tuds back home who, for whatever reason, either couldnt be here or chose

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Late in a physical, defensive showdown, the Utah Jazz discovered their 3-point shooting and broke open a close game.Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and Rudy Gobert had 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, helping the Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies 82-73 on Sunday night.The win -- Utahs fourth straight and seventh in the last eight -- came after Boris Diaw, Hayward and Shelvin Mack connected on a trio of 3-pointers starting just short of the 4-minute mark, turning a 66-all tie into a Jazz victory.We had a hard time scoring in that game, Diaw said, adding Jazz coaches emphasized players taking open shots. We had a hard time scoring anyway, so why not take a chance from the 3-point line?Diaw had 11 points and Mack scored 10.Mike Conley led Memphis with 14 points, while Zach Randolph had 12 points and 11 rebounds. JaMychal Green added 10 points and 11 rebounds.Memphis managed only 30 percent shooting against the aggressive Jazz defense. That included the Grizzlies converting only 2 of 23 shots from outside the arc as Memphis lost its second straight.Our (offensive) execution is horrendous right now, Memphis coach David Fizdale said. We are just not taking pride in executing our offense with purpose.The game featured two of the leagues top defensive teams. Both entered limiting opponents to 42.9 percent shooting. Utah is first in fewest points allowed at 95.4 a game, and Memphis is third at 97.3.The Grizzlies ended with their lowest-scoring game of the season.Conley was 3 of 16 for Memphis. Marc Gasol was 4 of 22, managing a mere eight points. He also missed all five shots from outside the arc.Meanwhile, Utah made 46 percent of its shots. Gobert converted all nine of his field goal attempts, many of them on rolls to the basket resulting in alley-oop dunks.The game remained close throughout with 14 lead changes and 15 ties.It was a physical game, and sometimes those games are hard to shoot, Utah coach Quin Snyder said. Youve just got to keep playing.TIP-INSJAZZ: Gobert recorded his 18th double-double. ... Hayward has 16 games with at least 20 points. ... Utah tied its season mark for blocks with 11.Grizzlies: Defeated Utah 102-96 on Nov. 14, the start of a six-game winning streak for Memphis. ... F James Ennis returned to action after missing 14 games with a right calf injury. ... Vince Carter entered in the first quarter, tying Mark Jackson for 20th in career regular season games played with 1,295.GOBERT THE DEFENDEROver the previous 10 games, Gobert had held opposing centers to 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. Gasol had eight points and seven rebounds in this one.He did a great job defensively, Diaw said of Gobert. He held (Gasol) to the fewest points hes probably scored all season.It wasnt Gasols lowest scoring game, but close. Gasol scored six points against Minnesota on Nov. 19.HILL ON HOLDJazz guard George Hill missed his ninth game with a sprained left big toe, and Snyder suggested his return wasnt imminent.I guess Im hopeful, Snyder said. I dont know exactly where it is, whether it is a week or two weeks. ... I dont think it is day-to-day. Its days-to-days, week-to-week.CONLEY ACHINGConley continued to struggle in his second game back after missing nine due to a lower back injury. Hes 5 of 23 in the two games, including 1 of 12 from outside the arc.Hes fighting through a lot of pain, Fizdale said. He wont tell you guys that. ... He broke his back, and he doesnt take pain medicine.UP NEXTJazz: Travel to Golden State to face the Warriors on Tuesday night before playing two home games -- against Sacramento and Toronto -- before Christmas.Grizzlies: Wrap up a four-game homestand Tuesday night with the Boston Celtics.<a href="http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Andreas-Christensen-Jersey/">Andreas Christensen Jersey</a>.ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. <a href="http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Ruben-Loftus-Cheek-Jersey/">Ruben Loftus-Cheek Jersey</a>. Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. <a href="http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Cesar-Azpilicueta-Jersey/">http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Cesar-Azpilicueta-Jersey/</a>. The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. <a href="http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Alvaro-Morata-Jersey/">Alvaro Morata Chelsea Jersey</a>. -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. <a href="http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Marcos-Alonso-Jersey/">Marcos Alonso Jersey</a>. P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Everyone in American basketball circles understands that there will never, ever be another Dream Team.Thats easy to accept.Far less pleasant for the latest assemblage of Team USA hoopsters to stomach is the growing realization that even their dream scenario here at the Summer Olympics, which was presumed to be pretty attainable, continues to dribble out of reach.Winning in style is no longer the target.Winning, period, is the sole aim now.USA Basketballs Rio roster is unquestionably stronger than the one stocked with fill-ins that dominated the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, but opposition continuity is proving to be a stubborn and dangerous equalizer a mere two years later down here in South America. Although a clutch of perennial powers have all creakily descended from their respective peaks -- namely Spain, Argentina and the hosts Brazil -- no longer is Team USA expected to roll like so many know-it-alls worldwide presumed when we got here.Not after three successive struggles for Mike Krzyzewskis squad.Not after three very jittery fourth quarters in a row against teams from Australia, Serbia and France that really look like t-e-a-m-s.Obviously everybody wants us to win by a lot of points, but its not how its gonna go this time, Team USA star forward Kevin Durant conceded Sunday after Tony Parker-less France refused to cave and fell just shy of a momentous upset in a 100-97 escape for the Yanks in these teams Group A finale.Weve gotta be prepared for a grind-out game, Durant continued. I think we showed the last three games we can grind it out.Give the Americans that much. They are finding ways to prevail even though defensive struggles continue to plague a group that legitimately believed as recently as five days ago that this was a shutdown outfit that would snuff out anyone and everyone.Theyve still got a team full of All-Stars, France center Rudy Gobert said. Today they didnt play very good and still won. So theyre still the favorite.Added French veteran Boris Diaw, Goberts new teammate with the Utah Jazz: They havent been dominating, but they havent lost either. Theyre still unbeaten, so we cant say that theyre struggling.Except that we most certainly can.The French entered Sundays play as the second-rated defensive team in the tournament. They certainly havent been flowing at the other end like Australia or Serbia, yet managed to make a run at triple digits despite the fact that Parker was forced to watch the whole game from the bench in a white team hoody, held out as a precaution after a toe bruise he suffered Friday night against Venezuela.Kyrie Irving (12 assists, zero turnovers) was clearly more intent on getting teammates involved Sunday -- especially after Durant mustered just four field-goal attempts Friday niight against Serbia -- while Klay Thompson busted out of his hard-to-believe shooting slump in a vintage Klay way.dddddddddddd But weve seen precious little progress from the Americans over these past three games, starting with the Australia scare.Thats the worry.Its probably unreasonable to expect them function like a true team after essentially a month together. Comparing these Yanks to this generation of French players -- whove largely been a unit for six years, as wily coach Vincent Collet pointed out -- is harsher still.Yet it seems more than fair to have expected Team USA in one of these last two games, against either Serbia or France sans Parker, to look more like a unit than it has.Or to expect the Americans to register more than the whopping two blocked shots theyve managed in the past two games.This isnt a tournament that were going to just dominate, Team USA swingman Paul George said. Theres talent around this world and theyre showcasing it. For us, its just figuring out how were going to win. Were having spurts of dominating, but were just not finding ways to put a full 40 minutes together.Krzyzewski lamented what he described as a fourth-quarter letdown when the Americans felt like we had the game won. George spoke of squandering that moment when we looked like we were gonna steamroll em.Down 16 late in the third quarter, playing loose and free to use Krzyzewskis words and undoubtedly inspired by the troubles Australia and Serbia caused the heavy favorites, France uncorked a rally that clinched yet another uncomfortable postgame round of whats-wrong probing from the assembled media before the medal round.Team USA wont know who it faces in Wednesdays quarterfinals until after Mondays final round of games in Group B, but France looms a potential semifinal opponent.With Parker surely back at the controls.And lets not even start with the stuff about all the various studs back home who, for whatever reason, either couldnt be here or chose not to. There certainly are several top American stars who arent here, but it should be an official IOC rule: No one who plays, coaches or roots for Team USA is ever allowed to complain about what the roster might be missing.At the end of the day, no one will ask you anything else except if you won [gold], Krzyzewski said. While youre approaching that winning the whole thing, youre asked a whole bunch of other things.I think were getting getting better offensively and we have to get better defensively. Just a succinct comment in that regard.Translation: Coach K essentially just confirmed that this tournament has already been too tough to worry one whit about style points.<a href="http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> ' ' '