They beat the Thunder in the first two games

LOS ANGELES -- A little bit of tweaking to the starting lineup by coach Mike DAntoni worked wonders for the Los Angeles Lakers, resulting in a dominant first half against the Atlanta Hawks. Malik McDowell Jersey . Then came the second half, and they ended up fighting for their lives to escape with a victory. Xavier Henry scored 18 points, Pau Gasol hit two tiebreaking free throws with 6 seconds remaining, and the Lakers beat the Hawks 105-103 on Sunday night after blowing a 21-point lead. "There was a little bit of an energy drop in the second half and a lot of missed assignments, but we picked it up and a lot of guys made some good plays," Henry said. "I dont want to say it was because we wanted it more, but you could tell. When the game was on the line, guys were like: We were already up 20. We were not going to let this one slip by." Henry started at forward for the first time as a Laker and the 19th time in 137 NBA games, while Nick Young came off the bench. DAntonis intention with the lineup change was to perk up the team at the outset, and also inject some energy into the Lakers second unit while doing likewise for the cold-shooting Young. "Were still trying to find the right combinations and rack up the wins while we do it," Henry said of the growing pains the club is going through without Kobe Bryant. "We have a lot of new guys, and a lot of guys still need to learn how to play with each other. Were trying new lineups and stuff, so were still going to be working and trying to compete." Henry, who received nine stitches in his forehead during Fridays loss to San Antonio after colliding with teammate Wesley Johnsons knee on a drive to the basket and missed all six of his shots that night, was 5 for 11 from the field against the Hawks. "Ive been playing those guys for a while, so I really didnt have to change anything," Henry said. "Basically I just had to go out there and still be aggressive and still be consistent." Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Steve Nash had 13 points and six assists and Young finished with 13 points. Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 22 points, converting all six 3-point attempts, but his attempt at a tying 21-footer from the right baseline was blocked by Gasol as time ran out. Hawks point guard Jeff Teague had 14 points and six assists after missing his first five shots. "We cant put ourselves in that situation, to always climb uphill," Hawks forward Paul Millsap said. "We have to do a better job of starting the game off." Two nights after shooting only 37 per cent from the field and blowing a 15-point lead against the Spurs despite the absence of injured centre Tim Duncan in the paint, Los Angeles shot 42.7 per cent against the Hawks. And for the first time this season, all five Lakers starters connected from 3-point range while the team went 9 for 25 from behind the arc. Trailing by 12 points after three quarters, the Hawks narrowed the gap to 90-83 on a jumper by Dennis Schroder with 10:25 remaining. Chris Kaman then lost the ball out of bounds on the Lakers next possession and committed his fifth foul on an offensive charge 34 seconds later. Millsap got the last of his 14 points on an 11-footer that tied it at 103-all with 35.3 seconds left, after Korvers sixth 3-pointer made it a two-point spread. "Theres a few things they can do to get a guy like that open," Henry said of Korver. "If they want to get someone open, they can set enough screens to do that. He was running around them and finding his way." Eleven Lakers got into the scoring column as they built a 62-49 halftime lead, without anyone on the team reaching double digits. Young, who shot 6 for 22 over his first three games, made four of his first five field goal attempts -- including a 17-footer that capped a 15-2 run and gave the Lakers a 44-23 lead with 9:19 left in the second quarter. "I think we came out with the right mindset, but they just came out and hit us first," Hawks centre Al Horford said. "Coach (Mike Budenholzer) definitely challenged us in the second half, and we were much better. I think our second unit changed it early in the fourth, making plays and getting the momentum going our way." The Lakers have beaten the Hawks eight straight times at home and have won 21 of the last 24 meetings at Los Angeles dating to Feb. 2, 1990 at the Forum. Last season at Staples Center, the Lakers won 99-98 on a layup by Bryant with 9 seconds remaining after they blew a 16-point second-half lead. NOTES: Sunday was the 38th anniversary of the day the Lakers traded Pat Riley to Phoenix for two draft picks. One of the mainstays of the Lakers first NBA championship team in Los Angeles (1971-72) he went on to win four more rings as Lakers coach, another as coach of Miami, and two more as the Heats team president. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. ... Shawne Williams, the Lakers other starting forward, had seven points before fouling out with 5:40 remaining. ... Eight Lakers hit a 3-pointer, the third time in franchise history thats happened and second time this season -- including the season opener against the Clippers. They also did it on Feb. 2, 2013 at Minnesota. Amara Darboh Jersey . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. Shaquill Griffin Jersey . Edmonton opened the season with 14 straight victories before falling Friday night 10-8 to the host Colorado Mammoth in National Lacrosse League action. http://www.theseahawksofficialonline.com/Seahawks-Ethan-Pocic-Authentic-Jersey/ . You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus.The volatile, and now tied, Western Conference Finals shift to Alamo City for a crucial Game 5 Thursday night between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. Ibaka helped OKC to victories in Games 3 and 4 and his defense has been a huge reason for the shift in momentum. With Ibaka back in action, the Thunder have held the Spurs to 40 and 36 points in the paint for the two games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Without Ibaka and the series at AT&T Center, San Antonio exploited his absence to the tune of 66 and 54 points in the paint. But Ibakas return isnt the only factor in OKC tying the series. Kevin Durant, the reigning MVP, has been brilliant, but Russell Westbrook has been ...... The Thunder won Game 4, 105-92, and the dynamic duo of Oklahoma City was on full display. Westbrook finished with 40 points, 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds, while Durant poured in 31 points on just 22 shots. Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have a postseason game with at least 40 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. "I just think myself and Kevin, obviously we want to win, and we want to get better," said Westbrook. "Tonight, we came out with a defensive mindset. I thought we did a great job of helping each other out defensively, and that led to us getting out in transition, getting open looks, and it looked easy for both of us." The Thunder shot 50.8 percent from the field over the first three quarters to build a substantial lead, one aided by a staggering 21-0 advantage in fasstbreak points. Delano Hill Womens Jersey. Tony Parker scored 14 points, while the other two-thirds of San Antonios Big 3 -- Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili -- totaled 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Kawhi Leonard scored 10 as the San Antonio starters, including Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, combined for 39 points, one shy of Westbrooks total. "Theyre talented obviously, but the athleticism and the length gives you a small margin of error, and youd better be smart the way you play, and you cant afford to screw that up as many times as we did," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "And I think we have to play harder." To that end, Pop sat his starters midway through the third quarter, bringing some back in the fourth. Afterward, he indicated that he was resting players for Thursday, but after practice on Wednesday, he said some changes, albeit small ones, might be in order. "Weve considered a couple of tweaks here and there just in the game plan." Popovich said. "I dont know exactly where thatll be, but we saw a few things that we think might warrant a little tweak here and there." The Spurs, who are 8-1 at home this postseason, saw a similar scenario play out two years ago. They beat the Thunder in the first two games, then lost the last four as OKC marched into the NBA Finals. "I dont think about it," said Pop. Maybe Popovich should think about this - the Thunder have won seven straight over the Spurs with a full lineup, including Ibaka. "We know what were playing for," said Durant. "We know that the series is far from over, and we know we havent done anything, but what were supposed to do, which is win at home, taking care of our home court." Game 6 will be Saturday night in Oklahoma City. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '