Grüße und Vorstellung » The Hawks had one stretch

PORTLAND, Ore. Cheap Wholesale Air Max 720 . -- Deron Williams took a moment to snap a few photos of Brooklyn teammate Jason Collins at their shootaround in Portland. He couldnt help it: The NBAs first openly gay player was surrounded by a throng of cameras and microphones, and at least for the next week or so, Collins will be the face of the Nets wherever they go. The 7-footer was signed to a 10-day contract on Sunday. He played in a 108-102 victory over the Lakers that night, with two rebounds, five fouls and a steal in just under 11 minutes. Before Wednesday nights game against the Trail Blazers, Collins said he accepted the both the interest and scrutiny that has come with his return to the league. "Im back playing basketball, so of course Im enjoying this," he said. Collins quietly played seven minutes in the 124-80 loss to the Blazers on Wednesday night, entering after Nets coach Jason Kidd had pulled his starters in the fourth quarter and many of the fans had already headed for the exits. He attempted one field goal. After Portland, the Nets visit Denver, where the attention will become even more intense. The family of slain Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard is expected to make the drive for the game Thursday night against the Nuggets. Shepard was tortured and murdered in 1998 because he was gay. Collins wears his No. 98 jersey in Shepards honour. He wants to keep the details of any meeting with Judy Shepard to himself. "Obviously, its extremely special and Im very much looking forward to meeting them," he said. Collins wore the No. 98 with both the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards for Shepard even before coming out. The jersey wasnt yet ready for the game against the Lakers (he wore a spare jersey with his name hastily added), but he wore No. 98 against the Blazers. "We were very touched," Judy Shepard told the New York Daily News about the jersey. "For him to make that tribute to Matt was meaningful to us." The jersey was already the biggest seller of the day Tuesday on NBAStore.com, and the NBA said it was selling well again Wednesday. The league didnt provide the number of jerseys sold. For all the attention hes getting, Collins is not a distraction for the Nets, who are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, inside the playoff cutoff. "He understands how to play the game the right way, and we saw that in L.A.," Kidd said. Collins publicly announced he was gay last May, and he joins several other athletes to come out, including Robbie Roberts of Major League Soccers Los Angeles Galaxy, Brittney Griner of the WNBAs Phoenix Mercury, and NFL draft hopeful Michael Sam, an All-American defensive end who played at Missouri. Since coming out, Collins has become an advocate for LGBT rights. He was in Portland just last week, appearing before a group thats advocating to get a measure on the November ballot that would legalize gay marriage on Oregon. In 2004, voters passed a measure that amended the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Campaign organizers hope to make Oregon the first state to overturn a constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage. Collins said for now, however, he just wants to focus on the Nets. "There are only so many ways you can write the story or tell the story," he said, "and then it will just be about basketball." Air Max 720 Australia Wholesale . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. Air Max 720 Australia Sale . Horford is out 3-to-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of six games. Atlanta improved to 2-0 on the residency with Saturdays 93-91 triumph over Minnesota, as Ivan Johnson scored his teams final four points, including the game-winning free throw with 4. http://www.cheapairmax720australia.com/ . - Ryan Spooner scored twice to lead the Boston Bruins to a 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders in a preseason game Friday night.NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis and Brian Roberts proved a pair of second-year players can carry the young Pelicans to a victory over a veteran team with playoff aspirations. Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Roberts scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, and New Orleans beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-100 on Wednesday night. "Im always telling our guys, Everybody has written you guys off, so what do you have to lose? Just go out there and play. Ive got your back either way," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. Paul Millsap had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost two in a row. DeMarre Carroll added 22 points. "Roberts made some big shots," said Hawks guard Jeff Teague, who had 11 points and 13 assists. "We just got stagnant on defence. Our intensity on defence just wasnt there. We didnt play with attention to detail in the last couple of plays." Davis and Roberts made Atlanta pay, each scoring six points in the final 3:40. Davis has been stellar all season, and his performance against Atlanta marked the 16th time hes had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the same game. Roberts only recently moved into a starting role at point guard because of Jrue Holidays stress fracture in his right shin. Roberts made only one of five shots in the first half before turning in one of the best second halves of his young career. "Hes growing up and he understands when to make plays," Davis said. Roberts did have one glaring error when he had a turnover that led to a score during a late 7-0 Atlanta run that trimmed the Hawks 10-point deficit to three with a little less than a minute left. Roberts made up for it with a running, off-balance floater on New Orleans next possession to make it 100-95 with 20 seconds to go. "That was a tough turnover right there," Roberts said. "I just try to move on and focus on the nextt play. Cheap Air Max 720 Online Australia. . ... I was going to get it back and I was able to make that floater and finish them off." Eric Gordon added 18 points and Anthony Morrow 16 for the Pelicans, who have won six of their last nine games. Atlanta was in position to win when Mike Scotts 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run and gave the Hawks an 83-76 lead with 7:45 to play, but the Pelicans then ran off nine straight points to regain the lead. "Thats a tough loss for our group," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said, referring to his clubs blown fourth-quarter lead. "Our execution needs to improve when were in that situation." The Hawks led for the entire third quarter, taking their largest lead at 54-47 on Carrolls 3 12 seconds into the period. Scott hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points for the Hawks, while Lou Williams had 11 points. The teams stayed within single digits of each other for nearly the entire game. The largest lead for either team was 10 for New Orleans after Davis free throws late in the fourth quarter. That lead lasted all of 8 seconds before Scott hit a 3. Atlanta had 14 3s on 30 attempts from deep, with Carroll hitting four. The Hawks had one stretch in which they hit nine straight 3-point attempts -- their last four of the second quarter and first five of the third. The Pelicans, however, scored 20 points on free throws, while Atlanta had only 10. New Orleans also outrebounded Atlanta 50-38. NOTES: The Pelicans have scheduled a ceremony on Thursday to rename the New Orleans Arena as the Smoothie King Center. Pelicans officials confirmed to The Associated Press and several other media outlets on Wednesday afternoon that they had reached a 10-year naming rights agreement with the Louisiana-based company. ... Davis blocked one shot, ending a streak of seven games in which hed blocked at least four. ... Atlantas Kyle Korver was 2 for 5 from 3-point range. 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