RIO DE JANEIRO -- The three-peat is officially off for Norway in womens handball.Widely considered the worlds best team, Norways charge for a third consecutive Olympic gold ended abruptly in the semifinals Thursday with a 38-37 loss to Russia in extra time after a thrilling and bruising game.I dont have the words because when I think about the game I want to cry, said Vladlena Bobrovnikova, Russias top scorer with eight goals, sporting bruises and a long red cut across her nose. I dont feel the pain, I feel so happy because we have the final. This victory, its so crazy.Beating Norway, a team that won everything with Olympic, world and European titles, was particularly sweet. I dont know how, but we won.Russia will now play France in Saturdays final after the French beat the Netherlands 24-23 in the first semifinal.Itll be a battle between two underdogs -- France has not won a medal in its last five major championships, while Russia has been rebuilding since failing to qualify for the 2013 world championship.Russia shut down a good start from Norway with a scoring run that erased an 11-8 deficit and put the team up 15-12 midway through the first half. While Norway frequently pulled even after that, Russia did not give up the lead in the rest of regulation.The Russians were heading for a 31-30 win in regulation but Heidi Loke tied up the game with a goal four seconds from time. Norway started strongly in extra time, but a two-minute suspension for Ida Alstad interrupted the flow and let Russia control the pace. When Camilla Herrem missed a shot to tie up the game for Norway, Russia ran down the clock and celebrated a famous win.Eleven different players scored for Russia, while Nora Mork was Norways main attacking threat with 14 goals.While Russia was a silver medalist in 2008, it had not been among the top teams in recent tournaments. Unexpected success in Rio has put handball on prime-time state TV slots and given the game an increased public profile.And coach Evgeny Trefilov and his colorful outbursts at courtside have gone viral at home. After the opening group stage game, he said he had wondered whether to hang myself or to hang everyone else in the dressing room while seven goals down.Upon beating Norway, Trefilov was more restrained, paying tribute to the Scandinavians play, but also went on an extended tirade calling for all foreigners to be banned from playing at Russian clubs.For Norway, defeat was a hammer blow.Goalkeeper Katrine Lunde said there were too much negative thoughts to analyze the game, but said the Norwegian defense had never really worked at its best. Regrouping to face the Netherlands for bronze will be difficult, she added.Its hard, itll take a bit of time, she said. We have to. We really want to have a medal and it means a lot so we just have to work tomorrow again and we can take a vacation when were finished.Whoever wins Saturdays final will be a first-time gold medalist after France upset the Netherlands, last years world championship silver medalist.Overwhelming crowd support and the presence of Dutch King Willem-Alexander couldnt lift the Netherlands, who spent most of the game narrowly behind.A nail-biting finish saw a big save from French goalkeeper Laura Glauser and another shot hit the post as her team tried to hold on for the win on a Dutch power-play. On the final whistle, the French team embraced on court and jumped up and down in front of their fans.For a long time we have won nothing and now we will have a medal so its amazing, Frances Siraba Dembele said. Larry Jordan Jersey Store . "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. Walt Schupp Jersey Store .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. https://www.chinacheapjerseys.net/paul-martha-jersey-store/ .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Tom Greene Jersey Store .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Emanuel King Jersey Store . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. NEW ORLEANS -- Jason Kidd wasnt going to discount the performance of his young Milwaukee Bucks squad simply because it came against the winless New Orleans Pelicans.When a coach sees six of his players score in double digits, three players grab 10 or more rebounds and five guys playing effective team defense in the clutch, on the road, its hard to be critical.They all competed, Kidd said. We do not win if we dont play defense well. I thought we made plays. We made the stops.Giannis Antetokounmpo capped a 24-point, 10-rebound performance with a pivotal 3-pointer with 1:34 to go, Jabari Parker added 21 points, and the Bucks defeated the Pelicans 117-113 on Tuesday night.We shared the ball, Kidd said. We got those open shots.Anthony Davis scored 35 points -- the third time he has scored at least that many -- to go with 15 rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals. But once again, it was not enough for New Orleans, which has dropped its first four games, including three at home.We cant get a win. Its frustrating, Davis said. But whatever we need to do, we need to do it fast.Milwaukee rookie Malcolm Brogdon had his best game yet, scoring 14 points -- 10 in the second half. Tony Snell had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, while Rashad Vaughn scored 12 points and Matthew Dellavedova had 11 points and eight assists.Tonight was the first night that we really trusted our offense and executed what we practice, Brogdon said. We stuck to the game plan and played like a team all the way through.The Bucks looked to pound the ball inside and the Pelicans offered little resistance. Milwaukee scored 58 points in the paint, compared to 38 for New Orleans -- which annoyed Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry.Theres just no excuse for not talking defensively and we talked about the fact that when you play this team, theyre going to drive the ball, Gentry said. They got half of their points in the paint. Weve got to do a better job.The Bucks also outrebounded the Pelicans 50-42.Tim Frazier had 20 points and nine assists for New Orleans, while Solomon Hill added 18 points and ETwaun Moore had 17. Hill and Moore combined to shhoot 6 of 10 from 3-point range.dddddddddddd Rookie Buddy Hield, the NBAs sixth overall draft pick, scored 10 points, but was just 1 of 6 from 3-point range.Were not worried about the offensive part, Davis said. Defense is where weve got to become better and is starts with communication.TIP-INSBucks: New Orleans native Greg Monroe was productive off the bench for the Bucks, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with six points, six assists and a block in less than 18 minutes. ... G Jason Terry, who missed Milwaukees previous two games because of a death in the family, was back with the team in New Orleans but did not play.Pelicans: After making five of their first seven 3-point attempts, the Pelicans missed nine straight before finishing 9 of 26 from long range. ... Davis continued to average nearly a point per minute on the court this season. He played 37 minutes against Milwaukee.BLOSSOMING ROOKIEKidd praised the poise and production Brogdon brought to the Bucks in only his fourth regular season game.We trust Malcolm when hes on the floor, Kidd said. Hes going to make some rookie mistakes, but no one panics -- he doesnt panic. He keeps playing and every time hes on the floor, he gets better.Brogdon said coaches and teammates have helped his confidence through the faith they show in him. My team is always talking to me and its just very helpful when you have people that believe in you and want you to do well.MOMENTUM SWINGSThe Pelicans led by as many as nine points early, but the Bucks took a 12-point lead in the third quarter when Antetokounmpos layup made it 74-62.New Orleans responded with an 11-0 run that began with Moores 3 and ended with Hills 3, but the Bucks rebuilt a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter with a 13-4 run that included Brogdons dunk and his 3-pointer.The Pelicans got as close as 114-112 on Davis floater with 1:46 left, but Antetokounmpo hit his late 3 and New Orleans didnt recover.UP NEXTBucks: Host Indiana on Thursday night.Pelicans: Visit Memphis on Wednesday night. ' ' '