OKLAHOMA CITY -- This is what the Thunder had in mind when they picked up Caron Butler after the trade deadline. [url=http://www.chargersprofansshop.com/Black-Travis-Benjamin-Chargers-J ersey.html?cat=896]Travis Benjamin Jersey[/url] . The forward scored 23 points to help Oklahoma City defeat the Denv

OKLAHOMA CITY -- This is what the Thunder had in mind when they picked up Caron Butler after the trade deadline. Travis Benjamin Jersey . The forward scored 23 points to help Oklahoma City defeat the Denver Nuggets 117-96 on Monday night. He made 10 of 19 shots in 29 minutes as a reserve and posted his highest points total since joining the team. Kevin Durant, who had 27 points and eight assists, liked what the Thunder got from the 34-year-old Butler. "Thats what we want him to do," Durant said. "He was aggressive, and thats what we need him to do for the rest of the year." Butler said it felt good to get loose. "Im just getting into a rhythm," he said. "My teammates are doing a great job of finding me in flow, and Im starting to get a little more familiar with my game and understanding where I like the ball at." Reggie Jackson had 16 points and a career-high 11 assists, and Serge Ibaka added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who won their fourth straight. The Thunder sat point guard Russell Westbrook so he could rest his surgically repaired right knee. Westbrooks knee took a hit from Toronto guard Kyle Lowry on Friday, but tests showed no further damage was done. The Thunder have been resting Westbrook for one game of back-to-backs, and Oklahoma City plays at Dallas on Tuesday. As usual, other players filled in successfully. "You have a system thats functioning," Butler said. "The only thing guys got to do is plug into that system and play a certain style and way and give a certain type of effort, and things just continue to move forward." Jackson, who had struggled at times since Westbrook returned after the All-Star break, played one of his best games of the season. "Hes just playing free now," Durant said. "You can just tell hes not getting in his own way, you know, thinking too much mentally and hes just going out there and playing." Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Quincy Miller and Timofey Mozgov each scored 12 points, Kenneth Faried had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Randy Foye had 11 points and four assists for the Nuggets. Denver allowed the Thunder to shoot 51 per cent. "We didnt get into the ball defensively," Denver forward Darrell Arthur said. "Our communication was off." The Thunder matched their highest points total in a quarter this season, making six 3-pointers in the first to take a 41-24 lead. Oklahoma City kept the pressure on and led 72-58 at halftime. The Thunder shot 60 per cent from the field and had their highest points total in any half this season. Durant had 22 points and six assists in the first half while Ibaka scored 15. Only one Thunder player shot worse than 50 per cent in the first half. "They came out strong, and we gave them a lot of easy shots," Lawson said. "It felt like they werent working for anything. Everything was pretty much easy in the first half, I think." Oklahoma City made just six of 18 shots in the third quarter, but the Nuggets were an even worse 3-for-16, so the Thunder actually extended their lead to 90-73 by the end of the period. "We got stops on the first two possessions (of the third quarter), so we could have cut the lead down to 10," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "Instead, we dont capitalize on those situations, and they come down and score after that and push it right back up to 18 or 20. It was just one of those kinds of nights." NOTES: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins (left groin strain) and G Thabo Sefolosha (left calf strain) are improving, but still are out. Both have missed about a month. ... Durant has scored 25 or more points in 35 consecutive games, the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times during the 1986-87 season. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler (left groin strain) and F Jan Vesely (left rib cage contusion) did not play. ... Thunder C Hasheem Thabeet missed the game for personal reasons. ... Oklahoma Citys Adams scored in double figures for just the third time this season. ... Thunder G Mustafa Shakur played for just the third time this season. He was NBA D-League Player of the Month in February while playing for the Tulsa 66ers. Matt Slauson Jersey . on the 15-day disabled Monday list because of a strained right hamstring. Jeremiah Attaochu Jersey . -- The Phoenix Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time in 4 1/2 months, and theyve done it just in time for the stretch run to the playoffs. http://www.chargersprofansshop.com/Black-Drew-Kaser-Chargers-Jersey.html?cat=882 . But last years runner-up Jarkko Nieminen crashed out despite winning the first set against Denis Istomin. Istomin fired 10 aces and won 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 to even his career record against Nieminen at 3-3.Dominic Cork says England should consider employing James Vince as their one-day captain. Vince has not played for England at senior level but has starred in the county game for Hampshire as a powerful one-day opener, cracking three tons and 13 fifties in his 80 matches. He hasn’t got any scars and there aren’t really that many senior players any more. Dominic Cork on James Vince And Sky Sports pundit Cork feels the 23-year-old would be capable of skippering his national side if current incumbent Eoin Morgan is relieved of his duties. “Are England looking at Morgan being captain in four years’ time or even two years’ time for the Champions Trophy? Or are they looking to bring in someone completely different?,” said Cork, in the wake of England’s abject World Cup exit.“The jury is out for me and I’d like to see someone who isn’t frightened of making different decisions, someone like Vince, who has captained Hampshire and England Lions.“Why not throw it to him? He hasn’t got any scars and there aren’t really that many senior players any more, when you consider Ian Bell might not be playing much one-day cricket anymore.”Peter Moores, meanwhile, has revealed his desire to stay on as England coach, despite his team failing to beat a Test-playing nation at the World Cup following Monday’s reverse to Bangladesh. Peter Moores told Nasser Hussain that hes bitterly disappointed with Englands exit from the World Cup And Cork thinks the former Lancashire chief should be given longer to stamp his imprint on the England team having returned for a second spell in charge in April 2014.“I think Moores will still be in control as [ECB Managing Director] Paul Downton has stressed that he thinks they’ve got the right man and that it was always going to be a building period to try and get these younger players more experienced,” added Cork.“You have to stick with somebody and can’t just blame the coach when we need to have a complete review of our domestic game and go with an IPL-style setup to gget the most competitive game we can in this country. Rayshawn Jenkins Jersey. ”Cork, who played 32 one-day internationals for England between 1992 and 2002, also had his say on why England’s World Cup campaign turned so sour: BOWLINGWhat are England’s bowlers conceding in the first 10 overs? How many wickets are they taking? People look at averages but that isnt really important – it’s about taking wickets early, bowling yorkers not length and getting the right bowlers on at the right time, so England need to change their mentality.It’s difficult to say there is no aggression but when you need to, maybe just up that aggression – not verbally but by setting aggressive fields and letting the batsmen know that it’s going to be a barrage of short balls. That comes from the captain but it comes from the bowler as well. Dominic Cork thinks the England selectors made mistakes in selecting their top six batsmen FLEXIBILITYWe haven’t had the right batting line-up for a long time now. I am Bell fan but when you look at his stats and see he has four hundreds in 160 ODIs, it’s simply not good enough as an opening batsman, so Jos Buttler needs to come up the order, Joe Root needs to come up the order.It’s the same with the bowling. Where was James Tredwell? He is someone we’ve relied on for quite some time but suddenly he can’t get a game. England are so rigid when they look at stats and it’s a load of nonsense. Do you think Aaron Finch and Glen Maxwell think about stats?BATTING AGGRESSIONI see players in domestic cricket hitting the ball out of the park but when they get into the international arena they freeze and are frightened to express themselves. It’s not about building a sensible innings with ones and twos, it’s about getting your front leg out of the way and hitting the ball as hard as you can.You need the balance of having someone who can bat through the innings but you don’t need Bell and James Taylor doing the same thing. You need a bit of flair at the top of the order, mixed in with grit and determination, and then people who can come in late on and hit it. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys 2018 NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '