SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder took the court in the opener of the Western Conference finals without their athletic big man. [url=http://www.soccerliverpoolproshop.com/c-39-mamadou-sakho-liverpool- fc-jersey

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder took the court in the opener of the Western Conference finals without their athletic big man. Mamadou Sakho Jersey . Their skepticism was unwarranted. Ibaka is indeed injured and Oklahoma City needs to find a way to replace his defensive presence against San Antonio. Tim Duncan had 27 points and the Spurs took advantage of Ibakas absence to score more than half their points in the paint, beating the Thunder 122-105 Monday night in the opener of the best-of-seven series. Tony Parker did not appear limited by a hamstring injury, adding 14 points and 12 assists in 36 minutes in San Antonios first victory over Oklahoma City this season. Parker and coach Gregg Popovich both said earlier they werent sure if the Thunder would actually be without Ibaka, who injured his left calf in Oklahoma Citys series clincher against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Contrary to what San Antonio was thinking, hes not coming back," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Thats bad news for Oklahoma City entering Game 2 on Wednesday. San Antonio had 66 points in the paint and shot 58 per cent from the field. It was the highest shooting percentage allowed by the Thunder in the post-season since relocating from Seattle. The Thunder got their usual offensive output from All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who scored 28 and 25 points, respectively. But Oklahoma Citys remaining starters, Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins, combined to score five points with 13 rebounds and one assist. Collison started in place of Ibaka and was 0 for 3 from the field with three rebounds and one blocked shot. Ibaka was averaging 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.23 blocks in 33.9 minutes in the post-season. "We play team defence, we dont just rely on Serge," Durant said. "He does a great job of blocking shots, but its all because of our team defence. Hes a big part of what we do. Hes a starter, had his best season this year, so of course were going to miss his presence, but we have guys that are going to step up and do it collectively." San Antonio planned to attack Oklahoma Citys interior whether Ibaka was playing or not, and found it much easier to do without the athletic 6-foot-10 forward. "We always want to try to penetrate," Parker said. "We always want our ball movement, thats how we play -- kick and pitch and stuff like that. You know, obviously its a little bit better with (Ibaka) not being in the paint, but were still going to try to penetrate and make stuff happen." The Spurs fed Duncan early and the veteran responded by scoring 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening quarter. Parker, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in San Antonios series clincher against Portland, drove the paint and dished to Duncan early before looking for his own shot midway through the quarter. "Thats part of our game plan," Duncan said. "He knew that they werent going to let him shoot the ball like he did in the last series. They were going to try to take that away from him, so he knew he was going to have to be an assist man." Parker scored all but two of his points in the first half. Manu Ginobili took over in the second half, scoring all 18 of his points with a series of breakneck drives and 3-for-4 shooting on 3-pointers. "Just got to do a better job of closing the paint off," Westbrook said. "I thought we did a better job in the second half of just putting more pressure on them, making it tough for them to get inside the paint." After starting Collison and bringing in 7-foot post Steven Adams to spell him and Perkins, Oklahoma City continually altered its lineup in an attempt to derail San Antonios attack. At one point the Thunder had Westbrook and fellow point guards Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher on the court with Durant playing the post defensively. Duncan responded by dropping in a running hook on Durant. "Were going to have to find lineups that work," Brooks said. "I have faith in all of our guys to step in and do the job, no matter who we put on the floor." With the exception of a pair of free throws by Fisher, Westbrook and Durant scored all of Oklahoma Citys points in a 23-22 third quarter. The Thunder rallied to take a 76-75 lead on Westbrooks 17-foot jumper with 5 minutes left in the third quarter for their first lead since the opening basket of the game. "I think we need more from everybody defensively," Brooks said. "We scored 105 points. ... We scored enough points to win a basketball game. We have to do a better job defensively." San Antonio improved to 7-1 at home in the playoffs, winning its past five games by an average of 20.6 points. The Spurs, however, remember what happened in the 2012 conference finals, when the Thunder won four straight to rally from an 0-2 deficit. "Theyre a talented team," Ginobili said. "Theyre going to watch video; theyre going to fix mistakes. Its going to be harder for sure. Its just one down." NOTES: Durant was assessed a technical foul 30 seconds into the fourth quarter after throwing his fists down in frustration after being assessed a foul. . Boris Diaw was poked in his lower right eyelid early in the game, but returned to shortly thereafter once it was determined there was no structural damage. . Play had to be stopped twice to clean up blood on Collison, who was battling Duncan and Splitter defensively. Mohamed Salah Jersey . Bostons bats exploded in Mondays opener, as David Ortiz belted a pair of two-run homers, Stephen Drew homered and drove in four runs and the Red Sox pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-1. Georginio Wijnaldum Jersey . A question that was repeatedly posed last season, and the season before that and in the 2011 campaign before that. http://www.soccerliverpoolproshop.com/ . -- The Val-dOr Foreurs made it to the Memorial Cup semifinal thanks to their workhorse goaltender and their ability to hang around like a bad cold.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After some early struggles to start the season, the Memphis Grizzlies appear to have found the formula that led to a franchise-record 56 victories in 2012-13. Zach Randolph scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and also had 10 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies to a 97-86 victory over the slumping Sacramento Kings on Sunday. Memphis was an efficient team offensively that played strong defence last season. That same formula has worked well in two straight victories that have evened the Grizzlies record at 5-5. Memphis shot just over 55 per cent and had a season-best 30 assists. The Grizzlies blocked four shots, played the Kings tough inside, and limited Sacramento to 38 per cent shooting. "Its where we are as a team, thats the important thing," Memphis coach David Joerger said. "Were trying to lay the foundation back down to who we are as a team. Zach and Marc (Gasol) were beasts and Mike Conley was really efficient today. " Gasol had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds against the Kings, which followed a similar effort Friday night in a victory over the Lakers. "I always try to be who I am and I always help out," Gasol said. "I really dont care about numbers. I really dont. Teams go through struggles during stretches of the season. Ours have come to start the season. We just want to keep getting better." The Grizzlies led by 20 points in the third quarter and survived a second-half rally by the Kings to win their second straight on their four-game road trip that includes tough games Monday against the Clippers and Wednesday at Golden State. The Kings cut the margin to 82-79 on Travis Outlaws 3-pointer with 7:18 left. But Memphis responded with seven unanswered points for a 10-point lead, then put it away when Randolphs basket from close range made it 93-82 with 1:29 left. "Zach is playing well right now," said Conley, who also had 19 points and nine assists. "When hes got it going like that and is in a zone, we try to get him the ball." Outlaw helped fuel the Kings comeback and scored a season-high 18 points. The Kings have lost two straight and seven of eight. Isaiah Thomas added 15 points and Marcus Thornton had 12. Kings centre DeMarcus Cousins, who came into the game averaging 22.8 points, had nine points in 19 minutes. Cousins and the rest of the Kings starters, with the exception of Luc&nnbsp;Mbah a Moute, sat out the final 19 1/2 minutes. Dejan Lovren Jersey. "Thats a talented team that went to the Western Conference finals last season," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "They shoot 56 per cent and get 48 points in the paint. We cant give forth the effort we were tonight if we want to compete against a team like that." Outlaw, who didnt play in the first half, made his first five shots before finally misfiring in the fourth quarter. He made 6-of-9 shots overall, including a pair of 3s. Outlaw came off the bench for 11 points and Thomas added eight in the third quarter, when the Kings finally demonstrated some offence and outscored Memphis 31-27 to pull within 74-65 heading into the fourth. The Grizzlies came out strong in the third quarter and built the lead to 61-41. Appearing to be upset with his defence, Malone pulled his starters with just under eight minutes left. The Sacramento reserves outscored the Grizzlies 24-13 the remainder of the quarter. "The biggest thing I saw was effort," Malone said. "We had guys playing like they cared." Gasol had 13 points for the Grizzlies in the opening half, when they held a 47-34 lead. Cousins had nine points for the Kings, who shot 32 per cent. It was a sluggish start to the second quarter for both teams, who combined for nine points in the first six minutes of the period. Despite the slow start, Memphis still outscored the Kings 22-16 in the quarter. "Once again I thought out offence dictated our defence," said Kings point guard Greivis Vasquez, who had eight points, all in the first half. "We just have to be more mature and understand if we dont make shots we have to put out effort defensively." Notes: Tony Allen was the fourth Memphis starter in double figures with 12 points. .. Patrick Patterson, who began the season as the Kings starting forward, bruised his left knee in Fridays loss to Detroit and was unavailable against the Grizzlies. . Reserve guard Jerryd Bayless made all three shots and had seven first- quarter points in just under three minutes of playing time. . The Kings had only three points during a near 7-minute stretch in the first half. ... An elbow from Gasol in the first quarter resulted in a cut above the right eye and 10 stitches for Kings reserve Chuck Hayes. He returned to play in the third quarter sporting a headband to cover the wound. Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '