Terminabsprachen » celebrate it.Still, the Spurs serenaded

SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did not want anyone to acknowledge it was his 66th birthday, let alone celebrate it.Still, the Spurs serenaded Popovich after presenting the often cranky coach with their sixth straight win at home, moving him three games closer to 1,000 career victories.Tony Parker scored 17 points and San Antonio overcame another lethargic third quarter to beat the Charlotte Hornets 95-86 Wednesday night.Popovich pretended not to understand when a reporter asked him about his birthday, which was a warmer response than he offered his players.Parker recoiled when asked about Popovichs birthday.He doesnt like it (celebration); youre going to get me in trouble, Parker said. We sang for him, but yeah, he hates it. Yeah, it was after the game, the whole team sang to him.Popovich may not have enjoyed the attention, but he was OK with how the day ended.Danny Green had 16 points and Tim Duncan added 12 points and 14 rebounds as San Antonio won its ninth straight over Charlotte.Gerald Henderson scored 18 points, Al Jefferson had 17 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 14 points for Charlotte. The Hornets were without star guard Kemba Walker, who will be out at least six weeks following surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.San Antonio built an 18-point lead in the first half as Charlotte struggled to fill its point guard depth without Walker, but the Spurs gave it all back just as quickly. San Antonio shot 4 for 21 from the field in the third quarter, but maintained its lead by hitting five free throws in the final 2 minutes.We went through a little dry spell in the third quarter, Green said. It seemed like there was a lid on the basket, but we kept moving, kept finding each other, and kept penetrating. Our defence is what kept us in the lead.The Spurs did not make another field goal in the third quarter following Matt Bonners 3-pointer with 7:18 remaining. Lance Stephenson punctuated the dry spell with an emphatic swat of Aron Baynes attempted reverse layup in the closing seconds of the period.Sticking to our defensive rules, Jefferson said of Charlottes run. San Antonio is a team that wants to drive middle every time. Get the ball in the middle of the paint and make plays for everybody else. We did a good job defending that in the third quarter.Bonners 3 to open the fourth quarter ended an 8:22 drought and reinvigorated the Spurs. San Antonio made four 3s in the final quarter in rebuilding a double-digit lead.The victory proved difficult even without Walker.In addition to being the teams starting point guard, Walker also leads the Hornets in scoring (18.8), assists (5.2) and steals (1.4)With Walker out, Parker attacked the lane against the slower Brian Roberts and scored nine of the Spurs first 13 points. Parker closed the run with a 17-foot jumper over Roberts for a 13-12 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter.Despite Parkers early success, the Hornets played the Spurs even when Roberts was in.It was once Roberts exited that Charlotte struggled.San Antonio made four 3s in a 14-2 run bridging the first and second quarter with Roberts out.After Green hit a 3 that led P.J. Hairston to roll his eyes and look skyward in frustration, Mills second 3 of the run gave San Antonio a 33-19 lead with 10:42 remaining in the first half.TIP-INSHornets: Charlotte is 7-14 on the road this season. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford allowed Neal to give the pregame scouting report on his former team. His biggest advice? Manu Ginobili goes left. ... Charlottes lone victory in San Antonio came Nov. 15, 2006, a 92-85 win in overtime.Spurs: San Antonio is 8-3 in its last 11 games, second only to Atlanta (11-0) during that stretch. ... After failing to reach an agreement with F JaMychal Green on a second, 10-day contract, the Spurs signed F Reggie Williams of the Oklahoma City Blue on Wednesday. The 6-foot-6 Williams was averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 13 games with the Blue before signing a 10-day contract with the Spurs. ... San Antonio is 18-2 overall against Charlotte, losing once on the road and once at home to the Hornets.TIM WHO?Popovich was asked if he demanded Duncan sing Happy Birthday to him, which drew a mischievous look from the Spurs coach. Tim and I dont talk, we dont talk, Popovich said. We stopped talking six, seven, eight years ago.KEEP GOINGClifford said losing Walker is obviously a tough blow for the young Hornets, but he believes the team can persevere without their leader. Its a conscious decision for all of us, Clifford said. We can take the easy way out when were playing without (Kemba), but obviously, to me there is a toughness and intelligence about the group of guys that are playing right now that should allow us to win here going forward.UP NEXTHornets: At Denver on Saturday.Spurs: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Cheap Sabres Jerseys China . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. Wholesale Sabres Jerseys .J. -- John Elway says Peyton Manning cannot stamp himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history even if he wins the Super Bowl on Sunday. http://www.cheapsabresjerseys.com/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills will head into the regular season short on experience at quarterback after trimming the roster on Friday. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Cheap Adidas Sabres Jerseys . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (5) - Simply put, Lundqvist was brilliant.BRISBANE, Australia -- Mark Hunt (9-8-1) and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (18-5-1) clashed for 25 minutes on Saturday morning before settling for a majority draw in the headliner of this weekends "UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot" event in Australia. With the crowd on its feet, the two exhausted and battered heavyweights fired punches into the final round of the fight, which ended in a majority draw -- 48-47 Hunt, 47-47 and 47-47 -- after judges could not determine a winner. Hunt and Silva combined for 184 total significant strikes, according to a FightMetric report, the highest total in UFC heavyweight history. UFC President Dana White took to Twitter and labelled the fight the "sickest heavyweight fight" he had ever seen, and awarded both men an additional $50,000 for the evenings "Fight of the Night" bonus. Silva stayed at distance early, utilizing a front kick to keep space as Hunt looked to explode with punches. A flurry at the halfway point saw Silva get the best of the exchange, and Hunt hit the deck, but scrambled up before his opponent could take top position. Silva got impatient as the second round wore on. A low kick buckled Hunts left knee, and he was forced to switch stances to protect the joint. Hunt limped a bit in the third, and Silva immediately kicked the leg again. Hunt buckled but pushed forward into a surprising takedown. Silva grabbed the cage as he pulled up to the feet but received only a warning as they went back to work in the standup game. Hunt landed a few short right hands as he settled into his rhythm, and a big straight sent Silva crashing to the floor. Hunt slipped inside for another surprising takedown in the fourth but Silva stayed active on his back and eventually crawled to his feet. Hunt tried for a trip but instead slipped to the floor and allowed Silva to take a dominant position. Silva moved to mount with a little less than one minute remaining, and unleashed a flurry of massive shots, including an elbow that sliced his opponents forehead open. Still, Hunt survived to the bell. The pair touched gloves and offered a quick embrace to open the fifth round before throwing bombs. With blood streaming down both of their faces, the pair took turns exchanging in the centre of the cage. Hunt landed a huge left hand that wobbled his massive foe but Silva stayed on his feet. Referee Steve Perceval brought in the doctor to take a look at a cut on Silvas head, but the physician let the fight carry on. Neither athlete attended the evenings post-event press conference as they were each transported to a local hospiital for precautionary observation.dddddddddddd. Prior to the evenings co-main event, UFC President Dana White said a loss could spell the end of former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (22-8). But Rua knocked out James Te Huna (16-7) in the first round. Te Huna leapt forward with a left hand that missed, and Rua answered with a crushing left counter to the chin that put his opponent out cold in just 64 seconds. "I knew he could come aggressive, trying to strike, but I also expected him to come clinching and trying to wrestle me, so I was timing his engagements," Rua said through an interpreter. "When he was moving forward, I was timing his entrances so I could connect. I was happy that ended the bout." Rua was awarded $50,000 for the evenings "Knockout of the Night" bonus. Light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader turned in one of the most complete performances of his career, dominating Anthony Perosh for the entirety of their 15-minute affair. "I learned from my last fight; this time around the game plan was to go out, be patient and get the win," Bader said. "For that reason, Ive worked a lot on my cardio and speed, and it was nice to have that advantage for a fight that went the distance." In a heavyweight affair, Soa Palelei (20-3) unleashed a flurry of ground-and-pound blows that scored flush and left opponent Pat Barrys (8-7) head bouncing off the canvas. The fight was waved off at the 2:09 mark of the first frame. "Pat is a very dangerous striker, so it easily could have been me KOed today," Palelei said. "Thats why I wanted to take the fight immediately to the ground and use my ground and pound. Ive been working my Brazilian jiu-jitsu lots this camp. When I get on top, Im not coming off you." In a middleweight matchup of "The Ultimate Fighter 17" teammates, Clint Hester (9-3) was awarded a TKO win after opponent Dylan Andrews (17-5) was unable to answer the bell for the third round. "Game plan going in to this fight was to keep it standing, look for openings and take advantage of them," Hester said. "I felt that was going to plan and disappointed we couldnt go into the third round." In the nights first main-card matchup, Brazilian UFC newcomer Bethe Correia (7-0) earned a hard-fought decision win over longtime MMA veteran Julie Kedzie (16-13). "I cant put into words how happy I am," she said after the win. "Julie was the favourite fighter, and I beat her. This win will have to put me up in the division." 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