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best kicker last year in Pro Bowler Matt Prater
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PORTLAND, Ore. Fake Air Max 95 . -- Dorell Wright hadnt hit a game-winner since high school, and certainly hed never had a winner that was his only basket of the game. But on Wednesday night, Wright hit a 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the late-charging Sacramento Kings 100-99. The three points amounted to his final total. "That was pretty cool right there," the nine-year NBA veteran said after the game. "Especially since I was mad at myself for not making my shots the whole game." Ray McCallum missed a 21-foot jumper as time ran out for the Kings and Portlands Robin Lopez grabbed the rebound and held it tight for the victory. LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points to lead the Blazers, who have won six of their past seven games. "It was an exciting way to win a game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Dorell picked a good time to make his shot." Portland, which has missed the playoffs for the past two seasons, clinched a post-season berth with a 100-94 victory over New Orleans on Sunday. The Blazers were fifth in the Western Conference with three games left. DeMarcus Cousins had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who were without injured guard Rudy Gay. Sacramento has lost four straight and sit near the bottom of the conference in front of the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah. Sacramento trailed by as many as 15 points late in the first half, but the Kings pressured the Blazers in the second and tied it at 84 on McCallums 3-pointer with 8:17 left in the game. Damian Lillards 3-pointer put Portland up 91-86, but Cousins layup tied it again at 93 with 3:12 left. Aldridge dunked, but Travis Outlaws jumper tied it again before Cousins scored to make it 97-95 for the Kings with 1:31 left. It was Sacramentos first lead of the game. Lopez made two free throws for the Blazers to tie it at 97 with 42.3 seconds to go. Cousins made a pair of free throws to give the Kings back a 99-97 lead with 14.8 seconds left before Wright made the 3 for the win. After the game, Wrights Blazers teammates nicknamed him "Little Robert Horry." "We didnt get a great shot, didnt get great execution on that last play, but a great opportunity for Ray to make a play," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "But he came up a little bit short." Lillard had 19 points and 10 rebounds. "We made it a lot tougher than it should have been," Lillard said. Gay also missed Tuesday nights 107-92 loss at Oklahoma City because of a lower back strain. Guard Isaiah Thomas missed his ninth straight game because of a right quad injury. Former Blazer Travis Outlaw got his fourth start of the season for the Kings. The Kings appeared worn out after playing the night before and Portland pulled away in the second quarter with a 10-0 run that made it 48-35. The Blazers extended the lead to as many as 15 points and went into the break with a 56-46 lead. But the Kings closed the gap to 68-65 on Jason Thompsons dunk midway through the third quarter. Cousins hook shot got Sacramento within 70-67. But Portland responded with a 9-0 run capped by Thomas Robinsons jumper to pull back ahead 79-67 before the quarter was over. Sacramento had a nine-point run to narrow it to 79-77 with 10:45 left. Lillard answered with a 3-pointer for the Blazers. "Were playing against great teams that are playing for something and its not like they arent giving it their all," McCallum said. "So to know that we can compete with some of these top teams should give us a lot of confidence." Notes: The Portland Trail Blazers -- as well as owner Paul Allen -- are appearing on Thursday nights episode of Portlandia on the IFC channel. All-Star forward Aldridge previously appeared on the show as Penny Marshalls boyfriend. ... Former Oregon State guard Jared Cunningham was playing the final game of a 10-day contract with the Kings, although Sacramento could keep him until the end of the regular season. ... It was Blazers rookie Alan Crabbes birthday. Wholesale Vans For Sale . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. Cheap Fake Air Max 95 . TSN2 December 18 Knicks at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 December 18 Thunder at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 December 21 Pacers at Timberwolves 7pm et/4pm pt. TSN2 December 23 Timberwolves at Cavaliers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 December 25 Wizards at Knicks 12pm et/9am pt TSN December 25 Thunder at Spurs 2:30pm et/11:30pt TSN December 25 Cavaliers at Heat 5pm et/2pm pt TSN December 25 Lakers at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN December 25 Warriors at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN NBA on TSN - January Date Game Time Network January 1 Kings at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 3 Jazz at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 5 Nuggets at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 7 Rockets at Cavaliers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN January 7 Suns at Timberwolves 9:30pm et/6:30 pt. TSN January 9 Bulls at Wizards 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 9 Cavaliers at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 13 Timberwolves at Pacers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 January 15 Thunder at Rockets 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 15 Cavaliers at Lakers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 16 Cavaliers at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 22 NBA All-Star Selection Show 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 January 22 Spurs at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 22 Nets at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 25 Heat at Bulls 1pm et/10am pt TSN January 25 Thunder at Cavaliers 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt TSN January 26 Timberwolves at Thunder 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 29 Nuggets at Grizzlies 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 29 Bulls at Lakers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 NBA on TSN - February Date Game Time Network February 5 Clippers vs. http://www.fakejordancheap.com/wholesale...china.html .Chanathip Songkrasin opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Kroekrit found the target twice in the 57th and four minutes from fulltime.Vietnam and Malaysia play their second leg on Thursday. Vietnam won the first leg 2-1.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The Denver Broncos have switched kickers again, waiving first-year pro Brandon McManus and signing Connor Barth, who hasnt kicked in an NFL game since 2012.Barth, 28, won a competition with 38-year-old Jay Feely at the Broncos complex in suburban Denver on Tuesday.The Broncos were in the market for a new kicker after McManus clanked a 33-yard field goal off the right upright in Denvers 39-36 win over Miami on Sunday. His miss followed a seven-minute drive that stalled when Peyton Manning tripped on third-and-1 from the 7 for a sack.Cameras caught several of McManus angry teammates throwing their helmets in disgust when the Broncos came away empty.That blunder came on the heels of a game in St. Louis where the Broncos passed up field goal attempts of 54 and 55 yards indoors.Obviously, Im disappointed in being released, but I thank the Broncos for giving me the opportunity to play for such a great organization and team, McManus said in a text to The Associated Press.Not too happy with myself with how I went out missing that FG against the Dolphins, but will only use it as motivation to get better and come back better than before, McManus added. Ive been set back before and I will get back up and play in this league again.McManus longest field goal was from 44 yards, and he didnt really get the chance for a pressure kick for the AFC West-leading Broncos.While solid on kickoffs, McManus was 9 for 13 on field goal attempts. His 69.2 per cent conversion rate was dead last among NFL kickers, ranking ahead of only Nate Freese and Alex Henery, both of whom were released by Detroit earlier this season.Barth, who spent four of his five seasons in Tampa Bay, has plenty of experience in crunch time, although not for a team with quite the Super Bowl aspirations of the Broncos (8-3).Barth has made 84 per cent of his career field goal tries. He was the most accurate kicker in Buccaneers history but missed all of llast season after tearing the Achilles tendon in his right foot during a charity basketball game. Under Armour Clearance. He returned this year but was beaten out by rookie Patrick Murray.In his last season in Tampa Bay, Barth made 85 per cent of his kicks and was 6 of 9 from 50-plus and 12 of 13 from 40-49 yards.The Broncos had the leagues best kicker last year in Pro Bowler Matt Prater, who made 25 of 26 field goal tries, including an NFL- record 64-yarder against Tennessee.He had a poor preseason, however, and was suspended four games for violating the leagues drug policy by drinking alcohol. The Broncos acquired McManus from the Giants for a seventh-round draft pick in 2015. They decided to keep him over Prater, who subsequently signed with Detroit, where hes made 12 of 16 field goal attempts.At the time, the Broncos said they liked McManus strong leg and high ceiling. But the decision to part ways with Prater also had to do with money. They saved nearly $2.3 million off this years cap and $3.25 million off next years with Praters release.There was some speculation the Broncos could sign a veteran kicker but still keep McManus as a kickoff specialist — his 48 touchbacks on kickoffs ranked second in the league. That would have meant finding a roster spot elsewhere and injuries have thinned the teams depth.Barth wasnt used on kickoffs by the Bucs in 2011 or 12 and in 2010 he had just one touchback on 78 kickoffs for Tampa Bay.McManus is not unlike many young kickers who stumble in the pros before finding a foothold. What made his situation different is that he was playing for a team on a Super Bowl-or-bust mission.Were a performance-based business and regardless of what your job description is youre expected to perform, coach John Fox said Monday.___AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '
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