Herausforderungen » The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern

SAN ANTONIO -- The fact that San Antonio weathered a spate of injuries and a road trip that lasted nearly a month did not surprise Detroit coach John Loyer. But the efficiency the Spurs showed in their return home and return to health left him and the Pistons a bit awe-struck. Marco Belinelli had 20 points to lead eight San Antonio players in double figures, and the Spurs worked through a lethargic start to beat the Pistons 120-110 on Wednesday night. Playing without injured All-Star point guard Tony Parker, San Antonio matched its season high with 34 assists while going 44 for 82 from the field (54 per cent). "Against the Spurs, you do not guard against two or three players; you guard a system of players," Loyer said. "They just plug guys in and find a way. Their ability to shoot the basketball separates them from being a very good team to close to a great team." Kawhi Leonard had 15 points for San Antonio in his return from a 14-game absence due to a broken finger. Manu Ginobili scored 16 points, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter had 13 apiece, Boris Diaw added 12, Patty Mills 11 and Cory Joseph 10. Ginobili had a team-high nine assists, Splitter added six and Leonard, Diaw and Belinelli had four each as the Spurs tied the season mark they set Jan. 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers. "You get 34 assists, thats really incredible," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "So the ball movement was fantastic, the pace, we rebounded a little better. It was a good win for them, being on the road so long. Coming home, they were a little anxious, playing a little fast in the first half. They calmed down and started playing solid basketball." Josh Smith scored 24 points for Detroit, which has lost three straight. Will Bynum added 18 points, Rodney Stuckey 17 and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 17 rebounds. The Spurs got off to a sloppy start despite having two practices during a five-day break following their annual Rodeo Road Trip that lasted nearly a month. "Its a big problem with us and we know it," Duncan said. "I think were trying to play very fast -- a little faster than were used to playing. Guys are trying to be really unselfish and force things some times. Weve got to take care of that at some point. Its a work in progress. Thats what we use the entire season for." The Spurs had 11 turnovers in the opening half, leading to 13 points and some pointed coaching by Popovich. "What the heck are you guys doing?" he screamed during a timeout following consecutive turnovers. In the second half, San Antonio returned to the crisp ball movement that became a staple of its early victories. The Spurs had 10 assists in the third quarter while shooting 12 for 19 from the field. Leonard had the initial assist of the quarter, leaping over a fallen defender to throw a bounce pass that Duncan gathered for a running slam ahead of Smith. "He made a huge difference for us on both ends," Duncan said. "Just having his length in there, especially in situations where theyre very good on the offensive glass. ... It was just great all around to have him back." San Antonio went on a 17-6 run beginning midway through the third to take an 85-75 lead with 2 minutes left in the quarter. Belinelli had seven points in the run and Ginobili added five points and assisted on two of Belinellis baskets. Belinelli returned the favour later, drawing Kyle Singler away defensively on a fast break and dishing to Ginobili for an open layup that gave San Antonio a 111-99 lead with 3:36 remaining in the game. "They are one of the best executing teams in the league," Loyer said. "They are a good team coached by a great coach. There comes a point in the game where you tell yourself you are in the game, down three or four, and then it turns into an 11-point game before you know it." Leonard missed his first two tries from the field in his first game since Jan. 22, coming up a foot short on a 16-foot attempt from the right corner on the games opening shot. He was credited with a follow of a missed free throw that Drummond appeared to tip in. "You got 20,000 fans watching you -- yeah, it took me a while," Leonard said. "Just (trying) to not think about my hand. Just go out there and play." Leonard followed with a 3-pointer and threw down a right-handed dunk on Smith off an alley-oop pass from Joseph. Leonard grabbed the brace on his right hand after the dunk, but quickly rose to race back on defence. "I thought he was great," Popovich said. "Thats a long time to not be on the court. His rhythm was pretty good. He played decent defence, took a few shots and made a couple. He did well. He did better than I would have thought, really, after all that time." Smith scored eight of Detroits final 10 points in the first quarter and had 20 in the first half. "We put up a good fight, but in order to beat an elite team like San Antonio, especially on the road, you have to be able to kind of play perfect basketball," he said. NOTES: Popovich had lunch with former President Bill Clinton, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and former mayor Henry Cisneros. Clinton was in town to celebrate Cisneros being honoured with the International Citizen Award from the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. ... Ginobilis left foot burst through the bottom of his sneaker as he planted while guarding Stuckey, leaving the shoe dangling from his ankle as if it had been unzipped. Popovich had the Spurs call a timeout to check on Ginobili, who shrugged when asked what happened. A ball boy quickly raced to the locker room to get a replacement in time for Ginobili to return to the court. "It was a great pit stop," Ginobili said. Maurice Richard Jersey . -- Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale searched more than three quarters for five guys who would play well together. Howie Morenz Jersey . The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern was "conscious and well responsive" and his condition would be monitored in the intensive care unit of a Salzburg hospital for the next 72 hours. The federation said it was "way too early" to judge Morgensterns chances of competing in Sochi, and that an update on his condition was not expected before Monday. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-x...nadiens-jersey/. Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag. Guy Lafleur Canadiens Jersey . -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals 24-21 loss at Philadelphia. Mike Reilly Jersey . Ghoulam has put pen to paper on a four and a half year deal, tying him to Napoli until 2018. The 22-year-old Algeria international, who played for France at Under 21 level, has made 87 league appearances in four seasons at Saint-Etienne.WINNIPEG -- The Washington Capitals did a lot wrong but still came out ahead with a 5-4 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. Martin Erat scored the winner in the sixth round of the shootout on Tuesday, despite Washington being outshot 47-32 and giving up many breakaways to the hard-charging Jets. "We made every mistake you can make basically in the course of the game," said Capitals head coach Adam Oates. "Its the first time this year where weve come to this building or a Canadian rink and the boys are so much faster." He said theyll find things even faster in Edmonton, where the Capitals (4-5-0) play Thursday. "Its the fastest rink in the league and youve got to be prepared for that. Its a mental adjustment." Oates gave credit to goaltender Braden Holtby for stopping 43 of the 47 shots he faced in three regulation periods and five minutes of overtime. The Capitals managed only 32 on Winnipeg netminder Ondrej Pavelec, not even one in overtime. "Holt made some huge saves," said Oates. Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist for Washington, while Mikhail Grabovski and Troy Brouwer also scored. "You notice it, its hard not to," Holtby said of the barrage he faced, which included more breakaways than he could count. "We got a win on the start of our road trip here and weve nowhere to go but improve for the rest of it." Bryan Little struck twice for Winnipeg (4-5-1), while Grant Clitsome and Blake Wheeler also scored as the Jets wrapped up a six-game homestand, their longest of the season. Andrew Ladd had three assists and coach Claude Noel was pleased at the way his captains intensity helped lead the team. "He played with a lot of will tonight, through physical play and winning battles," said Noel. "Thats the Andrew Ladd that really helps us win." Besides the point from the shootout loss, Noel was pleased with the Jets efforts, including coming back twice from deficits and getting more offence from his juggled forward lines.dddddddddddd "We wanted to play physical. I thought that we did. We got good production from our leaders. They stepped up and played and thats a good thing, so I think we go from there and build on that." Oates said the Capitals will be talking about what they need to do as they move forward. Although they were outhustled in the first, Grabovski opened scoring in the second period with his fourth goal of the season when he swept in and put a loose puck behind Pavelec at 3:11. Little brought the Jets even with his first goal when he and Ladd broke away shorthanded at 7:21. It was the Jets second breakaway of the penalty with Evander Kane failing to get past Holtby one-on-one. "We just didnt finish," said Kane of the many scoring chances that didnt end up in the net. "Its a good sign to get those breaks and get those opportunities but it was a tough game (to lose) because we did a lot of good things." Just just over a minute after Littles goal, Byfuglien fed Clitsome, who slapped in his first goal of the season in from the point to give the Jets the 2-1 lead. Washington caught a break when Ovechkin broke away at 15:51 to beat Pavelec one-on-one to even it at 2-2. Then Ovechkin was fed off the faceoff beside the Winnipeg net and slipped one through the crowd at 18:02 to give the Capitals the lead, although it didnt last long. Wheeler tipped in a shot from Kane with less than a minute left in the period to even it up again. Brouwer finally connected with a power-play goal just under five minutes into the third period. The Jets had successfully shut down the best power play in the NHL until then. But Little evened it up again with a wrist shot from the slot at 7:04 as the Jets continued to carry the game to the Washington net. Notes: The Jets and Capitals are well acquainted. Going into Tuesdays game, the Jets had a record of 4-4-1 against Washington since the start of their inaugural 2011-12 season in Winnipeg in the Southeast Division. ' ' '