with Italian daily La Repubblica. "Refle

DENVER - James Harden couldnt quite fight his way through traffic and just barely missed getting his hand in the face of Arron Afflalo as the Nuggets swingman knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end regulation.No big deal, though. Harden more than atoned in overtime.Harden scored eight of his 41 points in the extra period, and the Houston Rockets beat Denver 115-111 on Wednesday night after Afflalos late theatrics sent the crowd into a frenzy.Just Harden being Harden.When hes in attack mode, nobody can guard him, Dwight Howard said. He played amazing. Hit some tough shots.Harden was far from alone. Patrick Beverley sealed Houstons seventh win in eight games by hitting four straight free throws in the final 17.8 seconds.This team doesnt give up. Were resilient, said Harden, who was 18 of 21 at the free throw line and had 10 assists. Weve been that way all year.Howard had 24 points and 16 rebounds despite a strained right knee that had him questionable for the game.Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Ty Lawson dished out 16 assists for the struggling Nuggets, whove dropped seven of their last eight.We didnt win the game, but I commend our guys, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. Im proud of the guys and the way they played, so these kinds of losses, I can stomach a little bit better.After sending the game to OT, Afflalo had a chance to come up big again with 24 seconds remaining and his team trailing 109-107, but he hit just one of two free throws. He later knocked down a 3-pointer to keep the Nuggets close, only to have Beverley drain two free throws.Heck of a game, said Rockets coach Kevin McHale, whose team trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half. Our guys just kept battling away.Hardens 3-pointer with 10.4 seconds left in regulation gave the Rockets a 98-96 lead. He then stole a pass from Kenneth Faried and was immediately fouled, sending him to the line with a chance to wrap up the win. But Harden made just one of two free throws, giving the Nuggets time for one last chance.Lawson dribbled up the floor and scooped it over to Afflalo, who made a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer with Harden nearly in his face to tie it at 99.Its basketball. People are going to hit tough shots, Howard said. Luckily, we had a chance to redeem ourselves and get a win.Houston beat Denver last Saturday, with Harden recording a triple-double — 24 points, 10 rebound and 10 assists.He torched the Nuggets for three quarters Wednesday, but was held quiet in the fourth until his late 3-pointer, his only one of the game.Jason Terry didnt make the trip to Denver. Instead, he headed for Dallas to be with his wife, who is expecting the couples fifth child.Faried (strained ankle) and Danilo Gallinari (bruised knee) were back on the floor after being hobbled by ailments. They also were energized after conversations with Shaw. Both players voiced their frustration over their recent roles and Shaw listened.They responded, too, as Faried had 11 points and 11 boards, while Gallinari scored 16 points.It was definitely a good game for me, but we didnt win, Gallinari said. Im not happy, but onto the next one.TIP-INSRockets: Francisco Garcia (calf, strained Achilles) and Terrence Jones (left leg nerve inflammation) didnt play. ... McHale has become a mentor for Shaw, with the two talking every so often about their two favourite subjects — hoops and fishing. I wish him all the luck in the world, except when were playing him, McHale said.Nuggets: Of his meetings with Faried and Gallinari over their roles, Shaw said, We tried to find a common ground and go from there. ... The Nuggets have played more overtime games against Houston (14) than any other team.BULLIED AROUNDHoward ate up Timofey Mozgov, Faried and J.J. Hickson on the inside, but struggled when rookie Jusuf Nurkic covered him. Nurkic outweighs Howard by 15 pounds and bumped him around. Nurkic picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter and had to sit on the bench.UP NEXTRockets: Host New Orleans on Thursday.Nuggets: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Fabinho Brazil Jersey . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Diego Alves Brazil Jersey .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. http://www.soccerbrazilonline.com/Dougl ... ca-Jersey/. He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2. Ederson Brazil Jersey .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Ganso Jersey . "Rob brings a wealth of coaching experience, having worked both in Canada and overseas in player development," Canada Soccer technical director Tony Fonseca said in a release.MANGARATIBA, Brazil - A hard rain was falling when Gianluigi Buffon paused for a moment during an Italy training session Tuesday. Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Buffon first went to the World Cup back in 1998, although he didnt play a second-choice option behind Gianluca Pagliuca. He then took over the starting position from 2002 onward. "A fifth World Cup is a nice milestone but that doesnt mean Im satisfied," Buffon said before departing for Brazil. "Both individually and as a squad were preparing to surprise people." Buffon, of course, doesnt need to prove anything at this point in his career. He was one of the driving forces behind Italys run to the 2006 World Cup title, when he didnt concede a single goal to opponents during normal play over the course of seven matches — letting in only an own goal from Cristian Zaccardo and a penalty from Zinedine Zidane in the final won over France. He helped Parma to the UEFA Cup title way back in 1999 and has since won five Serie A titles with Juventus — including the last three. "As the years go by, Gigi still has the same amount of desire," said midfielder Claudio Marchisio, who plays with Buffon with both Italy and Juventus. "Hes a great professional, a great friend, and a top-level player. Hes a player who is able to give his all in every moment and always offer the right words of encouragement. "There are players here who are at their first big tournament and hes always there offering the right words of advice," Marchisio added Tuesday. Now that Buffon is setting records for longevity, its worth remembering what an early start he had. Born to members of Italys national teams in athletics (his mother) and weightlifting (father), Buffons distant relative Lorenzo Buffon was also Italys goalkeeper in the 1950s. Having played in midfield as a kid, Buffon decided he wanted to be a goalkeeper after seeing Thomas NKono defend Cameroons goal during the 1990 World Cup in Italy — when Buffon was 12 — and years later Buffon named his first son Louis Thomas after NKono. In 1991 when Buffon was just 13, Parma purchased his rights and put him in their youth system.dddddddddddd At 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut with Parma, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against AC Milan. At 19, Buffon made a memorable Italy debut on a snowy pitch in Moscow during a playoff with Russia for a spot in the 1998 World Cup. Coming off a frigid bench as an injury replacement for Pagliuca, Buffon first raised eyebrows by wearing shorts in the arctic-like conditions then made a series of impressive saves in a 1-1 draw. Fast forward to 2006, when Buffon was one of the few key players to stay with Juventus when the Turin club was relegated to Serie B due to a match-fixing scandal — meaning that a month after guiding Italy to the World Cup title, he was playing in small second-division stadiums. Then at the 2010 World Cup, Buffon struggled with back pain. He played only a portion of Italys opening match and the Azzurri were promptly eliminated after the first round. But he was back in place to help Italy reach the final of the 2012 European Championship. And last October, Buffon surpassed Fabio Cannavaro with an Italy-record 137th appearance. So how does Buffon keep going? "Motivation is the key," he said in a recent interview with Italian daily La Repubblica. "Reflexes diminish. At my age you dont improve anymore, so its better to reduce training and take better care of injury prevention, nutrition and gym work." Buffon has often recounted how he fell into depression about 10 years ago, then resuscitated himself by turning to literature. He has also been the subject of a couple betting scandals. In 2011, he married Czech model Alena Seredova but Buffon announced last month when Italy gathered to begin training that they had separated. In announcing their split, Buffon thanked Seredova publicly for not making things too difficult for him, and said that he hopes she will bring their two boys to watch him play in Brazil. Whether Seredova and the boys come is yet to be seen. Either way, Buffon has already inscribed his name in the World Cup record books. And who knows, maybe Buffon will continue playing and go back to Russia and the site of his Italy debut for the 2018 World Cup, when hell be 40 — the same age that one of his idols, Dino Zoff, was when he helped Italy to the 1982 World Cup title. "Ill keep playing as long as I dont become a reserve," Buffon said. "Once the day comes that I get benched, thats when Ill hang my boots up." ___ Follow Andrew Dampf at http://twitter.com/asdampf Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '