NEW ORLEANS -- The Eastern Conference finally stopped Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin -- then stopped its losing streak at the NBA All-Star game.
Karim Benzema Jersey . Kyrie Irving had 31 points and 14 assists and was voted the games MVP, Carmelo Anthony made an
All-Star record eight 3-pointers and scored 30 points, and the East rallied for
a 163-155 victory over the West on Sunday night. "Its a great honour," Irving
said. "We had a few MVPs. Everyone out here today is an MVP." Durant and Griffin
each finished with 38 points, four shy of Wilt Chamberlains All-Star game
record. But the East scored the final 10 points to pull out a game it trailed by
18. Irving scored 15 points in the fourth quarter as the East ended a three-game
losing streak. LeBron James had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
"The superstars of our league were just telling us to compete on every play,"
Irving said. "Trying to play as much defence as possible. You know, sticking to
our game plan. We had a game plan going in and we executed." Griffin shot 19 of
23, while Durant finished with 10 rebounds and six assists. But the West was
shut out after Durants 3-pointer gave it a 155-153 lead with 1:59 left. Indianas
Paul George made three free throws, Anthony nailed his final 3-pointer, and
James scored to make it 161-155. George closed it out with two more free throws
and finished with 18 points. The game that usually doesnt get tight until the
final minutes was close throughout the fourth quarter, neither team leading by
more than four until the final minute. Chris Paul had 11 points and 13 assists,
and first-time All-Star Stephen Curry had 12 points and 11 assists for the West.
But the best point guard on the floor was Irving, who shot 14 of 17 and helped
the East ring up 87 points in the second half after it surrendered a record 89
in the first. In a colorful tribute to New Orleans, players wore sneakers and
socks that ranged from green and blue to orange and purple, making the game look
like a Mardi Gras parade. The parade was one of layups and dunks for the West,
which scored 44 points in the first quarter and 45 in the second. Griffin had 18
points in the first quarter and Durant had 22 at halftime, both two shy of
records set by Glen Rice in 1997. And there was plenty of music, the rosters and
starting lineups introduced around a concert by Pharrell Williams, who was
joined by his own All-Stars in Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Snoop
Dogg. Magic Johnson led a band, too, encouraging the All-Stars to join him in
singing "Happy Birthday" after the first quarter to Hall of Famer Bill Russell,
the NBAs greatest champion who was celebrating his 80th. The All-Stars played
better than they sang. The East finished with 61 per cent shooting, needing all
sorts of offence after it simply couldnt defend Durant and Griffin. Durant made
6 3-pointers and easily blew past the 28.8 points he had been averaging in
All-Star games, which was an NBA record. Outside of the ugly sleeved jerseys, it
was a good look for the NBAs midseason showcase, bouncing back strongly from an
even All-Star Saturday night. The new format of the slam dunk contest Saturday
wasnt a hit, but every night is a dunk contest when Griffin is involved. The guy
who once jumped over a car to win a slam dunk contest had eight slams in the
first 11 minutes, the backboard often barely finished shaking from the last one
when he threw down the next. The West began to open a gap in the second quarter
behind a hometown star and a former one -- Anthony Davis of the Pelicans for
former New Orleans guard Paul. Durant made a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to
make it 89-76 at the break, one point better than he and the West had two years
ago in Orlando. Durant and Griffin each had 30 points by the end of the third
quarter, but the East trimmed what was a West 18-point lead to 126-123 after
three. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors made his first All-Star game
appearance, and had eight points in his 15 minutes of playing time for the East.
Geoff Cameron Jersey . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the
Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night.
Jermaine Jones Jersey . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St.CALGARY -- The Calgary Flames have competition in goal at training
camp for the first time in years. The retirement of workhorse Miikka Kiprusoff
left a void in net as the Flames prepare for the 2013-14 NHL season. Kiprusoff
was Calgarys undisputed No. 1 after backstopping the Flames to the 2004 Stanley
Cup final. The softspoken Finn played seven seasons of 70-plus games during his
tenure in Calgary and was considered the backbone of the team. There isnt an
obvious frontrunner to replace Kiprusoff. The battle to be the Flames starter is
expected to be between Joey MacDonald of Pictou, N.S., Karri Ramo of Finland and
Swiss native Reto Berra. Laurent Broissoit of Port Alberni, B.C., and another
Finnish product, Joni Ortio, round out the five goalies at training camp, but
lack the pro experience of the other three. Calgarys camp opened Wednesday with
physical testing at the University of Calgary kinesiology lab. The first
exhibition game is Saturday at the Saddledome against the Edmonton Oilers.
Albertas NHL clubs will split their squads and host games in each city. The
Flames open the regular season on the road Oct. 3 against the Washington
Capitals. Their home opener is Oct. 6 versus the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames
havent reached the playoffs in four seasons. The trading of longtime captain
Jarome Iginla last season and the departure of Kiprusoff marks a new era for the
hockey club. MacDonald was Kiprusoffs backup after the Flames plucked him off
waivers in February. The 33-year-old is the most experienced goalie at camp with
122 NHL games split between Calgary, Detroit, Toronto, New York Islanders and
Boston Bruins. MacDonalds record in the lockout-shortened season was 8-9-1 with
a goals-against average of 2.87 and a save percentage of .902. "Most years
coming to camp, most teams have their clear-cut number one," MacDonald said.
"Being in Detroit for so long, you always had an old guy there that you had to
battle. This year, its going to be exciting. The opportunity is there and its
going to be an exciting team." He started three of Calgarys last four games of
the season and signed a one-year contract in April that will pay him $925,000
this season. Ramo, 27, played 48 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning between 2006
and 2009 and also has American Hockey League experience. Hes spent the last four
years in Russia in the KHL. "Tampas testing was two days and now its one day so
I guess the rules have changedd a little bit," Ramo observed.
Paul Pogba Jersey. "Now its about showing what you can do." The Flames picked up Ramos rights from the Montreal Canadiens
in 2012 in the same deal that returned forward Mike Cammalleri to Calgary.
Current Flames general manager Jay Feaster was the GM in Tampa Bay when the
Lightning drafted Ramo in the sixth round in 2004. Feaster signed Ramo to a
US$5.5-million, two-year contract in July. Kiprusoff is Ramos goaltending hero,
although the Finns paths havent crossed much. Ramo has met him, but doesnt know
if hell have a chance to ask Kiprusoffs advice about playing in Calgary. "I
really looked up to him when I was younger," Ramo said. "He was one of the
biggest idols for me. It would be really nice to play with him, but theres not
that chance anymore." Berra, 26, fills the net at six foot four and 194 pounds.
Calgary gained his rights in the deal that sent defenceman Jay Bouwmeester to
St. Louis in April. The Flames then signed Berra to a one-year contract with a
base salary of $765,000. All of Berras pro hockey experience has been in the
Swiss leagues, so he travelled to the Flames summer development camp in July and
returned to North America two weeks ago to learn the smaller ice. "For sure, its
a big difference, the ice in Europe and the ice here, but now I think Im good to
go," Berra said. "For a goalie its nice because you probably get more shots.
"Everything is close to the net and maybe they try to shoot more than anything.
I like to have a lot of shots." Berras 29-save shutout lifted Switzerland to a
3-0 win over the United States in the semifinal of this years world championship
in Stockholm. "It was pretty big. It was really a good game for me," he
recalled. Switzerland went with former NHL veteran Martin Gerber in the final
against the host Swedes, who won the gold. Calgarys unsettled goaltending
situation will make training camp feel different for the veteran Flames. "That
will be an adjustment," Cammalleri admitted. "Thats the first thing that comes
to my mind with Miikka. Not many goaltenders have backstopped a franchise that
consistently for that long. "I guess it adds to the whole idea of turning the
page and new opportunities for different guys. As a team we want to be great
defensively and our goaltender is going to be part of that so itll be some
healthy competition back there."
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