Die Anpflanzler [DA] » and believes whomever the

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana coach Frank Vogel found out shortly before tip-off that Philadelphia would be playing without some of its key players. "Its tough to play a game when you find out at the last minute that three or four of their top guys are out," Vogel said. "Youve got to give the Sixers credit, they played a strong basketball game." Just not strong enough to overcome a career game for Roy Hibbert. Indianas star centre had a season-high 27 points and added 13 rebounds as the Pacers beat Philadelphia 106-98 on Saturday night. "Hes been dominant defensively all year, and when we need him to step up on the offensive end, he does," Vogel said. Hibbert had career highs in free throws made and attempted while going 13 of 16 from the line. "I shoot free throws after practice, before practice. Its part of being confident," Hibbert said. Spencer Hawes, who came in as the Sixers second-leading scorer, didnt dress because of a sore left knee. Tony Wroten (back) and Thaddeus Young (personal) didnt travel with the team to Indianapolis, leaving the Sixers with just nine players in uniform. There wasnt any change in game plan for Hibbert to make up for Hawes absence, Vogel said. "Weve been struggling to get Roy the ball," Vogel said. "Hes doing all the dirty work for us, protecting the rim, rebounding, offensive rebounding. We havent been sharp in our post game the last couple games." It didnt matter much in the first half, as the Sixers kept within seven points of the Easts top team. The teams were tied 11 times in the first half and the lead changed 15 times, with Indiana able to build just a 56-52 halftime lead. The Sixers kept it close in the third quarter, even as both teams struggled to find the basket. Philadelphia shot just 7 of 24 from the field and Indiana missed seven straight shots at one point. The Pacers were 7 of 17 from the field but closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to take a seemingly safe 77-66 lead. "Theyve played together a lot," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "Theres a trust factor that they have, that they know whats going on behind their first line of defence. "We just couldnt convert some of those shots. Some of them were good looks, some of them we just give them credit." But the Sixers opened the fourth quarter with a 19-4 run to take an 85-81 lead. Hibbert completed a three-point play to tie the game at 86 with 6:18 to play. "Hes always been there for us, hes always anchoring the paint for us," said Paul George, who had 19 points. "We know that if anything is breaking down, we have the best rim protector." Hibbert then rebounded Evan Turners miss and George hit a 3-pointer at the other end to give Indiana a lead it wouldnt relinquish. "Were an experienced team. We dont worry," Hibbert said of Indianas falling behind. "We know that we can finish games." Michael Carter-Williams led Philadelphia with a career-high 29 points and Turner had 21 points and 11 rebounds. James Anderson scored 13 in the Sixers fifth loss in six games and fourth straight on the road. "I knew the scoring load would fall on me more tonight without Spencer and Tony and Thaddeus," Carter-Williams said. "I knew it would be tough for us to get points, so I tried to take more shots and create more shots for myself." Lance Stephenson added 18 points and David West had 17 points and 11 rebounds in Indianas third straight win, while George Hill finished with 11 points. The Pacers are 7-0 at home. "We knew this would be a very tough game," West said. "We took care of business when we had to." This marked just the fourth time this season that Indiana led at halftime. NOTES: The Pacers scored a season-high 106 points while shooting 35 of 76 from the field (46.1 per cent). ... Indiana had team season highs in free throws made (31) and attempts (38). ... The Sixers attempted 102 field goals, the most this season against Indiana. But Philadelphias shooting percentage of 34.3 was second-worst against the Pacers, who held Milwaukee to 34.1 per cent shooting on Nov. 15. ... Philadelphias 32 free throw attempts were also the most against Indiana this season. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 Nz . Future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray is in his prime and back for a third season in double blue. The 34-year old was magnificent in 2013, throwing for just under 2,900 yards despite missing eight games, tossing an impressive 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions, completing 66 per cent of his passes in the process. Air Jordan 1 Nz Free Shipping . Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco, Danick Gauthier and Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist each as the Sea Dogs extended the longest streak in the Canadian Hockey League this season. http://www.airjordan1nz.com/ . Coach Randy Carlyle didnt know the severity of Bozaks injury. Bozak left the bench and went down the tunnel early in the second period, returned to play a handful of shifts and then did play in the third. Air Jordan 1 Nz Online . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Nz . - This is just the warm-up act for 18-year-old William Nylander.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ray Shero as general manager eight years ago with the mandate to build a roster around two of the games brightest stars and turn ticker-tape parades through downtown into an annual rite of spring. Nearly a decade -- but just one Stanley Cup later -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin find themselves on a perennially underachieving team. And Shero finds himself out of a job. The Penguins fired Shero on Friday, three days after another early playoff exit, this one a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Coach Dan Bylsma remains in charge until Sheros replacement gets a chance to evaluate the entire organization top to bottom. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons," co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement. "We believe that new leadership in the general managers office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form." Assistant general manager Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim basis. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse called Botterill a candidate to take over and believes whomever the team brings in wont need to make major changes on a club that won 51 games in 2013-14. "Its not a complete rebuild," Morehouse said. "This is a team that has had a level of success. What were trying to do now is get from good to great." Its a destination the Penguins reached only briefly during Sheros tenure, spending most of the time in a murky middle ground that made them one of the leagues model franchises during the regular season but a symbol of disappointment once the calendar crept into May and beyond. Pittsburgh won the franchises third Cup in 2009 but has failed to produce a bookend. Pittsburgh is just 4-5 in playoff series over the last five years after blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York. Morehouse didnt blame the 51-year-old Sheros ouster on one specific misstep. "This is a decision thats been in the works for a long time since weve won the Cup," Morehouse said. "We wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup finals and we havent and were going to make some changes." The Penguins brought Shero in before the 2006-07 season and tasked him with finding the right kind of players to complement Crosby and Malkins otherworldly offensive talent. It culminated on a giddy night in Detroit in 2009, when the Penguins edged the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to earn the franchises third Cup, a run that included the crucial trade deadline acquisitions of forwards Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It was supposed to mark the beginning of a dyynasty.dddddddddddd. Yet five seasons have come and gone with the Penguins in a familiar position: watching the final stages of the playoffs go on without them. It hasnt been for lack of trying. Shero remained aggressive in investing in a "win now" mode as the ensuing disappointments piled up. He enthusiastically said the Penguins were "all in" last year after trading for Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The moves often created headlines but little else, and boatloads of regular-season victories and a sellout streak seven years and counting proved no longer good enough. Whether Bylsma will be along for the ride remains unclear. The affable, open-minded Michigan native was a revelation when the Penguins promoted him from their American Hockey League affiliate in the spring of 2009, hoping his optimism would help a loaded team break out of a midseason funk. It worked brilliantly. Four months after taking the job, the former NHL nomad who spent nine seasons as a gritty fourth-line forward was raising the Cup in ecstasy. Considering Crosby and Malkin were both in their early 20s at the time, champagne toasts were expected. A half-decade later, Bylsma is the winningest coach in franchise history with 252 wins but the wait for another Cup run continues. While Pittsburgh enjoyed nearly unparalleled success from October to April -- including easily capturing the Metropolitan Division this year despite losing more than 500-man games to injury -- the Penguins again struggled to adapt in the post-season. Morehouse said the new general manager will determine whether Bylsma and the rest of the staff gets another shot. The 43-year-old Bylsma has two years remaining on his contract, the product of an extension he received last June as a vote of confidence from Shero following a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The deal came with a promise to adopt a more defensive-minded approach. The Penguins even brought in longtime NHL coach Jacques Martin as an assistant, an old-school yin to Bylsmas new-school yang. Crosby took the blame for the teams underperformance as the Penguins cleared out their locker on Thursday. A day later the general manager ordered to put the leagues leading scorer in a position to keep Pittsburgh at the top was cleaning out his office. Whoever ends up redecorating will have his tough choices to make. At the same time, he gets to start with Crosby and Malkin firmly entrenched. Both players are signed through the rest of the decade. There are worse places to start. "A lot of teams would like to be where we are," Morehouse said. "However we do have high expectations and we do want to get to them." China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '