Biete - Deuterium » tober. Buffalos 51 losses were a franchise

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Oklahoma Thunder took the fourth quarter off and almost paid for it against the Sacramento Kings. Kevin Durant had 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Thunder withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to earn their eighth straight win, a 97-95 victory over slumping Sacramento on Tuesday night. The Thunder were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, but hung on to improve to 4-3 on the road this season. "We cant ever take a win for granted," said Durant, who missed three of four shots and scored three points in the fourth quarter. "Its hard to win in this league. We won the game, thats all that matters." Although the Thunder played inspired defence in limiting the Kings to a combined 34 points in the middle two quarters, they had no answer for Kings diminutive reserve guard Isaiah Thomas in the fourth period. The Thunder built a 17-point lead early in the fourth, but had to hold off the Kings and Thomas, who scored 21 of his 24 points in the final period and missed a jumper with 1 second left that would have sent the game to overtime. "I felt like I was passive in the first half and I wasnt really doing anything on offence," said Thomas, who made 8 of 14 shots in the fourth, including a pair of 3s. "When I got in at the end of the third and fourth I wanted to try to make a difference. I was in attack mode and my teammates kept feeding me." Thomas made a 20-foot jumper with 37 seconds left, getting the Kings within 97-95. After Durant misfired on a 3, the Kings got the rebound and set up the final shot for Thomas, but it hit the front rim and Durant secured the rebound. "There are no nights off in the West," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "The West is so good and there are so many good teams and tough places to play." One of those teams and places is Portland, where the Thunder play Wednesday night. "We have to play better tomorrow night," Brooks said. "Were playing one of the hottest teams in the game right now. They have a great home crowd and have a great atmosphere. But our team has always been up for challenges and definitely tomorrow night will be a tough challenge for us." The Kings played without starting centre DeMarcus Cousins in dropping their fifth straight. He sprained his right ankle against Golden State on Sunday and watched Tuesdays game in street clothes. Cousins, the Kings leading scorer (21.7) and rebounder (10.1), is day to day. The Kings next play Friday at home against the Lakers. Russell Westbrook had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but also committed seven turnovers for the Thunder, who have defeated the Kings seven straight and 13 of 14. Jeremy Lamb scored 14 points, Reggie Jackson had 13, and Serge Ibaka had 13 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City. Rookie Ben McLemore scored 14 points for Sacramento, Derrick Williams added 13, Greivis Vasquez 12 and Jason Thompson had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings have made a habit of getting behind by double digits and making impressive fourth-quarter rallies. "DeMarcus doesnt play tonight, (were) playing against a team thats 12-3, and odds have them one of the favourites to get to the Finals out of the West," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "And we play them tooth and nail, giving ourselves a chance to win. At some point were going to pull these games out." The game was the start of a difficult stretch of road games for Oklahoma City. The Thunder play three games in four nights, then go home to face Indiana on Sunday. Thats followed by two more road games next week at Atlanta and Memphis. The Thunder have been flawless this season at home, winning all nine games and tying Indiana for the best home record. Oklahoma City just concluded a six-game home stand with a convincing victory Sunday against Minnesota. NOTES: The Thunder assigned rookie guard/forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League on Tuesday. He appeared in six games (one start) this season, averaging 1.7 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game. . The Kings shot 58 per cent in the first quarter, 33 per cent in the second, and 26 per cent in the third. . The Kings had eight turnovers after committing a season-high 24 Sunday against Golden State. Authentic Wholesale Nike Shoes . The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday. Cheap Nike Shoes From China Free Shipping . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. http://www.nikeshoesfromchina.com/.com) - The 2014 Holiday Bowl is the first postseason venture pitting a pair of ranked foes against each other, as No. Nike Shoes From China .Under the agreement announced Monday, the Cuban defector is guaranteed $68.5 million over six seasons.Tomas gets a $14 million signing bonus that is payable within 30 days of the deals approval by Major League Baseball, and then salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2016, $6 million in 2017 and $10 million in 2018. Wholesale Nike Shoes China . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. NHL draft lottery losers last year, the Florida Panthers had their number come up this year. In the meantime, chalk up yet another loss for the Buffalo Sabres. The Panthers bucked the odds Tuesday by jumping up a spot and earned the right to the top pick in June. Florida, which finished 29th in the league, vaulted ahead of the last-place Sabres, who had the best odds of winning the lottery held in Toronto. "It means a lot to us. Weve very excited," said Travis Viola, Panthers president of hockey operations. "Were looking to continue to build on our core talent of young players. Its just a great opportunity." It also marked a reversal of fortune for Florida. After finishing last a year ago, the Panthers were relegated to the No. 2 pick after Colorado won the lottery. The top two projected prospects are left wing Samuel Bennett, of OHL Kingston, who finished first in the final rankings released by NHL Central Scouting last week, and OHL Barrie defenceman Aaron Ekblad. The draft will be held in Philadelphia on June 27-28. The Panthers (29-45-8) had an 18.8 per cent chance of winning the lottery, behind only Buffalo (21-51-10), which had a 25 per cent shot. The Sabres continued whats been a losing trend since the season began in October. Buffalos 51 losses were a franchise worst, and the most losses in the NHL since the New York Islanders went 21-51-7-3 in 2000-01. General manager Tim Murray took the latest loss in stride, telling the teams website that he almost anticipated losing out on the No. 1 pick. "Were very comfortable," Murray said. "The other way wouldve been gravy, but its kind of what we thought would happen, and we prepared for it." The Sabres were guaranteed falling no further than second. Florida will have the first pick for the fourth time in franchise history. The Panthers are gradually rebuilding. They made a splash this year by acquiring goalie Roberto Luongo in a trade with Vancouver. And theyll be picking third or better for the fourth time in five years. Their previous top three picks -- defenceman Erik Gudbranson (in 2010), wing Jonathann Huberdeau (2011) and centre Aleksander Barkov (2013) -- all played significant roles this season.dddddddddddd. "Were anxious to put a winner in Florida," Viola said. The Panthers move up marked the fourth straight year in which the last-place team failed to win the lottery. Since the NHL lottery system was introduced in 1995, the last-place team has earned the No. 1 pick only six times. The Panthers had the No. 1 pick in the 2002 and 2003 drafts, but traded them away both times. They also had the No. 1 pick in 1994, when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski. The remaining 11 teams maintained their draft order based on the final standings, starting with the Edmonton Oilers staying with the No. 3 draft pick. Calgary will select fourth followed by the New York Islanders. The top 10 picks are rounded out by Vancouver picking sixth, followed by Carolina, Toronto, Winnipeg and Anaheim. The Pacific Division champion Ducks earned a lottery spot by acquiring a first-round pick in a trade with Ottawa, which finished 21st. The New Jersey Devils, who finished 20th, were included in the lottery to maintain the weighted odds, but were not eligible to be selected. The Devils are already slotted to pick 30th after being sanctioned by the NHL. The league ruled New Jersey circumvented the collective bargaining agreement by attempting to skirt the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million contract in 2010. Center Sam Reinhart (WHL Kootenay) and left wing Leon Draisaitl (WHL Prince Albert) were ranked third and fourth among North American skaters, while the top-ranked European skater is Finnish right wing Kasperi Kapanen. The Sabres actually have a shot at holding three first-round picks based on two trades they made this year. The Islanders have to until June 1 to decide whether to hand over their first-round selection to Buffalo this year or next year. Islanders head amateur scout Trent Klatt said the team has not yet determined its plans. The Sabres will also acquire the Blues first-round pick should St. Louis reach the Western Conference finals. ' ' '