Bewerbungen » Bird himself is holding out hope

RIO DE JANEIRO --?Gone was the all-offense, all-action play that turned the last two gold-medal games into classics.To get by Spain again, the U.S. Olympic mens basketball team would have to win ugly, so unusual its practically un-American.It was just a real different game today, coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Same result, though.The U.S. advanced to its third straight gold-medal game win an 82-76 victory Friday, another tight matchup between the teams that met in the last two championship games.Klay Thompson scored 22 points for the Americans, who will play Serbia on Sunday for their third consecutive Olympic title. Serbia routed Australia 87-61 in the second semifinal. Australia and Spain will vie for the bronze medal prior to the gold-medal game.This is where we wanted to be, Kevin Durant said. We talked about it all summer and to be here for the final game, to win the gold, for all the marbles, we like our chances.The Americans pulled away to win 118-107 in 2008 and held on for a 107-100 victory in London, but the defenses made their mark in this one. The U.S. was just good enough again against Spain, with bodies falling more than shots and several technical fouls keeping the teams from finding an offensive flow.It certainly wasnt pretty, but Olympic gold never loses its luster.Its an amazing feeling now, center DeAndre Jordan said.?We really want to accomplish this.It was the lowest-scoring game for the Americans in the Olympics since the 2004 semifinals, when they managed 81 in a loss to Argentina.But Jordan made his presence felt in the middle with 16 rebounds and four blocked shots to go with his nine points.Durant added 14 points on the day he moved past LeBron James into second place on the U.S. Olympic career scoring list.Kyrie Irving had 13 for the U.S.Pau Gasol scored 23 points for Spain, which made it tough on the Americans for the third straight Olympics, but again had to settle for coming close against the worlds No. 1 team.I think the key of the game was their defense, Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. Their athleticism, their size, they made our offense get difficult during most of the possessions.Gasol said after he believed Spain missed its best chance to beat the U.S.They are not playing as well as other times theyve played, but they are still a very talented team individually, Gasol said. ``I just (feel) like if we had been a little sharper with our shots, if we would have moved the ball a little better, if we would have boxed out more, and make it a two- or three-possession game, then youre talking about a whole different story.Spain shot just 39 percent and couldnt get any consistent option other than Gasol, who played with a wrap covering his sore right calf. It was the kind of defense the Americans thought they could play but hadnt much in the tournament.Serbia and France both surpassed 90 points against them and Australia scored 88, as the team with 10 Olympic newcomers took longer than hoped in grasping international offenses.This time they contained a team that was as explosive as themselves over the last four games, as Spain had averaged 97.3 points and won by more than 25 per game after dropping its first two in Brazil.The Americans finally built a comfortable lead when they opened the fourth quarter with six straight points to go ahead 72-57. But Spain was able to keep the gap from getting any bigger and chipped away at it in the final minutes, the margin ending up smaller than in the previous matchups.Spain came to the Olympics an aging team without one of its top players, Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who couldnt make it back from a broken right foot sustained during the season.But the Spanish, as they had in the previous two Olympics, found their stride just in time to run into the Americans. Thompson scored 17 in the first half, including a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left that made it 45-39 at the break.Both teams were called for multiple technical fouls in the tense first half. One of them, on Durant, gave him a third foul, as technicals also count as personal fouls in international play.Nikola Mirotic then picked up a personal and technical on the same play later in the period, sending him to the bench with four after he led Spain with 23 points in its quarterfinal rout of France.The Americans were far off their usual offensive play, shooting only 42 percent for the game and complaining about a wet ball in the first half. But they grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in their 24 straight Olympic victory. Now they need one more to stay on top.You want to get there, two-time gold medalist Carmelo Anthony said. You want to have that feeling.fake jerseys china . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. china jerseys . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. wholesale jerseys china . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. cheap china jerseys . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011.He may have been axed by NSW for game three but Greg Bird isnt giving up on his State of Origin career.The 31-year-old was the biggest casualty from NSWs loss in game two last month which condemned them to a 10th series defeat in the past 11 years.And while it would seem his dumping by selectors brings down the curtain on his 18-Origin career, Bird himself is holding out hope of a recall in 2017.Youve just got to go out and earn your position back, thats all there is to do, Bird told NRL.com.They have said that theyre going to make a change for younger players to come in but if youre good enough youre old enough - or young enough - so hopefully I can let my footy do the talking next year and fight my way back.Birrd can see a silver lining in his dumping however, ensuring hes physically fresh to help Gold Coasts tilt at a first NRL finals berth since 2010.ddddddddddddThe Titans head into this Fridays clash with St George Illawarra just two points behind the eighth-placed Dragons and very much in finals contention.Bird says delivering for his club team is all hes now focused on after his Origin disappointment.Having three matches in 10 days for the first game does knock the body around but having the week off to freshen up, Im really raring to go for the last eight games that are left, he said. ' ' '