XRAY - Model racing cars

DENVER -- Paul Pierce scored 18 points and the Brooklyn Nets rebounded from their worst loss more than 10 years by routing the slumping Denver Nuggets 112-89 on Thursday night. Joe Johnson, Marcus Thornton, and Mason Plumlee each added 10 points for the Nets, who snapped a six-game losing streak in Denver. The Nets hadnt won in the Mile High City since a 112-102 victory on Jan. 27, 2007. Randy Foye had 15 points to lead Denver, which has lost four in a row and nine of 10. Brooklyns 7-foot centre Jason Collins, the NBAs first openly gay player appearing in his third game since being signed to a 10-day contract, was given a round of applause from the crowd when he entered the game for the first time with 8:02 left. Collins finished with three points. Before the game, Collins said he planned to meet afterward with the family of Wyoming college student Matthew Shephard, who was tortured and murdered in 1998 because he was gay. Collins wears his No. 98 jersey in Shepards honour, and he said during a pregame news conference that the chance to meet Dennis and Judy Shepard was "one of those cool treats in life." The Nets were coming off a 104-80 loss at Portland the night before, their biggest loss since a 47-point defeat to Memphis on Dec. 13, 2003. But they quickly put that behind them with a runaway win of their own in a game in which they never trailed. Pierce scored 11 points in the third quarter, helping the Nets extend their lead to 38 points. Brooklyn took an 89-56 advantage into the fourth quarter and played reserves for most of the rest of the game. The offensive struggles by Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (left rib fracture) for an eighth consecutive game, were epitomized in the first quarter. The Nuggets were held to a season-low eight points on 3-for-18 shooting from the floor (16.7 per cent) and trailed by as many 31 points in the second quarter before managing to get within 23 at the half. It got bad enough for the Nuggets that the crowd, after seeing Timofey Mozgov and Kenneth Faried both miss dunks in the first quarter, cheered derisively when Mozgov hit a layup early in the second. The Nets took advantage of the Nuggets horrible start to pull out to 59-36 halftime lead. Each of 10 Nets players seeing action to that point scored at least once. Denver ended up with as many turnovers in the first quarter as points. NOTES: The Nuggets were also without F Wilson Chandler, who was held out of the game because of sore right knee. ... The previous low for points in a quarter by the Nuggets was 12, against Oklahoma City on Jan. 9. ... The Nets Shaun Livingston made his 33rd start of the year, the most in a season in his career. ... Brooklyn improved to 4-10 in the second of back to back games. ... Since the beginning of January, the Nets have gone 17-8, fourth-best among Eastern Conference teams in that stretch. ... Denver, historically one of the teams with the strongest home-court advantage, fell to 14-15 at the Pepsi Center this season. ... All 13 Nets playing in the game scored. . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. . While Chelsea stayed two points behind leader Arsenal courtesy of Etoos hat trick, seventh-place United slipped 14 points from the summit this weekend. And the gap from the Champions League places is growing as well, with Liverpool six points ahead in fourth. http://www.officialsocceruswntshop.com/ ... ey/.Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. . Crawford hit his slam off Pirates starter Edinson Volquez to give San Francisco a four run lead in the fourth and they never looked back. Brandon Belt had three runs batted in as well. Bumgarner pitched all nine innings and allowed just four hits.Jon Jones six straight title defences have two things in common. First, they have all been against an opponent he has never fought before, and second, he has won them all. On Saturday Jones will once again face a challenger he has yet to meet in the octagon. Whether he wins or not is an entirely different story. At UFC 172 at the Baltimore Arena, Jones (19-1) will put his undisputed light heavyweight title on the line against Glover Teixeira. "Its the ultimate level of excitement to go out there and fight someone that you never sparred against before or you never had any physical contact with before," Jones said. "You figure out their strengths, their speed, what theyre good at. You figure it all out there on the fly. It just makes you feel so alive." Teixeira (22-2) is hailed as one of Jones biggest threats for the title at 205 lbs., thanks in large part to a 20-fight win streak he has put together over the last seven years. His pedigree is heightened more so by the fact that in those 20 consecutive victories he has finished his opponent 18 times (7 KO, 5 TKO, 6 submission). The streak, however, is nothing new to Jones. If not for a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009 for striking with illegal elbows, he would be a perfect 20-0 in his mixed martial arts career. He has also won 10 fights in a row since the DQ. Nonetheless, the achievement is not lost on the champ. "Obviously its something that I have to respect. Hes won 20 fights in a row for a reason," Jones said. "He must be something unique, special, but it motivates me. To beat a guy who has won 20 fights in a row you have to be something thats even more special." Although Teixeiras highlight reel could be used as a horror movie for pending opponents, Jones has certainly proven himself to be that "special" commodity. After winning the title in a dominant TKO of Maruicio "Shogun" Rua in 2011, Jones has gone on to successfully defend his belt against four former champions - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort - as well as one of the sports best wrestlers in Chael Sonnen and a narrow decision victory over Alexander Gustafsson. His latest fight, the five-round war with Gustafsson, showed the world that there are few things the reigning champion cant do. He had never looked so vulneraable in the octagon after being awarded the unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).dddddddddddd He had never looked more exposed, battered and beaten than he did that night. But in the end his hand was raised and the belt was back around his waist. Seven months later, Jones returns as what might be an even more dangerous fighter. "Having a long fight, having a marathon-style fight, it definitely gives me more confidence to know that not only do I have the cardio to keep up, I have the heart to keep up when the going gets tough," he said. It has long been known, and proven in his fight with Gustafsson and in many challenges before, that Jones is a superior physical specimen. He has a natural speed and precision that is a nightmare for all competitors, but its his aforementioned heart and mental strength that separates him. Meditation is a vital part of Jones training regiment, culminating on fight day when Jones says he likes to take his team away from the clutter of the upcoming event to prepare his mind for battle. "Well just look up some parks and beautiful scenic areas to go to, usually based around nature, and go visit that and just get some time away from the cameras and the hotel and well spend anywhere from an hour to two hours out there, just clear our heads and refocus on why were actually there in that town or city and thats my thing, thats what I do," he said. Jones also admits he is a visualizer. He enters every fight with the thought of his hand being raised, carrying the belt out of the arena and getting ready to prepare for another challenger. Clearly, its working. "Your mental approach is ultimately what reflects on the outcome of everything you do in life," he said. "I definitely credit my mental approach to martial arts and life to the success in the octagon." As for his seventh title defence, which would set a new light heavyweight record should he win, Jones is once again ready for a fighter he has never faced before. "Ill go out there and just be something that Glover couldnt train for - young, fast, athletic, creative, different," Jones said. "I see myself confusing him, frustrating him and ultimately stopping him one way or another whether its TKO, submission or a knockout. I plan on going out there and fighting smart, fighting hard and breaking him." ' ' '