andere Teams » days 7-6 victory ov

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Two MVPs were too much for the Chicago Sky.Candace Parker scored 19 of her 30 points in the first half, Nneka Ogwumike added 27, and the Los Angeles Sparks won 95-75 in the teams semifinal playoff opener Wednesday night.Two-time WNBA MVP Parker had nine rebounds and newly crowned MVP Ogwumike had 10 rebounds and six assists for the Sparks, who were playing their first game in 12 days after early-round byes in the revamped playoffs. The game was at the Pyramid on the Long Beach State campus, 24 miles from downtown Los Angeles.Nneka and I have a really good chemistry in the high-low and we were able to capitalize on that, Parker said. Its been an amazing journey for me to sit back and watch Nneka develop as she has. You rarely see an MVP dive on the floor and get an extra possession for your team. Im learning just as much from her.Ogwumike has been teammates with Parker since 2012.With Candace theres so much to learn from her. She sees the game, Ogwumike said. We understand each others game.The Sky was missing injured Elena Delle Donne and her team-leading averages of 21.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. In her absence, the offensive load was spread among four players. Jamierra Faulkner scored a leading 13 points off the bench. Cappie Pondexter added 12, Tamera Young had 11 and Courtney Vandersloot 10.One thing I can guarantee is missed shots or turnovers, were going to come back an even stronger team in this second game, Pondexter said.The Sky forced seven turnovers in the opening quarter when they trailed by two. But they couldnt keep up the pressure and Los Angeles outscored Chicago 30-15 in the second, the Sparks highest-scoring period of the game.If you give up a 30-point quarter to that team, its tough to beat, Vandersloot said. After that it seemed like we were just trading baskets and not doing enough to win.The Sparks ran off nine straight points for an 86-65 lead in the fourth.The Sky never got closer than 12 points in the third, with Parker scoring the Sparks final six points on a three-point play and a 3-pointer. Ogwumike had 12 in the quarter, including eight in a row, stealing the ball and converting at the other end in one possession.I dont like her going right all the time. I want to see her go left and score, Sky coach Pokey Chatman said of Ogwumike. You have to make people go to their countermove and make them uncomfortable, and we didnt do that enough.The Sparks led 52-35 at halftime, pulling away with a 23-8 run to end the second quarter. Parker had nine points, Ogwumike seven and Kristi Toliver hit a 3-pointer to cap their scoring. They shot 62 percent in the half.TIP-INSThree-time NBA MVP Magic Johnson hugged Ogwumike before she received her WNBA MVP trophy from league president Lisa Borders before the game. On hand to support Ogwumike was her sister Chiney, who plays for the Connecticut Sun, their mother and an uncle. Its great to see big boss at our games, Parker said of Johnson, who co-owns the team. We were fortunate to talk to him before the playoffs began and to pick his brain about what it takes to win a championship. ... Sparks C Jantel Lavender won the leagues sixth woman award on Wednesday, receiving 26 of the 39 votes from a national media panel. Lavender came off the bench in all 34 regular-season games after being a starter the previous two seasons. She averaged 9.6 points and shot a career-high 53.8 percent from the field.DELLE DONNES THUMBDelle Donne sat on the Sky bench in street clothes with a wrap on her right thumb after recent surgery. She joined Betnijah Laney, who is out with an ACL tear, under the basket while the team warmed up for the second half.STREAKINToliver was 3 of 7 from 3-point range, extending her streak as the only player in the league to make at least one 3 in every game played. She hit 81 from long-range in 33 regular-season games.DRAFT PICKThe Sparks will select fourth in the 2017 draft as a result of the lottery held earlier Wednesday. They had 227 chances out of 1,000 to land the top pick, which went to San Antonio. The Sparks acquired Connecticuts lottery pick through a draft-day trade in April.WHATS NEXTGame 2 is Friday at Staples Center, the Sparks home court that was unavailable for the best-of-five series opener because the Los Angeles Kings were playing an exhibition. Nike Vapormax Herr Rea . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Nya Vapormax . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. http://www.airvapormaxsverige.com/ . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Nike Vapormax Rea .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Nike Zoom Fly Rea .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Two players having career years look to continue to produce in near anonymity Saturday night when the Texas Rangers host Oakland in the second contest of the three-game series.Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus recovered from a disastrous playoff game against Toronto last year to have the best season of his career. Oakland third baseman Ryon Healy got a late start to his rookie season, but is one of the best rookies in the second half of the season.Both will have their work cut out for them Saturday as Andrus faces a rookie pitcher hes never seen before in right-hander Raul Alcantara (0-1) while Healy and the Athletics try to solve right-hander Yu Darvish (5-4).Andrus had two key errors in Game 5 of the American League Division Series against Toronto last year, but rebounded with his best season average-wise (.295) and is four RBI shy of his career high of 67. Hes also been one of the best clutch hitters in baseball as hes hitting .444 with runners in scoring position since June 24.Im trying to do the same thing I do every single day, same routine, same mentality, Andrus said. Dont try to do too much. This year its actually paying off the way I want it to. I dont think Ill be changing any time soon.That approach certainly wont change as the Rangers close in on their defense of the American League West title. Fridays 7-6 victory ovver Oakland knocked the Texas magic number down to seven.ddddddddddddAndrus, who had an RBI single Friday, doesnt expect the Rangers to change their approach if and when they clinch the division.Having a lot of fun every single day, I think thats a big key for us, Andrus said. Knowing were close to making it to the postseason but at the same time theres still a lot of baseball ahead. Trying to stay focused every single day and just continue to win series, thats our approach.Having to face Healy and the As five more times this season will make that difficult. Healy, who went 2-for-4 on Friday to extend his hitting streak to seven games, has hit 10 home runs since the All-Star break. Thats the third-most among AL rookies in that span. Hes also batting .382 over the last 30 games.The influx of energy Healy and fellow rookie Joey Wendle (.319 average) have added to the offense have been tangible.I think these guys rub off on them, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. Were down and things arent going well and all of the sudden an injection of energy and it rubs off on you. I think they enjoy having these guys around. It looks like the energy level is better. It looks like the effort level seems to be better across the board. ' ' '