Allgemein » r been a part of. The offence came, eventually.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Tony Parker is dinged up again, and his status is unclear heading into the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The San Antonio Spurs All-Star point guard did not play in the second half or overtime of the Western Conference finals-clinching win over Oklahoma City on Saturday because of a sore left ankle. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesnt know what shape Parker will be in for Game 1 on Thursday in San Antonio. "I have no idea," Popovich said Saturday night. "I dont know what the deal is." Popovich said Parker sprained the ankle in Game 4 and aggravated it in Game 5. Popovich considered starting Manu Ginobili at point guard in Game 6 against the Thunder because Parker was having trouble during pregame. At halftime, Popovich made the decision to hold him out. "He came to me about eight minutes on the clock (before the second half) and said he couldnt go," Popovich said. "He couldnt cut. He was limping on it. He couldnt cut sideways or forward really." Popovich said he thought playing Parker in the second half would have hurt the team in the long term. "I didnt want him to be a hero because he was 50 per cent or less, we thought," Popovich said. "Thats probably bad for the team if you think about it. It was a tough decision to try to figure out whether to play him, and if you lose the game and it affects him for Monday night, then youre going to feel like you made an unwise choice." Parker has been plagued by injuries this year. He averaged 16.7 points and 5.7 assists while shooting 50 per cent from the field during the regular season, but he missed 22 games. He strained his left hamstring in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against Portland and did not return. The Spurs won that game easily to clinch the series. Once again, his teammates bought him some rest. Had the Spurs lost Game 6, they would have faced an elimination game at home Monday against the Thunder. "We didnt know how much Tony was hurt in his ankle," forward Boris Diaw said. "But we didnt want to go to Game 7, and we didnt know if he would be ready to play if we did or if he would be 100 per cent, so we tried to get it over with tonight." Still, the Spurs have proven all season they can win without key players, posting the NBAs best record despite a series of injuries. "We have to continue to play basketball regardless of who is on the floor and our reserves did a great job - Cory (Joseph), Patty (Mills) - they stepped in and continued to run the offence and push the pace and playing good defence on their guards as well," guard Danny Green said. Joseph started the second half of Game 6 against Oklahoma City and helped engineer a 37-point third quarter. "Cory was very good," Ginobili said. "I mean, its hard to play when you dont have many opportunities to play in close games and stuff. But he did very well in Game 3 and 4 here. He always brings the juice, aggressiveness, competitiveness. He attacks the rim well. I think he made a few key plays." The Spurs said they excel without their stars because they are about a system, rather than individuals. "We have been doing what we did the whole year, which is passing the ball to each other, getting some movement, getting pace and getting into a good rhythm," Diaw said. "Always trying to set up a good shot for a teammate." Cheap NCAA Jerseys Football . The 20-year-old overager has appeared in 35 games for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Erie Otters this season, scoring 41 goals and adding 27 assists with a plus-28 rating. Stitched NCAA Jerseys .J. - Percy Harvin is ready to go, and theres no question in his mind hell be playing Sunday. http://www.cheapncaajerseys.net/ . The commissioners office said Friday that Sears tested positive for metabolites of Methandienone. Sears will be 23 in March. He signed with the Braves in June 2013 out of Arizona Christian, an NAIA school, and is on the roster of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Authentic .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have activated defenceman Joni Pitkanen from injured reserve. Cheap NCAA Jerseys From China . Kenny Miller scored from the penalty spot and Camilo Sanvezzo came off the bench to add two late goals as the Whitecaps kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-0 victory over the sagging Impact on Saturday afternoon. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Matching the Chicago Blackhawks is a tough task, and the Minnesota Wild werent going to catch up without more presence and production from their top forwards. After a couple of quiet games and two sluggish periods, Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and the rest of the Wilds skill-position players came to life. Granlund scored twice, Parise had a goal and an assist, and Erik Haula jump-started the Wild by scoring early in the third period in a 4-0 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal series. "The big guys definitely came through tonight," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. Ilya Bryzgalov made 19 saves for his first shutout in the playoffs in eight years, and the Blackhawks had their lead whittled to 2-1 with their first loss in 2 1/2 weeks. "Today is a tremendous team effort," Bryzgalov said. "We play very, very, very nice hockey." Game 4 is Friday in Minnesota. The announced attendance of 19,416 was the most in franchise history, but the atmosphere didnt match that until shortly after the second intermission. Pucks were whizzing way wide of the net, and clogged shooting lanes led to plenty of thwarted opportunities for both sides. "Theyre probably as tight a team as were going to play all year," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. Haula finally brought the fans to their feet. The rookie centre from Finland, once a standout for the University of Minnesota, started the play from the neutral zone and finished in front of the rush for a tap-in of Justin Fontaines slick pass through the defence. Then less than 3 minutes later, Granlund took a pass from Jason Pominville and went to his backhand to slip a high shot past Corey Crawfords glove for the 2-0 lead. The crowd began to taunt the goalie with a "Craw-ford! Craw-ford!" chant, and Parise put the exclamation point on the night with a power-play goal, the first in 25 chances for the Wild over their last two playoff series against the Blackhawks. Then Granlund tacked on an empty-netter with 1:17 left. "We know when we play like we can, we can beat any team in this league, especially here at home," Granlund said. Crawfordd stopped only 14 shots for the Blackhawks, who dropped their first two games to St.dddddddddddd Louis in the last round before winning four in a row. Since losing to the Blues on April 19, they took the lead in all six games and outscored their opponents 23-9. Despite outscoring the Wild 9-3 in the first two games of this series, the Blackhawks have not been able to test Bryzgalov much. "We cant let it frustrate us. We just have to do something about it," captain Jonathan Toews said, adding: "Theyre a smart defensive team. Give them credit. But its more about what were not doing." The blue liners were in full force early for Blackhawks, who blocked a whopping 25 shots in Game 2, six more than the Wild even sent at the net. Niklas Hjalmarsson bravely took one on the neck Sunday, and while the seventh-year veteran was cleared to play, the Swede wasnt even allowed to talk. Quenneville said before the game he wasnt worried about any communication problems between Hjalmarsson and his teammates. Had he been able to yell, Hjalmarsson wouldve been easy to hear for most of the night. For all the noise this crowd made in the last round, the synergy between vocal fan support and a relentless attack by the Wild was largely missing during the first 40 minutes. Yeo said this was the tightest-checking game hed ever been a part of. The offence came, eventually. Pominville has only one goal in nine playoff games, but he had two assists in this one. Mikko Koivu didnt make the scoring summary, but Yeo said his captain played a critical part in helping stifle the Blackhawks and their top lines. None of the Wilds top six forwards scored in the first two games, with Parise and Pominville managing the only assists. The Wild faced yet another desperate situation after trailing 2-0 in the last round against the Colorado Avalanche. "It was pretty familiar territory for us. We knew we had to win the game," Parise said. NOTES: The Blackhawks scratched defenceman Nick Leddy, his first absence since his rookie season of 2010-11. Quenneville said he wanted Sheldon Brookbank in the lineup for a physical presence. ... Bryzgalov had three shutouts in the 2006 playoffs for Anaheim. ' ' '