Clan-Members » they choose to pick him. The evergreen Daniel

SAN ANTONIO -- If the San Antonio Spurs werent aware of how poorly theyve played in the opening half of most games this season, they were forcefully reminded recently.After coach Gregg Popovich called out their professionalism and effort, the Spurs rebounded from their first road loss of the season with their most efficient home performance.Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and the Spurs set five season highs, rolling to a 130-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.The Spurs led by as many as 38 three days after what Popovich deemed another 24-minute effort in a 95-91 defeat at Chicago.We have so many professional guys and veteran guys, it shouldnt take him to do that, San Antonio reserve guard Patty Mills said, but it definitely affected everyone to know that weve got to lace them up here and do what we do. No one messing around.The Spurs set season highs for points, points in a quarter, points in a half, assists and 3-pointers in winning their 14th straight at home over the Nets. San Antonio also matched its largest margin of victory, set in a season-opening win over Golden State.It feels good, especially to do it at home, said point guard Tony Parker, who had a season-high seven assists. Weve been struggling a little bit at home. We had a good start today. Energy was good. And we kept it for the whole game.The Spurs effort through the opening 36 minutes enabled them to sit Leonard in the final quarter, which was the only time the Nets could slow the sleek 6-foot-7 forward.Leonard was 10 for 18 from the field, including 4 for 7 on 3s, in scoring 30 points or more for the seventh time this season. He had four 30-point games in his previous 324 career games.San Antonio was 14 for 26 on 3-pointers.They execute their offense with pace, Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. They are tough to chase around; they really share (the ball). It was a great challenge for us and we werent up to it.After a string of anemic starts at home that had frustrated the Spurs, San Antonio set season highs for points in any quarter and any half with a 41-point effort in the opening period that helped produce a 67-52 lead at halftime.The 41 points in the first quarter were nine more than the Spurs had against Chicago in the first half.We didnt like the way we played, Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili said. We needed to feel better about the way we played.San Antonio had five assists on its first six baskets, with Parker collecting a pair of assists off bounce passes for mid-range jumpers from LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. The Spurs had a season-high 38 assists.Bojan Bogdanovic led Brooklyn with 20 points.TIP-INSNets: Brooklyn has not won consecutive games all season. ... Nets F Trevor Booker, who has a team-high nine double-doubles, finished with nine points and four rebounds. ... The Nets have not won in San Antonio since Jan. 22, 2002, losing 14 straight on the road against the Spurs. ... The Nets are 1-9 on the road this season. . Brooklyn PG Jeremy Lin missed the game due to a strained left hamstring. ... The Nets have 50 games missed due to injuries this season.Spurs: San Antonio is 40-4 against the Nets at home, the best home record by a team against an opponent in NBA history. ... San Antonio is 13-0 when scoring 100 points or more. ... Gasol had three assists and passed former Lakers big man Vlade Divac for third all-time among those 7-feet or taller. Gasol has 3,543 career assists, placing him behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar (5,660) and Wilt Chamberlain (4,643). ... The Spurs previous high for any quarter was 39 points in the third against the Lakers on Nov. 18. The teams previous high for the opening period was 31 in the season-opening win against Golden State.WORTH WATCHINGThe Spurs gave the Nets plenty of film to watch on how to execute properly.One thing thats great seeing a team like that is watching how they move the ball, how they share the ball (and) how quick their decisions are, Atkinson said. Its good for us as a coaching staff and good for our players to kind of feel that and feel what its like. Hopefully one day we will try to imitate that.ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTSan Antonio might have the NBAs second-best record at 19-5, but the Spurs know they still have much to improve on.I think in this case we can, Ginobili said. I dont think youre going to find anybody in this locker room that feels satisfied with the way we are playing. We all know we can do so much better. The record is not that important when youre not playing well.UP NEXTNets: At Houston on Monday.Spurs: Host Boston on Wednesday. Gary Trent Jr. Blazers Jersey . 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Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career.New Zealand look the complete one-day outfit under the inspirational leadership of Brendon McCullum, says Mark Butcher. The Black Caps got their World Cup campaign off to an emphatic start with a 98-run victory over Sri Lanka at Christchurchs Hagley Oval on Saturday.McCullum plundered 65 off 49 balls to set the tone for a dominant batting display, putting on 111 with Martin Guptill for the first wicket before Kane Williamson (57) and Corey Anderson (75 off 46 balls) picked up the big-hitting mantle. A half-century from Corey Anderson helped New Zealand to a 98 run win over Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup. But it was McCullum who caught the eye of former England opener Butcher, who said: He has such self-belief, such self-confidence. The pitch was meant to be a little bit tacky. There had been some rain around, the weather was bad.He just decided OK, there’s a length that I dont want Sri Lanka to bowl and if they bowl it there, Im running at it and attacking it.Lasith Malinga was a little of colour because he’s been out of the game for a long time but McCullum gives the bowlers nightmares because you know that if you let that ball go and it doesn’t go exactly where you want it to, he’s going to punish you.The way he captains the team is fabulous as well - he must instil so much confidence in his players because he always backs them to do the aggressive thing.New Zealand have got the bases covered so well. Anderson is left-arm, medium quick – he perfectly complements the likes of Tim Southee. Watch this stunning one-handed catch from a fan during the Sri Lanka v New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup.dddddddddddd They’ve got the left-armers of Trent Boult, they’ve got off-spin in Nathan McCullum if they choose to pick him. The evergreen Daniel Vettori is bowling brilliantly again.They look the complete outfit at the moment. There were questions, I suppose, about how they would handle being fancied as opposed to being dark horses. On the evidence of their win over Sri Lanka, it isn’t bothering them one bit.Anderson was named man-of-the-match after adding figures of 2-18 to his brutal innings, which featured eight fours and two sixes.Sky Sports pundit Bob Willis hailed his contribution, saying: He’s an extraordinary player. He’s just appeared on the scene out of nowhere. It was only that incredible innings by AB de Villiers in Johannesburg that deprived Anderson of the fastest century in one-day international cricket. There’s nothing to say that he won’t beat that in this competition. He’s a superb all-round cricketer, particularly in the one-day format.You’ve got to remember that New Zealand’s cricketers are all the time in the shadow of the All Blacks rugby team – it’s much more difficult to express yourself as a cricketer.But hats off to Brendon McCullum. You don’t have to think back too far to the disarray that New Zealand were in with Vettori giving up the captaincy and Ross Taylor being given the job and that being taken away from him.So it was a very, very delicate situation when Brendon McCullum came in and tried to galvanise this team with all the distractions of T20 cricket going on around the world.Watch New Zealand take on Scotland in Mondays Group A clash at 10pm on Sky Sports World Cup. Dont miss our live preview show before then, starting at 9pm. ' ' '