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spent two years at Minnesota prep school Shattuck St
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ORLANDO, Fla. Custom Cubs Jersey China . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players. Rookie Victor Oladipo is a key cog in that group and provided a glimpse of what team officials hope that future will look like. Arron Afflalo scored 32 points and Oladipo had 30 points, a career-high 14 assists and nine rebounds as the Magic rallied to beat the New York Knicks 129-121 in double overtime on Friday night. The Magic trailed by as many as 14 points, but got 25 points and 10 assists from Oladipo after halftime to stave off the Knicks. Tobias Harris added 22 points. "Every game I control one thing -- my energy that I bring to both ends of the floor," Oladipo said. "Im just trying to do that every game, whether its a good game or a bad game." Orlando snapped a three-game losing streak in its first game following the departure of Glen Davis, who had the remainder of his contract bought out earlier in the day. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said he thought Oladipo played a complete game. The rookie logged a team-high 49 minutes. "He got what he wanted to on both ends of the floor," Vaughn said. "On the offensive end, in a lot of different places we kind of let him go and it was his decision to make." Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 44 points, but only 14 came after the third quarter. The Knicks loss ended their eight-game win streak over the Magic. It was also the latest head-scratching loss for a New York team that has last four of its last five and is yet to post back-to-back wins this month. "Every game right now is important," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "They made the run at the start of the fourth and we couldnt get it back. Its a tough loss." Afflalo found Oladipo for a layup to put the Magic in front 117-113 in the second overtime. But Afflalo injured his right ankle in the process by stepping on Raymond Feltons foot and didnt return. He will be evaluated before the teams upcoming four-game road trip. Orlando was dealt another blow on the Knicks next possession when centre Nik Vucevic was whistled for his sixth foul. Anthony then hit a pair of free-throws to get New York back within a basket. Oladipo answered, getting fouled when he fought past Tim Hardaway Jr. for a layup. He completed the three-point play to push the lead back to 120-115. The Knicks got it back to a point before another three-point play by Oladipo made it 125-121 with 30.7 seconds left. Felton had a 3-pointer rattle out on the other end, forcing the Knicks to foul and Orlando sealed the win at the free throw line. "It is just another game that I feel that we gave away," Anthony said. "We were up and had a comfortable lead. They fought back and never quit." Felton hit back-to-back jumpers to put New York up 113-111 with less than three minutes to play in the first overtime. Oladipo quickly countered on the other end with a driving layup before Felton sprinted ahead and found Tyson Chandler for a reverse slam. But the ball bounced off Chandlers head and popped up and out of the basket. Chandler was called for offensive interference and the basket was waved off. The Magic got the ball, but Afflalos pass was knocked away by Chandler and prompting a Knicks timeout with 41.6 remaining. Anthony briefly got open in the lane, but could only get off a leaning 16-footer that hit the rim and was rebounded by the Magic, who called their own timeout with 8 seconds left. Orlando got up several shots at the rim, but Vucevics final tip attempt fell short. The Knicks led by as many as 14 in the third quarter before the Magic trimmed it to 86-83 in the opening minutes of the fourth. Afflalo sent it to overtime when he hit a step-back jumper with 42.9 seconds left to tie it 106-all. As solid as his performance was, Oladipo said hes not satisfied. "Theres so much room for improvement. I can get so much better," he said. "I really feel like I havent scratched the surface of how good Im going to be. I honestly believe that." NOTES: The Magic improved to 1-4 in overtime games this season. ... J.R. Smith made his 12th start of the season in place of injured swingman Iman Shumpert, who is expected to miss about two weeks with a sprained ligament in his left knee. ... Former Magic player Penny Hardaway was honoured in a ceremony as part of the teams ongoing 25th anniversary season celebration. Dillon Maples Jersey . This time, Tebow was in a groove the entire second half -- not just in the waning minutes -- and his teammates on defence were getting gobbled up. Xavier Cedeno Jersey . But unfortunately for the Niagara Falls, Ont., native, a pulled muscle wouldnt allow him to go past the second set. Japan sealed its victory over Canada in the first-round Davis Cup tie after Nishikori downed an ailing Dancevic 6-2, 1-0. http://www.customcubsjersey.com/custom-j...1280n.html . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nathan MacKinnon and his equally skilled Colorado linemates Gabe Landeskog and Paul Stastny were too fast for Minnesota in the first two games. In losing twice to the Avalanche, the Wild found themselves flat-footed at the wrong times and letting their young, potent opponent dictate the pace and flow. So how to change the direction of the series? Going home is a good place to start. After MacKinnon, Landeskog and Stastny combined for four goals and six assists Saturday in Game 2, the Wild will now have the benefit of the last change in Game 3. That means coach Mike Yeo can match Matt Cooke, Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter with the MacKinnon express, a mix of grit and speed that could help the Wild stem the tide a bit. "Im a third-line player for a reason and I feel like thats the best way Im able to contribute," Cooke said Sunday. He added: "Obviously I want that matchup." Here are five more things to know about the series as it shifts Monday for Game 3: WHOS IN WILD NET?: The Wild survived injury and illness involving their top three goalies this season, surging into the playoffs behind fourth option Ilya Bryzgalov. But Bryzgalov was pulled from Game 2 in the second period. Darcy Kuemper entered and stopped all 14 shots he faced. Asked after practice Sunday who will get the assignment, Yeo was glib. "Yes, we will," the coach said, smiling. Bryzgalov has plenty of past post-season experience with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Anaheim, but that includes plenty of goals given up, too. "If that were what we were choose to do it would be because, first off, he made some big saves in the game. I dont think we should forget about that. We werent playing our game in front of him. And this is a guy whos played a lot of good hockey for us," Yeo said. Kuempers performances in January and February are another reason the Wild were able to make it this far. He slumped a bit in late March and then suffered a concussion. Kuemper said he knocked the rust off in practice last week and felt in full rhythm Saturday iin his first action in three weeks. Fergie Jenkins Jersey. . "If I do get the start Im really excited. Its a big game for the team, and Im going to do my part and Im sure everyone else is going to do their part," he said. VARLY MEANS VICTORY: Semyon Varlamov led the NHL this season with a whopping 41 victories, but the Avalanche won Game 1 without a strong showing by their goalie. Varlamov was much better in Game 2. "We were a little nervous in the first game. Some of us never played in the playoffs. It was pretty tough to start. When youre nervous you sometimes try to do different things," Varlamov said. Coach Patrick Roy didnt need the relief, though. "A lot of people thought a lot about the first game but, hey, he played well enough to win," Roy said. "I had no doubt in my mind he was going to play a really solid game. He was sharp. He made the key save. I have so much confidence in him and faith in him." BACK HOME: The Wild finished 26-10-5 at Xcel Energy Center this season, the seventh-best record in the league. For fans who havent celebrated a series victory by this team since 2003, anticipation for this first home game will be high. The shift in vocal support from one side to the other always has the potential to impact a playoff series. "You can feel it, just the atmosphere, when you walk into that rink," Yeo said. OLD PALS: MacKinnon, like many NHL stars, spent two years at Minnesota prep school Shattuck St. Marys, which is in Faribault about 50 miles south of St. Paul. MacKinnon said several of his friends from those days will be coming to the game. THE MATH: Teams that win the first two games in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoffs series have an all-time series record of 287-45, a winning percentage of .864. That doesnt bode well for the Wild, but the Avalanche would of course be unwise to rely on the law of averages to advance them to the next round. "We just want to remain focused," Roy said. "Cant make a conclusion after only two wins. Now all weve earned is a chance to win Game 3 tomorrow." ' ' '
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