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noticed, most notably in a dominant

  • September 3, 2019 10:22 PM EDT

    CLEVELAND -- The Los Angeles Lakers left Canadian Robert Sacre on the court after he fouled out in the fourth quarter. Air Force 1 Mid Nz . Coach Mike DAntoni felt it was the best move for his depleted team. Its been that kind of year for the short-handed Lakers. Los Angeles lost two more players to injuries on Wednesday night and had to go to a little-known NBA rule to hold on for a 119-108 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. "That was, by far, one of the strangest games Ive ever seen," DAntoni said. Rookie Ryan Kelly scored a career-high 26 points and Steve Blake had his first career triple-double for Los Angeles, which snapped a seven-game losing streak. The Lakers set a franchise record for 3-pointers, going 18 for 37 from long range. But Los Angeles first win in two weeks was overshadowed by a bizarre ending. The Lakers had eight available players coming into the game. Then Nick Young twisted his left knee in the first half and Chris Kaman fouled out early in the fourth quarter. When Jordan Farmar left with leg cramps in the final period, that put Los Angeles at five players. Sacre committed his sixth foul with 3:32 remaining, but the North Vancouver, B.C., native stayed in the game because DAntoni was out of healthy bodies. The Lakers were assessed a technical foul. "That was just crazy," Sacre said. "When I got my sixth foul, I was just like, Oh, dang! Then I got to come back in, so I thought it was something special. I didnt know what was going on." Each side has to have five players on the court at all times during an NBA game. With the Lakers down to five healthy players, DAntoni was informed by the officials that he could leave Sacre on the floor and any addition foul on the centre would also result in a technical. "I didnt know about that rule, but its a nice rule," DAntoni said with a chuckle. The Lakers were without Steve Nash (rest), Jodie Meeks (sprained ankle) and Jordan Hill (strained neck). Pau Gasol (groin) and Kobe Bryant (knee) remained in Los Angeles for the three-game road trip. The situation was so unusual that Nash, who was in street clothes, went to the locker room and put on his uniform late in the game, but DAntoni said he had no intention of putting the point guard into the game. "I was not going to go to Nash -- it was not an option to us -- but the other thing we talked about was having Jordan go out there and just stand in the corner," DAntoni said. "When the officials came over to explain the options to me, we decided to keep Robert out there. I knew he would be smart and not commit too many more fouls." Nash played for the first time since Nov. 10 on Tuesday night after being out because of a nerve problem in his back. Meeks sprained his right ankle about a minute into Tuesdays game and Hill was elbowed in the head by Kaman. Farmar scored 21 points and Wesley Johnson added 20 for the Lakers, who shot 53 per cent from the field. Blake had 11 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. C.J. Miles led Cleveland with 27 points. All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving was taken out with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter and finished with 11 points as the Cavaliers lost their sixth consecutive game, tying their longest losing streak of the season. Anderson Varejao was the only starter to play in the fourth quarter as Miles, Anthony Bennett of Brampton, Ont., Matthew Dellavedova and Dion Waiters got the Cavaliers back in the game. "They definitely deserved to be on the floor," Irving said. "That second group did a heck of a job. You have to give a whole bunch of credit to them. If I were the coach, I would have played that second group as long as he did." "Maybe we can learn something from what that group did on the floor," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "They played the right way." The Lakers built a 29-point lead in the second quarter and led 96-68 late in the third period before the Cavaliers rallied. Cleveland cut the lead to 100-90 early in the fourth and got to 114-108 before Blakes 3-pointer with 56.9 seconds left finally sealed the win. While the Cavaliers were off Tuesday, the Lakers lost in Minnesota and flew through a snowstorm to arrive in Cleveland around 2 a.m. Wednesday. While Los Angeles had 22 assists on 25 field goals while building a 70-49 halftime lead, Clevelands offence was stagnant. The Cavaliers shot 37 per cent from the field and were 1 of 18 on 3-pointers. NOTES: The Cavaliers hung a new banner of Austin Carrs retired No. 34 jersey from the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday. The original banner vanished last week and is still missing. Carr was the first player drafted by the franchise in 1971 and currently works as a TV colour analyst for the team. ... Nash is expected to play Friday night in Philadelphia. ... Lakers G Manny Harris second 10-day contract expired and the team chose not to re-sign him for the rest of the season. Harris went out on a high note with 18 points against Minnesota. Air Force 1 Sale Nz . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. Air Force 1 Low Sale . -- The Minnesota Vikings released reserve cornerback A.SOCHI, Russia – It was late August at the Olympic orientation camp in Calgary, more than five months from the official start of the Sochi Olympics, and Canadian head coach Mike Babcock delivered a message for those players not invited to take part. “Do something about it,” Babcock said defiantly. “The great thing about life is you get to control what happens to you the majority of the time. Do something about it if youre not here.” Jamie Benn was not among the 25 forwards selected to participate in that late summer camp, but it was the 24-year-old from Victoria B.C. who managed to emerge in Canadas tournament-opening win over Norway. Though he played just under nine minutes in his first Olympic game – a team-low – Benn turned in the eventual game-winner and made himself a noticeable presence alongside John Tavares and Patrice Bergeron on an energetic Canadian fourth line. He beat out 12 of the aforementioned forwards for the opportunity in Sochi, including the impressive likes of Claude Giroux, James Neal, and Eric Staal. “It was just motivation,” Benn said of not being selected to the orientation camp, which saw 47 players gather in Alberta for a brief three-day meet-and-greet. “Obviously Canada can put some pretty good teams together and every guy that went to the orientation camp deserved to be there. It just gave me a little bit more motivation coming into this year.” The first-year captain of the Dallas Stars, Benn totaled 22 goals and 51 points in the first half, his tantalizing combination of size, speed, grit and skill too appealing for Steve Yzerman and the Hockey Canada brass to pass up. “I just went out there inn the first half and focused on the Dallas Stars and what I had to do to win hockey games over there,” said Benn, a fifth round steal in the 2007 draft. Air Force 1 Low Mens Sale. “I didnt change anything. I didnt try to impress.” Upon arrival in Sochi, Babcock stressed that opportunity and ice-time would be earned amongst his 14 forwards. And though Benn didnt play a lot against Norway he did more than enough to get noticed, most notably in a dominant second frame of Canadas 3-1 win. It was Benn who drew a penalty in the offensive zone just moments before Shea Weber scored the first Canadian goal, a blast that eased some tension from a jittery first frame. And then it was Benn just a few minutes later – he was nearly rocked by Ole-Kristian Tollefsen moments earlier – making no mistake on a terrific cross-ice feed from the intuitive Bergeron. “Benn can skate and hes hard, shoots the puck,” said Babcock, who raved about Benn, Bergeron, Tavares and Martin St. Louis, the bottom group of Canadian forwards on this night. “It was a key for us to win our shift each and every time we went out there,” Benn said. “Its taking a hit or getting a hit to get in it and I think thats what happened in the second there.” One of eight Canadians making their debut on the Olympic stage on Thursday, Benn said whatever nerves may have been there in the furious buildup to a hard-fought match against the Norwegians disappeared quickly. And by nights end there was sweet redemption for a player who fought his way onto the team. “Its great to be a part of, represent your country,” he said. “It was exciting to get it going today.” ' ' '