$281,000 in the minors

[jinshuiqian0713]

NEW ORLEANS -- When Pelicans 7-footer Jason Smith stepped outside for the type of mid-range jumper he hits routinely, Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka sprang out to the perimeter and blocked the shot. While the Thunder can usually rely on plenty of scoring from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, it was a concerted defensive effort in the second half that helped them build and keep a comfortable lead down the stretch in a 109-95 victory over New Orleans on Friday night. "Everybody did a great job helping each other on defence and there was more communication," said Ibaka, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three of the Thunders 11 blocks. "Our focus was to contest every shot and make them make tough shots. Some nights they will make them but I think tonight we did a great job and that was the key." Durant scored 29 points and Westbrook added 25 as Oklahoma City beat New Orleans for the ninth straight time and 14th in 15 meetings. Most of those games occurred when New Orleans team was called the Hornets. Ryan Anderson scored 18 for the Pelicans, who lost their second straight at home while playing their third full game without power forward Anthony Davis, sidelined by a broken left hand. New Orleans also lost guard Tyreke Evans to a left ankle sprain late in the third quarter, and soon afterward Oklahoma City built a 15-point lead. "I hate to say we didnt play well. We just missed so many shots in the paint," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "Whether they blocked the shot or distracted us, or we threw it up there and just didnt make it, I thought that messed with us a little." New Orleans raced to an early double-digit lead, only to fall behind 58-52 by halftime after Westbrook pulled up for a quick 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the quarter and Reggie Jackson hit another with 2.7 seconds left. Westbrook said he was just trying to assure his team two possessions inside the last 38 seconds. "It worked out for us," he said. "We got two 3s out of it. They got nothing." Durant, who also had three blocks, opened the second half with a 3 to make it a nine-point game and the Thunder led the entire second half -- rather comfortably throughout the fourth quarter, going up by as many as 20. It was precisely the type of second-half effort the Thunder sought after giving up 35 third-quarter points in a loss at Portland two nights earlier. "We were really disappointed in how we lost last game and wanted to be better," Durant said. "Were a really good team after losses." Jackson scored 15 for Oklahoma City, which shot 50.6 per cent (39 of 77) and rarely allowed its lead to slip below double digits after Thabo Sefoloshas driving dunk made it 74-64 in the middle of the third quarter. Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon each scored 16 for New Orleans, which shot 37.5 per cent (33 of 88) and hurt itself by going 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Evans had 11 before his injury and Anthony Morrow 10. Oklahoma City shot nearly 59 per cent in the opening half, when Durant (19 points) and Westbrook (17) combined for 36 points. New Orleans had the largest lead of the half when Holidays reverse layup made it 22-11 halfway through the opening quarter. But the Thunder chipped away, regaining the lead early in the second. The game was tied at 52 after Gordons fast-break layup. Then came the back-to-back 3s by Westbrook and Jackson in the final half-minute of the second quarter, and the Thunder never trailed again. NOTES: Oklahoma City, which is 9-0 at home, improved to 5-4 on the road. ... New Orleans outrebounded Oklahoma City 49-41. Smith grabbed 12 rebounds for the Pelicans and Al-Farouq Aminu had 10. ... Oklahoma City turned 16 New Orleans turnovers into 24 points and outscored the Pelicans in fast-break points 17-10. ... New Orleans might have lost the game by an even wider margin if not for 19 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points. [url=https://www.cheapnbajerseys.store/]Cheap NBA Jerseys Online[/url] . Moors, from Cambridge Ont., landed a double-twisting, double somersault in the layout position, en route to a score of 14.600 points in the womens floor exercise, more than a full point ahead of runner-up Pia Tolle of Germany. [url=https://www.cheapnbajerseys.store/]Stitched NBA Jerseys[/url] . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapnbajerseys.store/. PAUL, Minn. [url=https://www.cheapnbajerseys.store/]NBA Jerseys Shop[/url] . Notes on Bergeron, Marchand, Gorges, Vanek, Gaborik, Doughty, Hiller and more. BRUINS STORM BACK TO TAKE GAME TWO The Boston Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals, to win Game Two, 5-3 over the Montreal Canadiens. [url=https://www.cheapnbajerseys.store/]Cheap NBA Jerseys Store[/url] . Moments after his Brooklyn Nets teammates ran out onto the court to congratulate him following their 100-98 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, Johnson could only shake his head at scoring only 13 points on 6-of-19 shooting.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Catcher Yan Gomes finds no issues in making a long-term commitment to the Cleveland Indians. He is confident the franchises strides in a turnaround 2013 season will carry over to future success starting this season. Gomes and the Indians completed a $23 million, six-year contract Monday after his breakout performance last season. "It goes into what it means to be in this organization. Youve got younger guys like ourselves just wanting to be here," Gomes said. "Were potentially signing a big amount of our careers. Theres not another place I would want to be with, especially from the top to the bottom here. Its the organization you want to be with." That feeling is mutual, even if Gomes provided a small sample size of the impact he can make behind the plate and with the bat. Assistant general manager Mike Chernoff and others in the front office are impressed with Gomes constant work to better learn Clevelands pitchers so they all find a comfort zone together. Gomes deal includes club options for 2020 and 21 that could bring the total to $42 million over eight years -- or even $48 million with escalators. "This is the organization I want to be with, that actually made it pretty easy," Gomes said before the scheduled opener in rain-soaked Oakland. "Im so thankful for that. My wife and I are excited to be Cleveland Indians for a while now. ... We got a little taste of the post-season last year. Thats what we play for." Gomes hit .294 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs in 88 games last season, his first with the Indians. The Indians went 49-30 when Gomes started, and manager Terry Francona went with Gomes during crucial games down the September stretch. "Its kind of been the motto of my career -- Ive always had to battle. Its not going to stop," Gomes said. "This is a huge blessing getting a contract like this, but now were talking about taking this team to another level." His new deal supersedes a previous one-year contract for 2014. The deal replaces a contract he agreed to in early March calling for a $513,000 salary in the majors and $281,000 in the minors. Gomes receives a $500,000 signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the contracts approval, and salaries of $550,000 salaary this year, $1 million in 2015, $2.dddddddddddd5 million in 2016, $4.5 million in 2017, $5.95 million in 2018 and $7 million in 2019. Cleveland has a $9 million option for 2020 with a $1 million buyout, and if that is exercised the Indians would have an $11 million option for 2021. The options may escalate by up to $3 million each based on MVP voting, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, and All-Star appearances. "Hes shown us that hes worth this contract," Francona said. "We have that much faith in him, and thats pretty amazing for a young kid with that kind of track record, or lack of track record, for us to buy in that much. So thats a pretty good compliment to him." Negotiations began during spring training. The deal with Gomes will keep Clevelands young core together for years to come. "You hope that these deals are win-win deals," Chernoff said. "They all want to be here. Its an environment, a culture, that people want to be a part of." The 26-year-old -- the first Brazilian-born player in the majors -- began last season at Triple-A Columbus, but after being brought up in April he stayed the rest of the year and was a major contributor as the Indians made the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Gomes was acquired from Toronto on Nov. 2, 2012. "He is the guy that, in spring training as were having these talks with him about a long-term contract, hes putting in more and more time to try to get to know the pitchers to build on where he was last year," Chernoff said. "Hes also a great organizational story. Our scouts worked really hard to identify Yan with Toronto and find a way to get him in a deal." Gomes was set to start and bat ninth in the season opener. Francona expressed his gratitude for the process. "I got a chance to maybe have a little bit of a front-row seat and it was kind of cool," he said. "Because those things just dont happen, in todays game especially, with the amount of dollars were talking about. ... To see them kind of work through it was really interesting. Its kind of a proud moment for our organization, because we got a guy that we really think a lot of tied up for a long time. Hes going to be a big part of what we do." ' ' '