Vorstellung » oad. They squeezed past the Philadelphia 76ers

Defense was the difference for the Chicago Sky with their season on the line and facing elimination in Game 3 of its WNBA playoff semifinal Sunday against Los Angeles Sparks.The reward? Chicago earned a 70-66 win and another shot at Los Angeles in Game 4, set for Tuesday night at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. Los Angeles still holds a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, meaning everything the Sky accomplished on Sunday will be for naught if it cant replicate the effort at least one more time.Game 5, if necessary, will be played Thursday in Los Angeles.The Sky held Los Angeles forward Candace Parker, who came into the game averaging 25 points in the first two contests in the series, to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting from the floor. The Sparks shot just 36.6 percent as a team and just 18.2 percent from three-point range.Los Angeles took a whopping 33 three-point shots in Game 3 after attempting 41 in the first two games of the series combined. Conversely, Chicago was just 1 of 3 from long-range and took 69 two-point shots.Parker did corral 15 rebounds, 11 of them on the defensive end, and league MVP Nneka Ogwumike scored a game-high 22 points for Los Angeles.Chicago got 17 points from Courtney Vandersloot and 13 points and 11 rebounds from rookie center Imani Boyette in Game 3. Vandersloot and Boyette scored Chicagos final 10 points of the game.The Sky is still playing without star forward Elena Delle Donne, who on Sunday missed her ninth straight game after undergoing right thumb surgery on Sept. 13.Los Angeles led by 15 points in the first half and by nine at halftime. Chicago outscored the Sparks 19-8 in the third quarter and clinched the game on a pair of free throws in the final seconds by Vandersloot.The Sparks won Games 1 (95-75) and 2 (99-84) and have captured five of the six meetings between the two teams this season, including twice on Chicagos home floor with Delle Donne in the lineup. Los Angeles has scored at least 93 points in four of those victories.The winner of this series will play defending champ Minnesota, who swept Phoenix in the other semifinal, in the WNBA finals beginning Oct. 9 in Minneapolis. Marco Fabian Mexico Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Miguel Layun Jersey . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. http://www.mexiconationalshop.us/Guillermo-Ochoa-Mexico-Jersey-Soccer/ . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Carlos Vela Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Yasser Corona Mexico Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. HOUSTON -- With one-quarter of their first season under Mike DAntoni complete, the Rockets are resembling the offensive juggernaut many predicted following the consummation between DAntoni and the Rockets bevy of perimeter shooters.The Rockets (13-7) completed their second five-game road trip of the season with a sparkling 4-1 record late Friday, capped by victories over the Golden State Warriors and Nuggets on consecutive nights. Houston played a league-high 14 road games thus far but are still generating serious momentum on the offensive end of the court.The Rockets, second in the league in points per game (111.3) and third in offensive rating (113.8 points per 100 possessions), averaged 121.6 points during their five-game roadie against Western Conference foes. The Rockets extended their NBA-record streak of consecutive games with at least 10 3-pointers to 19, a blitz that helped mask their defensive warts and the imbalance of playing so many road tilts.Therell be nights where well take a step back, and we can still get in our pick-and-rolls a little quicker, DAntoni said of the offense. We can get a lot better, but its a pretty good spot (to be in).Youve got James (Harden) and Ryan (Anderson) and Trevor (Ariza), all those guys. Youre going to score. I cant mess it up that bad. We just try to help them as much as we can and get out of the way.Entering Sunday, the Rockets had five players ranked among the top eight in the NBA in 3-pointers: reserve guard Eric Gordon (second with 63), Harden (fourth, 58), Ariza (seventh, 56), and Anderson (eighth, 54). With the Boston Celtics paying a visitt to Toyota Center on Monday, everything is going according to plan for the Rockets.ddddddddddddTwenty games in were pretty solid, Harden said. Weve still got a long way to go in the aspect of executing better ... but I like where were at.The Celtics (12-8) won six of eight and are two games into a stretch of eight of 10 on the road. They squeezed past the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night behind another stellar performance from point guard Isaiah Thomas, whose 37-point effort marked his fifth 30-point game this season.Because of Bostons backcourt depth, Thomas is averaging a relatively modest 33.3 minutes per game. He ranks ninth in the league in scoring (26.3 points) but outside the top 20 in average minutes. Given that efficiency, its easy to question whether Thomas can handle a greater workload as the schedule reaches the winter.Theres sometimes where you feel like those last few minutes of the third quarter are going to be really important moving forward, especially based on how your teams playing, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. You just have to make that decision are you going to take him out earlier in the third ... and put him back in a little bit earlier or play him through until the 2- or 1-minute mark of the third and then get him his rest until the 7- or 6- (minute mark of the fourth quarter).Ultimately there will be days that are very consistent and there will be times Im going to go with my gut. (The players) know that and weve talked about it. ' ' '