division was in the cards. from corse178's blog
ATLANTA -- Cody Zeller couldnt bear the thought of another road loss. Adidas Nmd España .We needed this one to finish the road trip, he said. Its been a tough, long road trip for us, but I think it says a lot about our team that we came in here and competed and won a close game.Marvin Williams and Marco Belinelli each scored 19 points, and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a four-game skid with a 107-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.Kemba Walker had 18 points and 10 assists for Charlotte, which grabbed control with a big second quarter. Zeller finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 points for Atlanta, and Paul Millsap scored 14 of his 20 points in the third quarter. Dwight Howard grabbed a season-high 23 rebounds, three shy of his career best.The Hawks have lost five of six at home and 12 of 16 overall, a freefall since starting the season 9-2 and tying for the Eastern Conference lead.Its frustrating, Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. Were all competitive. We want to win.Millsaps 15-foot jumper gave the Hawks a 95-94 lead with 3:51 remaining, but Belinelli answered with a layup, and the Hornets never trailed again. Williams ended the last trace of a threat, hitting a 3-pointer with 27.8 seconds left to make it a five-point game. Walker set him up with a perfect bounce pass.The whole game plan was to try to contain Kemba, Millsap said. Those other guys got free. Give them credit. They ran their offense and they hit some tough shots.Charlotte ended its five-game road trip, all against Eastern opponents, with a much-needed win. The Hornets started the first quarter 4 of 16, but went on a 30-10 run to take a 12-point lead as the Hawks went cold in the second.Atlanta went on a 13-1 run to pull within four midway through the third, and Hardaway hit a pair of free throws with 7:41 remaining to make it 87-86 for Atlantas first lead since the final minute of the first.Howard and Zeller then had a minor scrape that resulted in technical fouls on both players, and the Hawks lost momentum.TIP-INSHornets: Walker returned after having an excused absence for a personal matter and missing Fridays loss to the Celtics. He has scored in double figures in each of his 27 games. ... The Hornets had lost five straight and 10 of 11 at Philips Arena.Hawks: Hardaway started his fifth straight game for Kent Bazemore, who recently missed two games with a knee injury. Bazemore had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes in his longest time on the court since returning two games ago.SAGER TRIBUTEThe Hawks had a moment of silence before the game for Turner Sports personality Craig Sager, a longtime Atlanta resident who died of leukemia Thursday in his adopted hometown. Sager, an NBA sideline reporter known for his outrageous sport coats and ties, was honored with Amazing Grace on bagpipes and players standing on the court with the house lights down.UP NEXTHornets: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.Hawks: Visit Oklahoma City on Monday. Ultra Boost Hombre . PAUL, Minn. Adidas Nmd r2 Baratas . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. http://www.zapatillasnmd.es/adidas-superstar.html . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. UFC 206 was originally supposed to feature a light heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson, but the UFC was forced to scramble to find a new main event when Cormier was injured. The card is now headlined by a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis. The effects of this switch rippled all the way to Dublin when?Conor McGregor was forced to relinquish his official featherweight title to make room for future title fights. ESPN.com takes a closer look at this pay-per-view event by breaking down whats at stake, projecting who will win and providing quotes and statistics on each fighter.(Editors note: Pettis missed weight for the 145-pound interim featherweight title fight, coming in at 148. Dana White has said that the fight will still be an interim featherweight championship opportunity for Max Holloway, but no such opportunity will be granted to Pettis.)Max Holloway (16-3) vs. Anthony Pettis (19-5)Odds as of Dec. 9 (Courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook):Pettis:?+170 Holloway:?-190Holloway on Jose Aldo: I dont know why youre crying over spilled milkFor the first time in 2016, the UFCs featherweight division will be on the move again in Toronto -- or, as Holloway describes it, the murky water of the weight class will finally start to clear.While many would blame the divisions logjam on Conor McGregor, who recently relinquished the title after 11 months without a defense, Holloway believes current champion Jose Aldo is just as responsible.Aldo won an interim title at UFC 200 in July, but threatened to walk away from the sport entirely a few months later when the UFC didnt book him a rematch against McGregor. Holloway, meanwhile, was doing everything he could to get a fight with Aldo, which never materialized.I was supposed to fight him at UFC 205 and 206, said Holloway, who is on a nine-fight winning streak. I dont know what the hell that guy is doing.I can understand his frustration a little, but at the end of the day, the UFC moved on. The guy is complaining and crying, and it wasnt going to change the companys mind. Sometimes youve got to go get your money, pick up and move on. I was sitting there trying to get big fights, and this guy is crying over spilled milk. Prove youre the best in the world and fight me. But Im not worried about that s--- now. Im worried about Anthony Pettis on Dec. 10.Holloway, out of Waianae, Hawaii, says he hopes an interim title would mean a fight with Aldo would be guaranteed next, but that will have to wait for now. He stopped short of accusing Aldo of ducking him this year, but hopes Aldos head is finally in the right place now that McGregor is no longer tying up the division.I dont know if its getting easier for guys to duck fights or not, Holloway said. I guess its up to how big your name is, how much youre worth, what opportunities you get. The UFC has been doing big money fights lately, and thats great. Im not one to hate. All I know is this fight gets me one step closer to greatness.Pettis defends interim title shotThere are several reasons behind the UFCs decision to hastily introduce an interim featherweight title bout to this event (before Pettis missed weight), but this basic fact remains: If original headliner Daniel Cormier had not suffered an injury and fallen out of UFC 206, this fight wouldnt have been scheduled to be an interim title fight.The whole situation seems a little forced, especially when you consider Pettis is just 1-3 in his past four fights and has one win at 145 pounds. Regardless, Pettis says he absolutely deserves to be fighting for the title.I dont care what anything thinks or what their opinions are on this, Pettis said. Zx Flux Blancas Baratas. I know how much time Ive put in, and its worked out to my favor.For his part, Holloway wasnt disappointed in the matchup, saying, People are talking about, He only has one win in this division. This guys name is big. The m-----f---er was on a Wheaties box. He was toasted as one of the best in the world. I want to show Im one of the best in the world, so this is the kind of fight I want.A former lightweight champion, Pettis intended to return to the 155-pound division once he has accomplished his goal of becoming a two-weight UFC champion.Given Pettis plans to return to lightweight, Aldos desire to eventually fight McGregor again and McGregors insistence that hes still the featherweight champion, this division still has a lot of questions surrounding it -- but for now, the only question Pettis is interested in answering centers around the interim title.This means were getting the next official shot at the title, Pettis said. Those title shots dont come easy in this sport, and this is a fight that guarantees, for one of us, the next official shot.Breakdown: Anyone here enjoy a good ol fashioned standup fight? Whats that? Everyone does? Yes, I thought so.Hey, maybe this fight does go to the ground at some point. Twenty-five minutes is a long time, so its certainly a possibility. But the bread and butter of this matchup figures to take place on the feet.If one of these guys shoots on the other, its likely because he is losing that battle.Holloway fights young. He brings a healthy pace, and hes willing to take risks. He fights like someone who has never lost, which is understandable, considering hes riding nine straight wins. Hes always getting better in very visible ways, including improved use of his height and reach and improved takedown defense.The space that usually benefits Holloway, however, plays into his opponents strengths here. Space is an open canvas for Pettis to create in. His struggles have usually come when opponents crowd him and dont play at a kickboxing distance. Holloway is an intelligent fighter. Expect him to play with the range and get in Pettis face at times.Both seem capable of fighting five rounds.Pettiss future at 145 uncertain after missing weightIn fairness, Pettiss future in the 145-pound division was already a little uncertain -- even before he missed weight.The former lightweight champion dropped down in weight class this year after a three-fight skid at 155 pounds. Even as he spoke about possibly winning an interim featherweight championship though, he didnt hide the fact that a return to lightweight division was in the cards.Theres unfinished business for Pettis in the lightweight division, in rematches with Rafael dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza -- the three men responsible for his losing streak.Once Pettis achieved his goal at 145 pounds, it was back to 155 -- and he never made it exactly clear what that goal was.Its quite possible it consisted of just two more fights. Saturdays interim bout against Holloway and then a shot at the official title against Jose Aldo. Had he won both of those, we might have had another McGregor situation on our hands -- as in, a featherweight champion whos probably prefer the lightweight belt.Now that Pettis has missed weight with an interim title on the line, his future is even less certain. An interim title represented the closest thing to a guarantee hed fight Aldo next. Without that, theres no guarantee Pettis will even remain in this division.Prediction: Holloway via TKO, third roundYou make the call: Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
The Wall