0 rebounds. San Antonio eras

GOLD COAST, Australia -- The Wallabies completed back-to-back wins with nerve-jangling finishes to stay in contention in the Rugby Championship, holding off a storming finish from Argentina on Saturday for a 32-25 victory. Skipper Michael Hooper crossed for tries at the start of each half and Australia built a 29-13 lead with 20 minutes remaining. But the Pumas rallied with tries from Marcelo Bosch and Joaquin Tuculet and got themselves into a position to draw the match with a last-minute scrum five yards out, under the posts. The powerful Pumas pack conceded a free kick at the crucial moment, though, giving Australia a reprieve only a week after its late comeback win over South Africa. The Wallabies have two wins and a draw in four matches in the tournament, but are six points behind New Zealand and are also behind the Springboks on points differential. Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said Australia did well to control the game for 50 minutes but later in the match "we found different ways to give them the ball." "The Argentinians got back into it, put a lot of pressure on us," McKenzie said. "Thats what they do. They did it to South Africa and New Zealand. We dont feel like the odd one out there. Youve got to be able to deal with it, and we did at key moments." Light rain before kickoff made the ball and field slippery and contributed to a grinding, error-strewn clash. Australia had most of the early chances and led 14-7 at halftime with three penalty goals from Bernard Foley and Hoopers third-minute try, when he ran into a yawning gap near the quarterline after 10 phases of possession. The Pumas responded quickly to the opening try, taking a 7-5 lead when Manuel Montero swooped on turnover ball and fended off opposite winger Peter Betham, Hooper and Foley on his long, solo run down the left touchline. Foley regained the lead with a penalty goal but the Wallabies wasted chances to go further ahead when Nick Phipps took a quick tap from close range instead of a shot at goal and Foley bombed a try-scoring chance when he took on the defence instead of passing to unmarked Rob Horne within touching distance of the tryline. Tatafu Polata-Naus return to the Wallabies lineup for his 50th test lasted until halftime, with the veteran hooker appearing to struggle with an ankle injury before being replaced. Hooper scored again four minutes into the second half after sustained pressure from Australia and the kickers traded penalties to make it 24-13 before Phipps slid through an opening on the fringe of a breakdown near halfway and floated a pass to Betham, who crashed over in the right corner to extend the lead to 16 points. But just when Australia appeared to be coasting to victory, Argentina hit back hard. The Pumas took a quick free kick in the 64th and caught the Australian defence on the back foot, with Bosch scoring out wide. Argentina pounced again in the 71st after the Wallabies turned over the ball on their own tryline. Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez kicked a grubber in behind the defence and fullback Tuculet dived on the ball in-goal to narrow the gap to four points. Sanchez narrowly missed the conversion -- hitting the right post -- and Foley landed a penalty at the other end to make it a converted-try difference. Then Argentina blew a chance when replacement scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli knocked-on at the back of an attacking ruck with five minutes remaining. Right at the end, the Pumas earned a penalty and opted for a scrum close to Australiias line, hoping for a push-over or a penalty try, but the resulting free kick ended the rally. "Were happy with the last 20 minutes we had, but were not happy with the game," Argentina captain Agustin Creevy said. "We spent most of the time on defence and that made us tired toward the end. Only in the last 20 minutes could we make our game -- we were close to getting a draw." It was a frustrating night for the Australians, who dominated possession and won the rucks and mauls 88-52, but lost too much ball in contact situations with 14 turnovers -- three more than the Pumas, who have yet to register a win in this years tournament. Authentic Nike Shoes Cheap .com) - Bradley Beals 22 points and seven rebounds helped the Washington Wizards erase a halftime deficit and top the Utah Jazz, 93-84, on Sunday. Discount Nike Shoes . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. http://www.cheapnikeshoeschina.com/.C. - Goodyear has warned teams that increased speeds at Charlotte Motor Speedway will put a heavy emphasis on the right front tires in Saturday nights race a€” a potentially key development for drivers trying to advance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Wholesale Nike Shoes From China .com) - The New York Islanders will try to solve their issues against Central Division opponents when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Tuesdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. Nike Factory Outlet Online .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday.SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the winningest trio in NBA post-season history, shared hugs. Players wrapped themselves in flags from around world, a reminder that the San Antonio Spurs look far beyond the border to build champions, as confetti fell from above. Painfully denied 12 months ago by the Miami Heat, this victory party was worth the wait. "It makes last year OK," Duncan said. The Spurs finished off a dominant run to their fifth NBA championship Sunday night, ending the Heats two-year title reign with a 104-87 victory that wrapped up the series in five games. "We had a great first quarter, but from that point on they were the better team, and thats why theyre the champions in 2014," said LeBron James, who led the Heat with 31 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio erased an early 16-point deficit and routed Miami for the fourth time in the series, denying the Heats quest for a third straight championship. A year after the Spurs suffered their only loss in six finals appearances -- a heartbreaking seven-game defeat -- they turned the rematch into no match at all. "We wanted to redeem ourselves. Im just glad we were able to do that," Parker said. Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who added this title to the ones they won in 1999, 2003, 05 and 07. They nearly had another last year, but couldnt hold off the Heat. "Ive said many times, a day didnt go by where I didnt think about Game 6," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the turning point in last years finals. "So I think, just in general, for the group to have the fortitude that they showed to get back to this spot, I think speaks volumes about how theyre constituted and what kind of fiber they have." Not to mention tons of talent, and perhaps the best coaching in the game. "They played exquisite basketball this series and in particular these last three games and they are the better team. Theres no other way to say it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The Spurs won four titles in nine years, but hadnt been back on top since 2007, making Foreigners "Feels Like the First Time" an appropriate song choice after the final buzzer. Duncan and Popovich have been here for all of them, and it was the fourth for Parker and Ginobili, who with Duncan are once aagain the reigning the Big Three in the NBA.dddddddddddd Chris Bosh finished with 13 points and Dwyane Wade just 11 on 4-of-12 shooting for the Heat. The painful conclusion to last years NBA Finals served as the fuel for this one, powering the Spurs to a league-best 62-win season and a rematch with Miami -- the first in the finals since Chicago beat Utah in 1997-98. Round 2 went to the Spurs, but both teams have challenges to navigate if there is to be a rubber match. San Antonio will face questions -- as it has for years -- about the age of its core, and whether Duncan, Ginobili and Popovich want to stick around. The Heat will brace for the potential free agency of James, Wade and Bosh, and will need younger, fresher pieces around the three All-Stars if they all stay. But this moment belongs to the Spurs. Playing a methodical, albeit winning, style for many years made San Antonio respected, but never beloved. The Spurs were TV ratings killers, casual viewers finding them not much fun to watch. But Popovich opened up the offence a few years ago, making the Spurs an easy-to-like, tough-to-beat group that thrives on ball movement and 3-point shooting. "You showed the world how beautiful this game is," Commissioner Adam Silver told the Spurs during the postgame award ceremony. A decade and a half after winning their first title in 1999, when Duncan was in his second season, the Spurs remain the NBAs model organization, a small-market team that simply wins big and hardly ever does it with a high draft pick. Instead, they found players overseas or in other organizations who would fit the Spurs way of doing things and mesh with the Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, who have teamed for 117 postseason victories. That included Leonard, acquired in a draft-night trade with Indiana after playing at San Diego State, and Patty Mills, an Australian national who scored 17 points off the bench. In the end, the Spurs made winning their fifth title look stunningly easy -- much to the delight of the home crowd. After the slow start, they had their fans standing, chanting and dancing much of the second half. Notes: It was the Spurs 12th win by 15 or more points, most ever in a post-season. The Spurs outscored opponents by 214 points in the post-season. ... Miami had won 11 straight series, tied for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. ' ' '