic first quarter to capture the lead, but Hill helped steady the young Jazz with a court presence he learned under San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.Play like youve been there before, Hill said. Coach Pop always instilled that into me my first three years here. Dont show really that much emotion, unless its part of the game, but act like youve been there before. Thats what I try to instill in the guys, move onto the next play every time.Utah needed that serenity after nearly blowing a dominant first quarter.We definitely allowed them to play too comfortable and get into a rhythm early on, San Antonio center Pau Gasol said. They were executing well, give them credit, but we didnt put enough pressure on their offense to force them to take tougher shots.The Jazz built a 12-point lead in the opening quarter by shooting 72 percent from the field and 88 percent on 3s. Utah made seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, one more than their previous season high for a game.Some of its just basketball gods, Jazz coach Snyder said. There are nights like that and then there are nights like tonight. The biggest thing for our guys is that they dont get discouraged when they miss and keep shooting.Rodney Hood finished with 19 points, Trey Lyles 15 and Shelvin Mack 14 for Utah, which finished 15 for 31 from 3-point range.It didnt matter if the Spurs contested the shots or not, Utahs shots were falling in the first quarter. San Antonio didnt panic, sticking to their rotations and sets.The Spurs erased a 47-31 deficit, going on a 15-0 run over a 6-minute span. Leonards 16-foot jumper pulled San Antonio within 47-46 and LaMarcus Aldridges 18-footer tied the game at 48.Aldridge finished with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting.But Lyles revived Utahs offense, scoring all but two points during a 10-0 run in the third quarter that gave the Jazz a 70-63 lead they would never relinquish.Lyles finished 2 for 7 on 3-pointers and Hood was 4 for 8.TIP-INSJazz: Mack was 0 for 4 on 3-pointers this season before making his only two attempts against the Spurs. . F Boris Diaw missed his first game of the season, sitting out against his former team with a bruised right leg. Diaw, who played with San Antonio from 2012-2016, received a loud ovation when his image was shown on the video boards. Hill, who played three seasons in San Antonio, also received a loud ovation. ... Utah was winless in its two road games this season, losing by an average of 11 points.Spurs: San Antonio has a winning record in the regular season for all but 48 days since 1997. ... Jonathan Simmons made his first start of the season. Filling in for Danny Green, Simmons had two points in 29 minutes. Green is sidelined by a strained left quadriceps. ... Tony Parker is 73rd in league history with 1,084 games played, breaking a tie he had with Antawn Jamison and Dell Curry.FAVORS RETURNSDerrick Favors started for the first time this season after being limited due to a sore knee.Favors had six points and three rebounds in 16 minutes for the Jazz. He did not play in the second half as a precaution.Hes on a minutes restriction, Snyder said. Were being smart with Fav and making sure that we bring him back the right way. I think he was ready to play. I think he got a little cold when we put him back in. He wasnt quite the same, but thats why were doing what were doing.STILL A FAVORITEHill remains one of Popovichs favorite players ever, even after he helped Utah hand San Antonio a double-digit loss.He played great, especially down the stretch, Popovich said. He was very controlled, ran the show, obviously made shots. He was great.Hill made sure to hug Popovich after the game and let the veteran coach know how much he still means to him.Pop is one of the best people that came into my life, Hill said. I just asked him how his wife is doing, how hes doing and to tell him I love him.UP NEXTJazz: Host Dallas on Wednesday.Spurs: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Lance Kendricks Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Ahmad Brooks Jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona.http:///...-ray-nitschke-jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half.Guus Hiddink suffered the first defeat of his second spell in charge of Chelsea as they went down 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie away to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night. Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock late in the first half when his free-kick deflected off John Obi Mikel and into the net, but the Nigerian made amends soon after by firing home for the visitors from a corner.Diego Costa had chances before and after those goals but it was PSG substitute Edinson Cavani who came up with the winner as he drilled through the legs of Thibaut Courtois late in the second half. Here are the big talking points for Chelsea... Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the opening goal for PSG Hazard warningsThe build-up to the game had been dominated by talk of Eden Hazard and his ongoing flirtations with the French champions. Hiddink had urged the Chelsea winger to concentrate on his current employers, but opinion will be divided after this effort.Hazard worked hard enough in providing defensive support for the inexperienced Baba Rahman in the first half, allowing the full-back to tuck-in at times thanks to his tracking back. But crucially, he could not come up with a key moment at the other end.Serge Auriers indiscretions might have made his task easier with Marquinhos playing out of position at right-back, but Hazard was unable to truly test the Brazilian and was withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining. Can Hiddink rely on him to make a difference in the return leg? Eden Hazard had a quiet night for Chelsea after all the pre-match furore Mixed night for MikelCharged with protecting the Chelsea defence, Mikel fell some way short when committing the foul for the free-kick from which Ibrahimovic opened the scoring. He even deflected the shot wide of Courtois and into the net. Mikels record gone This was the first match that John Obi Mikel has lost under Guus Hiddink in his two spells in charge. Phil Thompson, watching for Sky Sports, was particularly unimpressed. Youve got to be brave, youve got to just stand forward there he said. He literally twists round in the air. Why do these players do it, particularly in a Champions League game? Disgraceful.At least there was an element of redemption for the midfielder when he blasted the ball home from a corner soon afterwards for only his second-ever Champions League goal. In fact, that away goal could yet prove to be crucial. He literally twists round in the air. Why do these players do it, particularly in a Champions League game? Disgraceful. Phil Thompson on John Obi Mikel Life without TerryThe physical presence and leadership skills of John Terry were missing following his hamstring injury at the weekend and with Kurt Zouma also unavailable, confidence in Chelseas defence was not high going into the game.However, despite conceding twice, the makeshift back-line came out with credit as Gary Cahill and Branisllav Ivanovic repeatedly repelled PSG. Lane Taylor Jersey. The pair blocked two shots apiece - more than anyone else on the pitch - with one stop from Blaise Matuidi particularly vital. Gary Cahill repelled a series of PSG attacks on a tough night for Chelsea Respect for RahmanRahman had a role to play too, with the 21-year-old full-back thrust into action in the biggest club game of his career so far. The young Ghanaian had his difficult moments but could be encouraged by his performance.Indeed, Rahman might even have provided the assist for the games opening goal had Costa converted his first-half cross. But this was a night for defensive work and with a game-high six interceptions, there was plenty of that in evidence too. Baba Rahman had a tough test in dealing with Angel Di Maria Costas costly missesCosta was denied a goal with the aforementioned chance thanks to a superb stop by Kevin Trapp, but he might still have been left feeling he could have removed the possibility of his header being saved.After the break, he was unable to provide the finish once more when one-on-one with the goalkeeper. On a night of small margins, it was Cavani who came up with the goal when it mattered. Costa owes his Chelsea team-mates one of his own in the return leg. Edinson Cavani put the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois for PSGs winner Willian wows againIt was Willian who provided the through-ball for the second of Costas big chances and the energetic midfielder was once again Chelseas most effective attacking outlet on the night. The Brazilians ability to carry the ball forwards at pace is such a threat.Willian provided four key passes, more than any other player on either side, including the corner from which Mikel equalised. His thrust will be needed in the second leg if Chelsea are to turn the tie around. John Obi Mikel wheels away after converting Willians corner for Chelsea So can they come back?A 2-1 defeat for Chelsea leaves the game intriguingly poised, particularly given that this contest has been decided on away goals in each of the past two seasons. Indeed, the Blues can hardly be written off, given that they reversed a 3-1 deficit in 2014.Chelsea have been some way short of hitting that form this season but they are also the only team unbeaten in the Premier League in 2016 and for all the flaws of their performance in Paris, any absurdity at the thought of Champions League progression is dissipating.After being dominated early on, there were enough moments of promise courtesy of Willian, Pedro and Cesc Fabregas to offer a reminder that this is a side populated by players of quality. There is hope for the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, March 9. Also See: PSG 2-1 Chelsea As it happened Thommo: Chelsea have a chance Champions League fixtures Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
Share:
