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Oklahoma City Thunder handed Golden State a more complete beating than anything the Warriors had experienced during their record-setting season, winning 133-105 on Sunday. Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook claimed 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds as Thunder took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference finals.Suddenly, a second straight title that for so long seemed certain for Golden State is in jeopardy, and Oklahoma firmly have the upper hand. The Warriors, who set an NBA record with 73 victories in the regular season, trailed by 41 points at one stage - their largest deficit this season.We got what we deserved, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. Russell Westbrook takes a shot for Oklahoma Durant scored 10 from 15 shots and Westbrook 10 from 19. It was the first time this post-season that both have shot better than 50 per cent from the field.Were not going to win that way, Golden State guard Klay Thompson said. One of those guys has got to have an off night.Serge Ibaka added 14 points and eight rebounds for Thunder, who matched a franchise record for most points scored in a play-off game.Oklahoma dominated the rebounds 52-38, continuing the pattern of the series that the team that wins the boards wins the game.Thats one thing we slipped up on in Game 2, and tonight we did a good job of getting loose balls and finding ways to get 50/50 basketballs and give ourselves extra possessions, Westbrook said.Golden State will be in an uncomfortable position heading into game four of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday in Oklahoma, but the Warriors remain confident.They trailed Memphis and Cleveland 2-1 in play-off series last year and won both on their way to claiming the NBA title.Both times, we got blown out in game three, and we responded well, so we have that memory, Kerr said.Im confident were going to come out and play a really good game in game four, and well see what happens.The last time Golden States Stephen Curry played in Oklahoma City, he scored 46 points, tied an NBA record with 12 three-pointers and hit a game-winning 37-footer.This time, the league MVP finished with a relatively modest 24 points, with Thompson adding 18 points.Golden States Draymond Green, who kicked Oklahoma Citys Steven Adams in the groin and has become Thunder fans No 1 target because of some questionable tactics, struggled on both ends of the floor and finished with six points.The Warriors were outscored by 43 points when he was in the game.Green, who will be hoping he can avoid suspension after he picked up a flagrant foul for the kick, said he wasnt trying to hurt Adams.I thought it would probably get rescinded, he said.I followed through on a shot. Im not trying to kick somebody in the midsection. Somebody wants to have kids someday. Im not trying to end that on the basketball court.Seemingly energised after Greens foul, Thunder outscored Warriors 24-7 in the rest of the half, with many of the baskets coming against Green. Also See: Magic appoint coach Vogel Westbrook inspires Oklahoma Raptors put out Heat Durant puts Thunder in finals Aaron Colvin Texans Jersey . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. Keke Coutee Jersey .A. Happ. The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to improve the starting rotation ahead of next season and pitchers like Happ have a chance to show they belong as the disastrous 2013 campaign draws to a close. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-aaron-colvin-jersey.html .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32. Sammie Coates Jersey . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. Tyrann Mathieu Texans Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me.I was asked this question a few weeks ago, and this person was talking about the absence of a running back having dominated the league in rushing yards. This became very apparent when Jon Cornish missed at least six games and is still within 200 yards of the rushing leader with his 587 yards to date. Lets talk about some of the factors involved and what has changed. I believe there are three reasons for the change; four designated imports on the roster, talented non-import running backs and running QBs. Lets state the obvious, in every level of football, you must be able to run the football to have a balanced, efficient offense that can handle all the situations that you face throughout the football season. I have coached or coordinated four rushing leaders in the CFL and I believe in running the football. Michael Jenkins (2001), Charles Roberts (2003), Troy Davis (2004) and Fred Reid (2011) all were talented backs who were able to make the most of their opportunities. As the league evolves, you can see one-tailback offenses start to evolve also to spread the wealth, per se. Obviously, injuries can be a factor for a lack of productivity in running backs as they tend to have injuries at times and will have to miss games. As noted earlier, Jon Cornish has missed a great deal of this season and it has affected his rushing totals. But the biggest reason that I believe rushing numbers are down for the backs are the roster and specifically, how many designated imports are on rosters this year. A Designated Import is an International (Import) that can play freely on all special teams and can replace only another International (Import). Long story short is that for teams starting seven Non Imports, the DIs can replace another import but not a non-import. This year, the DIs has increased by one for a total of four on the roster. So you have four players that can play all special teams and also replace other Imports that are on the roster. When I first came into the League in the early 2000s, there was only one DI. It eventually went to a second and finally up to a third until the fourth DI this season. When you had only two DIs, one was usually a kick returner and one was a defensive player. It was difficult to carry a backup running back that was an import unless he was the returner. That is how many running backs earned their roster spots originally. In 2001, Hall of Famer Charles Roberts was on the roster as a DI who returned kick-offs and punts and spelled the starter Eric Blount. The rosters did not allow for a very talented import running back to be on the roster just as a backup. Cut to this year, where with four DIs, you can have two back-ups on offence and defence. One of those usually is also a returner and backup as in Brandon Banks in Hamilton, and the other three can be utilized on the roster as a backup and in situational packages. One of the most important things to understand with this roster size now is that you have the ability to plan and practice expecting to have the DI available to you if you are a coordinator because of the four spots. In previous years with less DIs, often the DI would be decided depending on the health status of your roster. For example, you may have to dress an Import DI receiver because one of your starting import receivers is banged up and may not play the whole game. If you normally used a DI running back, you would have to make the switch and take the DI running back off the roster and reeplace him with DI wide receiver.dddddddddddd Nowadays, you can have both on the roster and still be able to gameplan for the roster spot as a DI running back. So how does all that relate to running back rushing yards? Teams are allowed to break up the rushing job to more than one back and are able to build packages with two tailbacks in the game at the same time. Edmonton has utilized this by having Kendial Lawrence and Tyler Thomas on the roster. They can split carries as well as be in the game at the same time and have plays designed for each other. Lawrence is 11th in rushing and Thomas is 16th. Add their rushing yards together and they would lead the CFL in rushing. Edmonton also has Jon White, who has also rushed for 334 yards this season but is on the six-game injured list. Saskatchewan also has had success with using multiple import running backs on the roster. Anthony Allen leads the Riders with 593 yards which puts him third in rushing in the CFL. Will Ford is sixth in rushing with 425 yards and is able to be part of a 1-2 punch that the Riders rushing attack will hit defences with. Toronto has utilized several different backfield combinations this season but normally carry two import running backs. Curtis Steele is eighth in rushing with 437 yards and a healthy Steve Slaton is starting to come on with 224 yards so far. Montreal is fun to watch with Brandon Whitaker, who leads the CFL with 695 yards and they can also line up with Tyrell Sutton in the backfield. Sutton gets the opportunity to prove his worth and not have to wait for an injury to the starter to be on the roster. Talented non-imports are another reason for individual rushing numbers being down. I dont care what nationality you are, if you are talented, you will touch the football. Jerome Messam is part of the three-headed monster of the Riders run game and he has 326 yards this season. He is a bruising runner and a great change up for the Riders. Matt Walter has had some opportunities to play this year, allowing Calgary not to have to disrupt their roster when Cornish was hurt. Andrew Harris status as a non-import starter allows depth at other spots and can allow for a running back to be an import on the roster. Rushing QBs and packages designed for the QB as a running back have emerged the past few seasons to create extra packages and schemes that the defence must work on. Pat White in Edmonton has 26 rushes for 113 yards and his offensive package forces defences to take valuable time from practice to prepare for his package. Hamilton also has utilized a package for QB Dan Lefevour the past two seasons. These QB packages create problems for defences as the quarterback is the ball carrier and the defences are not used to the quarterback being a ball carrier and also there is a numbers advantage when the QB is the primary ball carrier. It is important that these QB packages have throws built in to make sure it is not 100 per cent run or else the defence will load the box to stop the run. The QB running game packages will take away reps for the starting tailback because many times the QB carries the ball in these packages. Although rushing numbers may be down, it is a great thing to be able to have more players on the roster to create excitement and be able to have multiple rushing football players. The years of the 2,000-yard backs may be over, but the ability to keep more players involved is certainly fun to watch. ' ' '