3, Augustus said not much. Another game like Tuesdays would suit the Lynx just fine.We have some details that we need to clean up, but they are all minor, Augustus said. Its good to say we only have small things to address rather than major things.The Sparks also dont have major issues, but they m

The Denver Nuggets found something that works when Kenneth Faried was put into the starting lineup.Unfortunately, the results are mixed.Faried has been a beast since the move, averaging 12 rebounds in four games, but Denver continues to struggle for wins. The Nuggets have lost three of their last four, including two at home while searching for consistency.They get another chance Sunday when the Utah Jazz are in town. The Jazz are coming off a 111-102 loss to Houston on Saturday.The Nuggets, who are 1-4 at home this season, need to start establishing a home dominance if they want to take a serious run at the playoffs. Two of their losses at Pepsi Center came in overtime, including Friday nights 113-111 setback to Toronto.Denver had chances to put that one away but faltered down the stretch in the fourth quarter and again in overtime.Its encouraging to a point but these are games we have to win, Nuggers coach Michael Malone said. Yes, we are undermanned and have some injuries but no excuses. We had enough bodies on the floor to get the job done.The Nuggets (4-8) are thin in the backcourt because of injuries to Gary Harris (foot) and Will Barton (ankle). Harris is a few weeks away and Bartons return is still unknown.Malone has started his two point guards the last two games and brought rookie Jamal Murray first off the bench. He used forward Wilson Chandler at shooting guard in spots Friday.The Jazz (7-7) are dealing with their own injuries. Forward Boris Diaw missed Saturdays game in Houston, center Derrick Favors is nursing a knee contusion and Gordon Hayward is still dealing with the effects of a broken finger suffered in the preseason.Like Denver, the Jazz are not using injuries as a crutch.We cant make any excuses because guys go down in the NBA, Hayward told The Salt Lake Tribune. Thats kind of how it works. So we have to be professionals and figure it out in practice, figure it out in the games. Thats just something we have to do.Utahs offense has struggled since scoring 100 points in back-to-back road games against New York and Philadelphia two weeks ago. The Jazz managed just 77 points in a home loss to Chicago on Thursday before falling to the Rockets on Saturday.It was their third straight loss and dropped them to .500 after a 6-2 start. The offense did find some spark in the loss, but it wasnt enough against the James Harden-led Rockets.Hayward struggled from the field Saturday, going 4-for-13. Rodney Hood led Utah with 25 and Trey Lyles had 21The Jazz hope to get well in Denver.I think were doing well at moving the ball and finding open shots, guard Dante Exum told The Salt Lake Tribune. It just comes down to hitting the shots that we get. The group is still getting connected. Were just going to get better every game and continue to work on the shots. Theyll fall.Air Max 720 Outlet . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Cheap Authentic Air Max 720 .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http://www.clearanceairmax720.com/ .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. Cheap Air Max China .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Cheap Air Max Outlet . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings.LOS ANGELES -- Thirteen years have passed since Sparks fans got to see their team play in a WNBA Finals game here in California. And the Sparks are expecting those folks to bring a lot of life Friday night to the Galen Center, the Sparks alternate home, for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals (ESPN2, 9 ET).But they arent counting on that being the deciding factor in this series with Minnesota. After all, the Lynx won both regular-season games in Los Angeles, June 21 and Sept. 6 at Staples Center.We just have to come out with a lot of energy, Sparks center Jantel Lavender said. But thats not about the fans. Its about us, and playing like we played all season to get here.[In Game 2], we were missing a lot of shots, and we missed boxouts. You cant do that against a team thats won championships. But you also cant get too down about mistakes, either. In that split-second of us worrying about a missed shot, and theyre running to a transition layup.In other words, the Sparks know their margin for error might actually be a little less than it is for the Lynx. Not a lot, but as Lavender said, the Lynx have a lot of players with WNBA championship experience, while the Sparks -- whose last Finals appearance was in 2003 -- dont.In the Sparks 78-76 Game 1 victory, Minnesota allowed a few too many easy baskets, sometimes after gambling a bit on defense, and then a buzzer-beating shot by Los Angeles Alana Beard to win it.Game 2, for the most part, was exactly how the Lynx want the rest of this series to go: with them dominating the boards, limiting Nneka Ogwumikes shots and making Candace Parker shoot a lot from the perimeter.That Sylvia Fowles-led defensive formula -- along with key offensive contributions from Maya Moore and Seeimone Augustus -- gave the Lynx a series-tying 79-60 victory Tuesday.ddddddddddddSo weve seen a close game play out in the Sparks favor, and a game that turned into a blowout for the Lynx. Asked how much she thought Minnesota would need to adjust for Game 3, Augustus said not much. Another game like Tuesdays would suit the Lynx just fine.We have some details that we need to clean up, but they are all minor, Augustus said. Its good to say we only have small things to address rather than major things.The Sparks also dont have major issues, but they must figure out how to prevent Minnesotas defense from dictating the game so much. Los Angeles 60 points Tuesday tied for their lowest output this season.The phrase back on our heels came up a lot from the Sparks players after Tuesdays game, and Los Angeles coach Brian Agler said that could be a big factor Friday -- especially for Ogwumike and Parker.Just being aggressive. Just being more on their front foot than their back foot, Agler said when asked what he hoped to see from that duo. Using the skills that they have, their athleticism, their basketball instincts and their intelligence. Theyre elite in those kind of ways.The reality is, against most teams this season, the Sparks were just so talented that they could win even when they didnt necessarily play well. That wont be the case against Minnesota.We have to play better defense. We shot terrible, Parker said, referring to the Sparks 32.9 shooting percentage Tuesday. I think a lot of that was because of our energy and effort. I dont think we were as focused as we were in Game 1. ' ' '