Unser Chat » y. The two superstars traded haymaker

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and the Minnesota Timberwolves were ganging up on Kevin Durant, and a rare three-game losing streak for the Oklahoma City Thunder was just over the horizon. Durants sidekick was on the bench in street clothes, leaving him on an island again. Frustrated from a poor start, Durant came out swinging in the fourth quarter and knocked the Timberwolves out with a fury. Barking at and mean-mugging the feisty Wolves, Durant scored 23 of his season-high 48 points in the fourth quarter and hit the winner with 4 seconds to play to rally the Thunder from 13 points down to a 115-111 victory on Saturday night. "I just hear a lot of stuff and I just wanted to come through for my team in the fourth quarter," Durant said, an apparent shot at some trash talk he heard from the Wolves bench. Durant went 7 for 11 from the field and hit four 3-pointers in the final quarter to help the Thunder rebound from two straight losses at home. Love played the entire second half and finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for the Wolves. But he missed four free throws in the final 27 seconds to let this one slip away. The last three came when he was fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds to go and the Wolves down two. After Durant hit a step-back jumper from 18 feet right over Dante Cunninghams outstretched arm to give the Thunder a 113-111 lead, Love was fouled on a 3-pointer by Kendrick Perkins. Perhaps a little gassed from the work load, Love missed the first two free throws and his on-purpose miss on the third one didnt hit the rim, giving Oklahoma City the ball. "I was more upset about the first one I missed," Love said. "I left it short. I think they were flat and short. There was no real air under them. Just missed them." Durant knocked down two more free throws, and the two stars embraced after the final horn, a thrilling duel just finished. Durant and Love each got off to slow starts for the game, combining to shoot 8 for 24 in the first half. But they gave everyone their moneys worth in the fourth quarter. The Thunder trailed 90-77 in the fourth before Durant, who also had seven rebounds and seven assists, went off. The Thunder had let two fourth quarter leads slip away at home this week thanks to opposing defences swarming Durant and forcing other players to beat them. Durant sure got involved Saturday, scoring six of Oklahoma Citys first seven buckets in the fourth to get the Thunder going. "I was hanging my head a little bit in the first half and my teammates got on me about it," Durant said. "So I just wanted to keep my head high no matter what and stay aggressive and I was able to hit a few." The last four shots of that flurry were 3s, and he struck a pose and stared at the Wolves bench after the final one cut Minnesotas lead to 97-96 with 7 minutes to play. The two superstars traded haymakers the rest of the way. In one stirring sequence, Love hit a layup, Durant drilled a 3 and Love hit one of his own for a 97-93 Wolves lead with just over seven minutes to play. Durant came right back with yet another 3 and again woofed at the Wolves bench. Love tied it on a hook shot over Serge Ibaka and then scored on a drive to the hoop that tied it again, at 111, with 27 seconds to play. But he missed the free throw that came with the foul, opening the door for Durants cold-blooded response. "The special ones can have a poor shooting night and come down at the end of the game and make four or five to win the game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Thats how theyre wired because theyre great players. He loves to inspire his teammates with his play." Derek Fisher scored 13 points, and Ibaka had 12 points for Oklahoma City, which outscored Minnesotas bench 40-5. Pekovic had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and Ricky Rubio had 13 points, 10 assists and five steals, but missed six of his final seven shots. "Ill take K-Love in that situation no matter what," Wolves forward Corey Brewer said. "He missed them tonight. Next time hell make them." NOTES: Kevin Martin had 17 points and six rebounds for Minnesota. Oklahoma City committed 22 turnovers, but scored 24 points off 15 miscues by Minnesota. ... Timberwolves first-round draft choice Shabazz Muhammad will start a four-game stint with Iowa in the NBA Development League on Sunday. Cheap Shoes Uk Sale . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Discount Shoes Online Uk . Riethers apparent stamp on Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj during Saturdays Premier League match at Craven Cottage was missed by the match officials. A three-man panel of former referees reviewed the incident and all agreed that it was a sending-off offence. http://www.cheapukshoes.com/. But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game. Cheap Shoes Websites Uk . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. Cheap Shoes Websites . Hes still nowhere close to throwing yet. The four-time MVP was in good spirits when he made his first public appearance on the field since having neck surgery Sept.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Mike Munchak is going back to his roots, and heading closer to home in the process. A person familiar with the decision said Wednesday night the former Tennessee Titans head coach will join the Pittsburgh Steelers as offensive line coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official. The hiring was first reported by the Houston Chronicle. Munchak was fired by the Titans on Jan. 4 after leading Tennessee to a 22-26 record in three seasons. The 53-year-old had a year left on his contract, but was let go after 31 seasons as a player or coach with the club due to differences with upper management about the direction of the franchise. He interviewed with the Steelers recently to replace Jack Bicknell Jr., who was fired earlier this month. Munchak also spoke to Cleveland and Detroit about their head coaching vacancies as well as Penn State, where he played under Joe Paterno from 1978-81. Munchak grew up in Scranton, Pa., rooting for the "Super Steelers" of the 1970s. Now the Hall of Fame guard finds himself in charge of a unit that has struggled to stay healthy or play with any consistency in recent years. The Steelers went 8-8 in 2013, rallying from a 2-6 start to avoid the franchises first losing record in a decade. Pittsburgh did it despite losing star centre Maurkice Pouncey eightt plays into the season — against the Titans — for the season with a major knee injury.dddddddddddd It kick-started a fitful fall that saw the Steelers use four centres and forced Bicknell to play mix-and-match with the other line positions depending on who was healthy. The constant shuffling, combined with significant step backs in play by second-year left tackle Mike Adams and third-year right tackle Marcus Gilbert, stunted the growth of Pittsburghs offence. The Steelers ranked 27th in the league in yards rushing (1,383) and 29th in yards per attempt (3.5). While running back LeVeon Bell set a team record for yards from scrimmage by a rookie, he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry and spent most of his time mincing his steps at the line of scrimmage waiting for holes that sometimes failed to open. The line struggled to protect quarterback Ben Roethlisberger early in the season, giving up 36 sacks through the first nine games. Those numbers dipped significantly later in the season, a combination of improved play and Pittsburghs move to a no-huddle offence. Munchak, who made nine Pro Bowls during his 12-year career with the Houston Oilers from 1982-93, was considered one of the best line coaches in the NFL before ascending to head coach in 2011. AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report. ' ' '