Forum » come back every time

MILAN, Italy -- Fiorentina beat 10-man Hellas Verona 4-3 in an eventful Italian league game on Monday to boost its hopes of qualifying for next seasons Champions League, while Napoli won 3-2 at Lazio to stay in touch with Juventus and Roma. Four of the goals came in the opening 15 minutes in an open match at the Stadio Franchi as Fiorentina captain Borja Valero scored twice, either side of goals from on-loan Fiorentina midfielder Romulo and Juan Iturbe for Verona. Juan Vargas fired Fiorentina in front shortly before halftime and Giuseppe Rossi added a fourth from the penalty spot after Bosko Jankovic had been shown a straight red card for handball. The U.S-born Rossi, who plays for the Italian national team, is the top scorer in Serie A with 12 goals, four more than Torinos Alessio Cerci. Jorginho reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute as both sides had several chances to add to their tallies. Fiorentina moved level with fourth-place Inter Milan, four points behind Napoli. Verona is five points further back in sixth. "As soon as we let our pace drop we concede a goal, we have to be more focused," Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella said. "Verona is a good team but we should have been more cynical, when we had a numerical superiority and were ahead by two goals. "We have to improve on that aspect. When we were 4-2 up we had five or six chances. We have to improve, but I am happy with fourth spot." Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for Napoli, with former Lazio striker Goran Pandev and Jose Callejon grabbing the visitors other goals. Teenage striker Keita scored for the home side, which had levelled with an own goal by Valon Behrami. Napoli moved six points behind leader Juventus and three behind Roma after ending a run of two successive defeats. Lazio, which remained eighth, has now not won in its past six matches and the players were loudly jeered by the home supporters at the end of the match. "It was a fundamental match for us, we couldnt get too far off top spot," Higuain said. "I am very happy both for me and the squad. "I scored and helped the team win. I felt the support of the fans and Ive been calm even when things werent going too well. Theres still a lot of time until the end of the season, were doing well and we have to grow." Fiorentina took the lead in the fifth minute when Valero cut his way in from the right and fired into the bottom near corner from the edge of the area. But the home sides advantage lasted less than a minute before Neto could only parry Iturbes strike and the onrushing Romulo fired in the rebound. And Hellas went in front in the 13th as Luca Toni found Iturbe, who lashed a stunning 30-yard strike into the top corner. However, its lead also lasted mere seconds before Valero scored his second of the night, carving out space for himself just outside the area before unleashing an effort which was deflected into the top left corner. Fiorentina restored its advantage two minutes from the break when Vargas put an angled drive into the far bottom corner. It extended its lead nine minutes after the interval when Rossi fired a spot kick into the bottom right corner, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Despite its numerical disadvantage, Verona kept pressing and got back into the game when Tonis shot was saved by Neto but Jorginho was on hand to follow up. Verona goalkeeper Rafael pulled off a number of saves, most notably to deny Rossi, Mati Fernandez and Nenad Tomovic. Both teams were given a standing ovation at the final whistle. In Roma, Napoli broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a moment of brilliance from Higuain, who ran almost half the length of pitch and held off Michael Ciani before firing under goalkeeper Federico Marchetti. Lazio equalized almost immediately when former player Behrami, who spent three seasons at the capital club, turned into his own net. Another Lazio old boy, Pandev, restored Napolis lead five minutes into the second half with a swiveling shot from close range following a controversial free kick. And Pandev, whose five years at Lazio ended bitterly after a contract dispute, sent a delightful through-ball in for Higuain to score his second in the 72nd minute. The 18-year-old Keita reduced the deficit after a solo run three minutes from time, but Callejon sealed the match in stoppage time. Scarpe Nike Italia . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. Air Max 90 Uomo Saldi .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scon...alia-c2566.html. Next week, hell try to add to the list. A Stanley Cup champion as a rookie, Seguin followed that up by becoming the youngest player to lead the Boston Bruins in scoring. Air Max Italia . Fans holding laudatory signs started showing up at Yankee Stadium when the gates opened at 4 p.m. Monday, an hour early in order to give them a chance to watch the New York captain take batting practice. Air Max 720 Italia . TSN2 December 18 Knicks at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 December 18 Thunder at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 December 21 Pacers at Timberwolves 7pm et/4pm pt. TSN2 December 23 Timberwolves at Cavaliers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 December 25 Wizards at Knicks 12pm et/9am pt TSN December 25 Thunder at Spurs 2:30pm et/11:30pt TSN December 25 Cavaliers at Heat 5pm et/2pm pt TSN December 25 Lakers at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN December 25 Warriors at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN NBA on TSN - January Date Game Time Network January 1 Kings at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 3 Jazz at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 5 Nuggets at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 7 Rockets at Cavaliers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN January 7 Suns at Timberwolves 9:30pm et/6:30 pt. TSN January 9 Bulls at Wizards 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 9 Cavaliers at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 13 Timberwolves at Pacers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 January 15 Thunder at Rockets 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 15 Cavaliers at Lakers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 16 Cavaliers at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 22 NBA All-Star Selection Show 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 January 22 Spurs at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 22 Nets at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 25 Heat at Bulls 1pm et/10am pt TSN January 25 Thunder at Cavaliers 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt TSN January 26 Timberwolves at Thunder 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 29 Nuggets at Grizzlies 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 29 Bulls at Lakers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 NBA on TSN - February Date Game Time Network February 5 Clippers vs.SACRAMENTO - The Raptors nearly got away with what should have been one of their most lopsided defeats of the season. Down by 22 early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors - on the heels of yet another fierce comeback - had cut their deficit to six as Kyle Lowry launched what could have been a game-changing three pointer. Kings rookie Ben McLemore closed out hard and the two collided just before Lowrys shot dropped and the whistle blew. Had the bucket counted and, assuming Lowry then connects on the subsequent free throw, the Raptors would have been down by two with 25 seconds remaining. Instead, official Eric Lewis called the foul on the shooter. Lowry had kicked out his leg on the jumper, he explained. The call was bold, to put it mildly, and in disbelief, Lowrys reaction earned him his second technical foul of the game. He was done for the night, heading straight to the locker room, and for all intents and purposes so, too, were the Raptors. On the night, the Raptors were assigned three techs. They finished the game with more personal fouls (35) than Kings field goals (32). Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, didnt say much following Wednesdays 109-101 loss in Sacramento. What he did say spoke volumes. "I cant say what I really want to say," Lowry commented, biting his tongue. "Its as simple as that." Theyve all lived through this narrative before, most recently in Portland this past weekend. Questionable officiating aside - theyve seen their fair share of that, too - slow starts followed by one last-ditch effort to save the day have become the norm. Its a bad habit that the likes of Indiana and Miami can get away with because theyre Indiana and Miami. When the Raptors play with fire, more often than not, theyll get burned. Dwane Casey, moments after lacing into his players in the locker room, could have gone after the officials but wisely chose to save his money and direct his angst at the team. Correct what you can control was the mindset, and the Raptors have displayed a few glaring faults worth correcting. "We havent done anything, Ive been repeating this, we havent done anything in this league yet to come out and play in second gear until we try to turn it on," said the Raptors coach, his team giving up 92 points and trailing by 20 after three quarters Wednesday. "Were not that good and, until we have that disposition from start to finish, were going to be disappointed a lot. Ive said that warning, Ive given that warning and like I just told them, they have to decide how they want to live." The emotions of the evening got the better of them. On a night in which seven players - including the Kings Rudy Gay - faced their former team for the first time ssince Decembers trade, Sacramento came out with the focus that escaped the Raptors.dddddddddddd. "Its a business" is a phrase that was uttered over and over on both sides leading up to the much-anticipated reunion between Gay and the Raptors, but only one team followed through on it. "Were out hugging, giving [high] fives and all that," said a disappointed Casey. "This is a business and I didnt think our disposition from start to finish was in the fight mode, the hungry-team mode." The Raptors had rallied around Gay as he made his first trip back to Memphis earlier in the season and the Kings did the same Wednesday. The former Raptors forward and leading scorer had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, but he didnt do it alone because he didnt have to. DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 and Isaiah Thomas added 23. Combined, the three Kings accounted for 41 of the Kings 51 free throw attempts. Toronto made just 24 trips to the line. "Its about putting your body on someone," Casey said. "The fundamental box-out, going to get it, getting to rebounds, all the little things that you have to do. And then you put them on the line 51 times because either youre late or out of position." Just like it did in Portland on Saturday, Torontos defence took the first half off. The Kings - a 16-win team going into the evening - scored 30 points in the first quarter and 37 in the second. By halftime, four of their five starters were in double figures. The Raptors are a resilient bunch, sure. Comeback specialist Steve Novak checked in and promptly knocked down three triples. They made a game of it, as theyve been known to do, but when you rely on the miraculous, you leave yourself vulnerable to the unpredictable nature of crunch time in the NBA. Things happen. In Portland, it was a relatively unforced turnover on the games final possession. In Sacramento, it was a bad call. The visitors locker room in Sleep Train Arena - easily the coziest in the league - was filled with frustrated players, packed together like sardines. They had every reason to be frustrated, but as Casey stressed to them, they need to look inward. "We got guys who are going to fight to the end, but we cant let ourselves get down by 20 and think we are going to come back every time," said John Salmons, one of four Raptors who came over in the trade from Sacramento. "Its not going to happen every time." "Like I told the guys in the locker room, it was probably the worst game weve played since I got here," said Chuck Hayes, another former Kings player. "This ones probably going to [cause us to] lose a couple hours of sleep but weve got to get over it." ' ' '