miaowang123: Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors in the

Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors in the

17 Oct 2019 at 21:47

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Jake Ball have been freed by England to play in this weeks NatWest T20 Blast fixtures. Russell Westbrook Rockets Jersey . Bairstow and Root have been made available to play for Yorkshire Vikings in their Roses showdown with Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford on Friday, live on Sky Sports 2 from 6pm.Woakes, who replaced the injured Ben Stokes for the second Test against Sri Lanka, is permitted to play for Bimingham Bears against Durham Jets at Edgbaston on the same day. Moeen, fresh from a Test best 155 not out against Sri Lanka in Durham, is also set to play for Worcestershire Rapids at Northamptonshire Steelbacks, with Ball eligible for Nottinghamshire Outlaws encounters with Durham (Wednesday) and Lancashire (Saturday).England have also allowed Ball to figure in Notts opening Royal London One-Day Cup match against Northants next Monday before he joins up with the squad ahead of the third Test at Lords on Thursday, June 9.Alastair Cooks side have wrapped up the Investec Test series against Sri Lanka with a game to play, with a nine-wicket victory in Durham coming off the back of an innings and 88-run triumph at Headingley. Chris Woakes (left) was back in the England team for the second Test Also See: Fixtures/results Live cricket on Sky Get Sky Sports Cricket videos Gerald Green Rockets Jersey . Quarterback Drew Willy appeared to injure his throwing hand on the third last play of practice Thursday. DeAnthony Melton Jersey . LeBron James believes hes a major reason for their early failures. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats are turning into a difficult team to beat down the stretch, particularly at home. The Bobcats extended their home winning streak to eight games Friday night with a 105-93 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, continuing to inch closer to clinching their second playoff appearance in franchise history. "To me, to become a really good team, you have to win at home," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford. Theyre doing that. The Bobcats, currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, came in averaging 103.9 points and shooting 47 per cent in their last seven homes games. They shot 48 per cent against the Timberwolves. Al Jefferson had 25 points and 16 rebounds to set a single-season franchise record with his 20th 20-point, 10-rebound game of the season and the Bobcats held Kevin Love scoreless in the second half. "They brought me here to be a double-double guy, a 20-10 guy, and Im just living up to my contract," said Jefferson, who inked a three-year, $40.5 million deal this past off-season. Gary Neal, benched Wednesday for an "internal team matter," returned and provided a huge lift off the bench with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He said his comfort level is improving since being acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks just before the NBA trade deadline. "Ive never been traded in the middle of the season before, so that has been tough," Neal said. "That is what I can bring to the team is scoring, but you also want to fit in. You dont want to come in with the second team and think that you can shoot all of the shots. It was a feeling-out process and so far I have done a good job." Kevin Martin had 19 points to lead Minnesota. Love had 18 points in the first half, but was 0 for 7 from the floor in the second half against Josh McRoberts and improving rookie Cody Zeller. It didnt help that Timberwolves centre Nikola Pekovic left late in the third quarter with a sore right ankle. He missed most of February with an ankle issue. "I was particularly tired and it was just a tough game from the start," Love said. "They were hitting a lot shots. They kept making shots and we didnt get any stops. ... I dont think I scored in the second half. It was a tough night for everybody." Said McRoberts: ":-(Love) is going to hit all seven of those shhots tomorrow even if he faces the same defence. Trevon Duval Jersey. When youre that good, as a defence you just try to make it tough for him to get to a spot he wants to get to." The Bobcats entered the night with the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference and three games below .500. Charlotte led by as many as 18 in the second half and the Timberwolves were never able to get the lead under double-digits after the break. Jefferson, the only player in the Eastern Conference averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this season, continued his torrid pace with his 25th 20-point game in the last 28 outings. The 6-foot-10 centre only had eight points in a 119-92 loss at Minnesota on Jan. 10. But he had 12 at the break and helped the Bobcats extend their lead to 18 in the third quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play on an up-and-under scoop shot that drew a foul. He was 12 of 26 from the field. The Timberwolves came in looking for their first four-game road win streak in five years, but instead fell back to .500 on the season and six games behind Dallas in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Bobcats broke up a tie game by outscoring the Timberwolves 32-20 in the second quarter behind 16 first half points from Neal, who was 5 of 7 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. Charlotte shot 54 per cent in the first half, including 5 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc. "The start of the second quarter just killed us," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. "They didnt miss many shots. I thought defence was our problem. Second half, it was an even game but we were too far down." The Bobcats (32-34) have won five of six and are trying to catch the Washington Wizards for sixth place in the East. The way things stand now, that would be the difference between playing the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. NOTES: Clifford said before the game he doesnt expect centre Brandon Haywood back this season. Haywood has been out all season with a stress fracture in his left foot that hasnt quite healed. He said the Bobcats will look to sign another centre soon. ... Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats. ... Zeller provided a boost off the bench for Charlotte with 10 points and eight rebounds. Charlottes bench outscored Minnesotas 47-32. ' ' '



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