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04-05-2017, 08:45 AM | #1 |
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Kevin Durant withdrew Thursday from the U. Matthew Stafford Youth Jersey .S. national team, the biggest loss yet for a weakening American squad that will go to Spain without the leading scorer on its last two gold medal winners. The NBAs MVP took part in the Americans training camp in Las Vegas last week, but then informed team officials that he wasnt going to continue. "Kevin reached out to Coach K and myself this afternoon and expressed that he is just physically and mentally drained from the NBA season and his attention to his many responsibilities, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. "He tried to give it a go at our recent Las Vegas training camp but felt coming out of camp that he was not prepared to fulfil the commitment he made to the team." Durant was the MVP of the world championship in 2010, leading the Americans to that title for the first time since 1994. The Oklahoma City star also started on their gold medal-winning team in the 2012 Olympics and led the Americans with 19.5 points per game. His withdrawal comes less than a week after Indianas Paul George was lost to a broken right leg and follows previous withdrawals by All-Stars Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. "This was an extremely difficult decision as I take great pride in representing our country," Durant said. "I know that I owe it to my USA Basketball teammates to be totally invested in the experience. After going through training camp with USAB, I realized I could not fulfil my responsibilities to the team from both a time and energy standpoint. "I need to take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season. I will be rooting for USAB and look forward to future opportunities with them." The U.S. roster is down to 15 players. The Americans resume practicing next Thursday in Chicago and have to finalize a 12-man roster before the World Cup of Basketball begins in Spain on Aug. 30. The Americans may still be the favourites, but are increasingly beatable with the losses of Durant and George, who were expected to fill the two starting forward spots. Durant carried a young U.S. to the title four years ago in Turkey with a series of sensational performances, averaging 22.8 points and shattering a number of team offensive records. He set the American mark with 38 points in a semifinal victory over Lithuania. At 6-foot-10, Durant is big enough to play as a power forward internationally, creating a matchup nightmare for opponents who cant defend him on the perimeter. He led the tournament in 3-pointers attempted and made in the 2010 worlds. He has averaged 19.9 points in 31 games in a U.S. jersey, shooting 48 per cent from 3-point range. But Colangelo said the Americans understood his need for time off. "Coach K and I fully support Kevin," he said. "His well-being is the most important thing to us and we support him taking the time to get ready for next season. Hes been part of the national team program for eight years and a big part of the success we have achieved, and we look forward to him being part of our success in the future as well. "We are excited about the opportunity ahead of us and to getting back to work in Chicago on Aug. 14," Colangelo added. "All 15 players are committed to the USA Basketball standard, which is to come together to win gold medals." Anquan Boldin Lions Jersey . Three pitches later, he was hugging Mike Napoli at home plate after his teammates winning home run. Napoli and Ortiz hit consecutive homers with one out in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox rallied past Minnesota 2-1 Wednesday, sending the Twins to their fifth straight loss. Kerry Hyder Lions Jersey . "If we only consider this season," Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, "there is just one club in Manchester -- and its ours. Lions Kerry Hyder Rush Jerseys, T-Shirts - Authentic Kerry Hyder Womens Black Jerseys Shop . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State.SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs knew the Philadelphia 76ers were coming in on a long losing streak. They had no intentions of taking it easy on them. Austin Daye had 22 points and Tim Duncan added 19 as the Spurs earned their 14th straight win with a 113-91 victory Monday night that sent the 76ers to their 25th consecutive loss. Philadelphia will face Houston on Thursday with the dubious distinction of being a loss shy of tying the NBA record for consecutive losses set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11. Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he felt terrible for former assistant Brett Brown, now the 76ers coach. But he added that he did not feel sorry for "one of my best friends," because pity would upset his former protégé. "Obviously, its a rough season for them," Duncan said. "Its a rebuilding season for them. (Brown) knows that, they know that. They have a lot of young guys. Hes just trying to get the system in place that has them playing the way he wants them playing. Its a process. He knows that." Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills scored 15 points each and Cory Joseph added 12 for San Antonio, which maintained the leagues best record at 54-16. The Spurs did not play starters Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green, but did not need them against the lowly 76ers. Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams each scored 19 points, Byron Mullens added 15 and Elliot Williams had 14 for Philadelphia (15-56). Daye, who was averaging 2.3 minutes while playing in only four games since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 20, finished 6-for-10 on 3-pointers and had six rebounds in 29 minutes. It was familiar to Brown, who served as an assistant under Popovich for seven seasons. "Hes lucky," Brown said, "and Ive seen this over so many years — people can come into that system and shine. This system creates opportunities for everybody, and he took advantage of those. The attention you have to give others and the movement that they have in their structure allowed him to get freed up a lot. "He reaped the benefit of playing in that system." The Sixers kept pace early against the Spurs, with Carter-Williams fearlessly driving into the paint for a series of short jumpers and Hollis Thompson hitting a pair of 3s. Popovich called timeout with 3:44 left in the first quarter after Williams dunked over Duncan to tie it at 19. Philadelphias early success awoke the Spurs and brought out the best in Daye. His athleticism and energy were just what San Antonio needed after a listless sttart. Barry Sanders Youth Jersey. "Hes a skilled guy," Popovich said. "Obviously he can shoot it. But hes also a good passer. He knows how to play the game. It was good to be able to get him some time tonight." San Antonio went on a 26-5 spurt bridging the first and second quarters, capped by a 19-0 run. Daye first ran down Carter-Williams, swatting his layup attempt from behind, leading to Leonards driving layup for a 23-19 lead with 3 minutes left in the opening quarter. Mullens 3-pointer snapped a 6 1/2-minute drought, but the Spurs were up 45-27 with 6:35 left in the first half. Daye then stole an outlet pass on the run, driving directly at a backpedalling Mullens on a 3-on-1 break. Daye faked a behind-the-back pass to Duncan on the left and dished to Joseph on the right, who fed an open Duncan for a layup and a 47-27 lead. "He got an opportunity," Duncan said. "He really stepped up and shot the ball really well. The boy is really long. He made some great plays defensively (and) rebounded the ball. He did a lot of good things out there." The Spurs started Ginobili to give the team another facilitator on the court with Parker out. Ginobili did that and more, scoring seven points and grabbing two rebounds in eight minutes. He drove to the basket for a series of reverse layups, but was blocked by the rim on a one-handed dunk attempt in starting 2 for 3 from the field. San Antonio finished with 31 assists while shooting 56 per cent from the field. "Its tough," Carter-Williams said. "They move the ball really well with the extra pass. They try to move the ball and almost tire you out on defence. You got to be able to rotate and play throughout the shot clock." The victory did little to satiate the Spurs or Popovich, who are hoping to return to the NBA Finals after falling to Miami last season in a heartbreaking seven-game series. "Were playing well through this stretch and winning some games," Duncan said. "Pop is still not satisfied, obviously, with what were doing. We want to stay healthy. We want to stay moving in the right direction. "Hopefully we can ride this into the playoffs and feel good going into the playoffs." NOTES: San Antonios Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have played for 39 seasons, which is seven years more experience than the entire Philadelphia roster combined. The 76ers have six rookies on this years roster. ... Former Spurs F Malik Rose, a Philadelphia native, now serves as an analyst for 76ers television. He filled in for the Spurs in the same capacity before joining Philadelphias broadcast team. 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