Olympics, even though the 100 free has never been one of his in

MINNEAPOLIS -- Charlotte coach Steve Cliffords fiery halftime speech got his team going in the right direction.Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau saved his hollering for after the game because his team is headed in the wrong one.Kemba Walker scored 30 points and the Hornets blitzed the Timberwolves in the third quarter on their way to a 115-108 victory on Tuesday night.Frank Kaminsky scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets (7-3), who snapped a two-game skid. Nicolas Batum had 16 points and seven assists, and Charlotte outscored Minnesota 36-17 in the third quarter to wipe out a 12-point halftime deficit.It was perfect timing, and we needed it, Walker said of Cliffords speech. We just (werent) ourselves, and he got into us a little bit. It worked out for us, because we needed to pick our energy up.Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who fell to 1-2 on their four-game homestand. Minnesota turned the ball over 18 times, which led to 20 points for Charlotte.The teams entered the game on opposite ends of the spectrum in the third quarter this season. Charlotte leads the league in scoring differential coming out of the break, while Minnesota is dead last.The Timberwolves have built double-digit leads in the first half in eight of their first 10 games, but have lost six of them thanks to the failings in the third. That trend continued on Tuesday, with Charlotte opening the third with a 15-2 run and closing it with a 21-4 surge.Very concerned, Thibodeau said. It tells you were not learning. That bothers me.Wiggins rallied the Wolves in the fourth, giving them a 92-91 lead with a 3-pointer. But Kaminsky responded with a 3 and a three-point play, and Clifford got the best of his longtime friend.Weve got guys who have been in the league for a while now, Thibodeau said. Were making mistakes that never should be made.WALKERS BACKA scary moment happened at the end of the first quarter when Walker, who scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the period, went to the locker room. The team said his back tightened up and he went back to get stretched out.Walker was able to return to the game midway through the second quarter and played the rest of the game with no visible issues.My training staff, theyre the best, Walker said. They did a great job at looking out for me when I came out the game with the heat pack, good massages, things like that. But Im feeling good though.BADGERING TOWNSKaminsky was on the Wisconsin team that stunned Towns and previously undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four two years ago. After ruining Towns shot at history in college, Kaminsky helped spoil the reigning Rookie of the Years 21st birthday on Tuesday.I dont have anything against him. Hes a great player, Kaminsky said. I just want to go out there and compete.LAVINE RETURNSTimberwolves shooting guard Zach LaVine missed the win over the Lakers on Sunday with a sore right knee, something he said hes been dealing with for more than a week. He looked just fine on Tuesday, hitting his first four 3s and finishing with 19 points in 33 minutes.TIP-INSHornets: They shot 53.8 percent from the field and made 11 of 24 3s, including eight of their last 14. ... Clifford said G Jeremy Lamb, who has missed the last seven games with a strained left hamstring, practiced on Monday and will work out on Wednesday and Thursday back in Charlotte with the possibility of playing on Friday night against Atlanta.Timberwolves: F Shabazz Muhammad (right knee) and G/F Brandon Rush (right big toe) both were out. Rush said he hopes to be ready to play on Thursday. ... After shooting 22 free throws on Sunday, Wiggins was just 6 for 9 on Tuesday.UP NEXTHornets: Head home to host Atlanta, Marvin Williams former team, on Friday.Timberwolves: Wrap up a four-game homestand by hosting Philadelphia on Thursday in a game to be televised on TNT. cheap jerseys for wholesale .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. wholesale china jerseys for sale . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschinaforwholesale.com/ .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. wholesale soccer jerseys . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. cheap football jerseys . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Now that his flag-carrying duties are out of the way, Michael Phelps is eager to get started on his fifth Olympics.That will likely come Sunday in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, a title the Americans are gunning to reclaim after getting chased down by the French in 2012.Phelps expected debut would be one of the highlights on the second day of swimming at the Rio Games, though hed have to share the spotlight with Katie Ledecky.Shell be seeking the first of an expected three individual gold medals, going in as a heavy favorite in the 400 freestyle. The only suspense seems to be whether shell break her own world record.Ledecky already picked up her first medal of the games, anchoring the womens 4x100 free relay to a silver-medal finish behind Australia on Saturday.Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, wants to do his part for the mens relay team.Thats something Ive had the privilege to be a part of since 2004, and Im hoping to have the opportunity again, Phelps said. Its always super-fast and there are always some wild, crazy splits that take place.In 2008, the Americans memorably defeated the French when Jason Lezak rallied against Alain Bernard with the fastest 100 split in history, a victory that kept Phelps on course to win a record eight gold medals in Beijing.Four years ago, the French got their revenge when Yannick Agnel caught Ryan Lochte on the anchor leg.This time, its hardly a two-country race.The Australians figure to be in the mix, especially riding the momentum of an impressive opening night at the pool. They captured two gold medals, also taking the mens 400 free when Mack Horton held off defending Olympic champion Sun Yang of China, doubling up on the one gold medal they managed during their disappointing performance at the 2012 London Games.You can probabbly pick three or four teams that are going to have a chance to win that relay, Phelps said.dddddddddddd The Australians made a significant charge over the past couple of years with their mens and womens teams combined. A lot of younger guys really stepped up, and that brings more excitement to the sport.The Americans are eager for gold after getting shut out on the first night of swimming, settling for three silvers. It was a first time they failed to win at least one race during an Olympic finals session at the pool since Aug. 14, 2008 -- the lone day Phelps didnt go for gold in Beijing.Phelps has been part of the 4x100 free relay at the last three Olympics, even though the 100 free has never been one of his individual specialties. Its unfathomable that the Americans would leave off a swimmer with 18 golds and 22 medals overall, especially after a dismal performance at last years worlds when the U.S. didnt even qualify for the final -- a performance that was especially galling to Phelps, who had to sit out the meet as part of his punishment for a second drunken-driving arrest.I do know that the coaching staff will put out the four fastest guys, whoever that is, Phelps said coyly. Im looking forward to either watching or being in that race.Also on tap for the second day of swimming: finals in the womens 100 butterfly, in which Swedens Sarah Sjostrom is favored to take down defending champion Dana Vollmer of the U.S., and the mens 100 breaststroke, where Adam Peaty of Britain already took down his own world record during the preliminaries.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . ' ' '