Themenwelt » threat is becoming commonplace for Talib. J

PHOENIX -- After a laugher over the New York Knicks, the Phoenix Suns are on their longest winning streak in four years. Goran Dragic scored 32 points in 32 minutes and the Suns routed the Knicks 112-88 on Friday night for their season-high sixth victory in a row. Eric Bledsoe added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Markieff Morris scored 16 and Miles Plumlee had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who led by 22 at halftime and 32 in the third quarter. Carmelo Anthony scored 21, seven below his season average, and Amare Stoudemire 19 for the Knicks, blown out for the second time in three games on their five-game western trip. "They didnt play good defence," Dragic said of the Knicks, "so tonight we could get everything that we want. We swing the ball two and three times, Im sure we get an open guy." With Memphis loss at Golden State, Phoenix pulled a half-game ahead of the Grizzlies for the No. 7 playoff spot in the West. The Suns are a game ahead of Dallas. The Knicks fell two games behind Atlanta for the eighth spot in the East. After winning eight of nine, Phoenix is just 1 1/2 games behind No. 6 Golden State and 2 1/2 behind No. 5 Portland. "In the West, its so crazy," Dragic said. "The first nine teams, they all deserve to be in the playoffs. But its only eight teams that can get in. We just have to take care of our business. I think if we play like tonight, were going to be in good shape." Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said that unless his team finishes 7-2 "or something like that," its unlikely Phoenix can catch the Warriors or Trail Blazers. "But they (the players) do look at the standings," Hornacek said. "They see that its bunched up there and lets see what we can do." Dragic, who scored 18 in the first quarter, returned to start the second half after getting five stitches to repair a cut just above the left eye, the result of a second-quarter collision with Tyson Chandlers massive arm. "I tried to poke the ball from him and he turned and hit me with his elbow right in the eye," Dragic said. "I dont know what it is. Its always the left eye." He said hes had stitches above the eye five times in his career, twice this season, and always on the left side. Phoenixs streak is its longest since the Suns won 10 straight four years ago. The smaller Suns dominated the boards 56-37 and had a 46-24 advantage in points in the paint. "We just werent ready for them," Anthony said. "We werent prepared for them, and they ran us out of the gym." It wasnt quite as bad for the Knicks as their 127-96 embarrassment against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, but it wasnt close after the first 1 1/2 quarters. The Suns, a season-high 15 games above .500, outscored the Knicks 24-6 over the final 8:49 of the half to lead 62-40 at the break. "We are playing for something and it is disappointing because we just cant afford to give games away," New York coach Mike Woodson said. Dragic had 20 at the half on 8-for-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 on 3s. Phoenix shot 52 per cent in the first half to New Yorks 39 per cent. The Suns were 8-of-20 on first-half 3s, the Knicks 4-of-13. The smaller Suns even outrebounded New York in the first two quarters 26-17. Anthony, the No. 2 scorer in the NBA at 28.2 points per game, had 10 in the first half on 4-of-10 shooting. Things got worse for New York early in the third quarter. Dragic made two 3s and Bledsoe one to put the Suns up 78-47 and Plumlees reverse jam on an alley-oop pass from Bledsoe made it 82-50 with 6:40 left in the period, Phoenixs biggest lead against anyone this season. NOTES: Tim Boven, an engineer at Honeywell from suburban Peoria, won $77,777 by sinking a shot from halfcourt during a second-quarter timeout. ... Stoudemire played in Phoenix for only the second time since leaving the Suns following the 2010 season. ... Phoenix is 20-10 against Eastern Conference foes. Justin Abdelkader Jersey .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Anthony Mantha Jersey . has left the San Jose Sharks to become the Boston Bruins director of player personnel. http://www.cheapredwingsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-curtis-joseph-jersey . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C. Ted Lindsay Jersey . Will Venable and Ryan Ludwick drove in a run each for the Padres, who have taken six of their last seven contests and clinched their third straight series win after winning the first two in this set. Clayton Richard (4-9) allowed five hits and a pair of runs over seven innings, while fanning five. Steve Yzerman Jersey . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- For a guy who loves to talk on the field, New Englands Aqib Talib sure has been quiet lately. The Patriots cornerback injured his hip in the Patriots win against New Orleans on Oct. 13 and missed the next three games. He hadnt spoken after practice until Thursday, when he said hes eager to return to the field Monday night for New Englands game against the Carolina Panthers. "Im practicing good," Talib said, with a wide grin. "Day to day. Trying to get back." Fresh off the Patriots bye last week, Talib was a limited participant in Thursdays practice. Thats the same designation hes had for a while, and he said watching his teammates play without him was "the worst thing in the world." Coach Bill Belichick was more candid than usual when asked about the player who leads the team with four interceptions and whos been solely responsible for shutting down some of the leagues elite pass catchers. "Hes continued to progress. Well keep doing, as they can tolerate it, do more and evaluate how they do at a little bit higher level," Belichick said. "Then if that goes well, then ramp it up and see where we are as we go through the week." New Englands secondary withstood the absence of its top playmaker, going 2-1 during the stretch. The Patriots (7-2) could benefit from his return against the Panthers (6-3), who have won five straight games and scored 30 or more points in five of their past seven. "Unbelievable player, happy to have him on the field with us," said defensive end Rob Ninkovich. "I think the guys that stepped in when he was gone, they did a great job, but having him back is just going to help us as far as have more depth and keep guys rolling." Should Talib return for New Englands only Monday night game this season, he likely will be matched up with one of the most successful receivers of the past decade in Steve Smith. Talib, who spent his first fouur-plus seasons playing in the NFC South with Tampa Bay, is familiar with the flashy veteran.dddddddddddd "He brings it every Sunday or Monday or whenever the game is," Talib said. "I think if youre competitive like that, youre going to be pretty successful." Smith has tallied more than 800 receptions and 11,000 yards in his career, and has a team-high 42 catches for 450 yards and three touchdowns this season. Talib knows exactly what to expect from Smith -- his best effort and a lot of chatter. "Youve got a lot of guys who do a lot of talking to (the media), and we get out there and they dont say too much on the field," Talib said. "But Steve is definitely one of those guys, hes going to do it on the field." Not unlike Talib. "Yeah," he said with a smile, "I say a couple words." Shadowing the oppositions top threat is becoming commonplace for Talib. Julio Jones was near the top of the league in every major category when Talib held him to a season-low six catches. He caught just three of his first 10 for 22 yards. The following week, Talibs talents helped limit Cincinnatis A.J. Green to five catches for 61 yards. Green now leads the league in yards and ranks second in receptions. And still to come was his premier performance, spearheading an effort to shut down New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham, who tops all receivers with 10 touchdowns but was held without a catch against New England for the first time in a span of 46 games. Belichick went so far as to compare Talib to former Patriots cornerback Ty Law. "Maybe Ty would be similar in that he was a good corner and you could put him on a lot of players and not maybe feel like you need to give him a lot of help," he said. "I think Talib is a guy that we have a lot of confidence in and probably would treat his matchups a little bit differently than weve treated some other ones in the past." ' ' '