Schwarzes Brett » Molina had successful surgery Friday

INDIANAPOLIS -- All David West wanted to do Monday night was get his team playing the right way. He made sure of it. West scored 25 points in less than 27 minutes and Roy Hibbert added 14 as the NBAs top team dominated the middle and blew past short-handed Denver 119-80 for its most lopsided win this season. "We played with the right attitude. We came out aggressively. We got off to a good start," West said. "Tonight, we made a concentrated effort to get to the goal. No letdowns." For the Pacers (40-11), it was just another stepping stone victory. They still have the leagues best record, best home mark (25-2) and best defence. They still lead two-time defending champion Miami, now by four games, in the Eastern Conference. They still have not lost back-to-back games since mid-December and have not lost three straight all season. They even padded their league-leading scoring differential. And if Denver coach Brian Shaw is to be believed, they might have the best overall player in the league, too. Shaw spent the previous two seasons working extensively to help George when he served as an Indiana assistant. "Paul George is an All-Star starter, and I said this morning that hes the best two-way player in the game -- and that includes LeBron (James) and everyone else you include," the Nuggets coach said after Indiana ended its five-game skid in this series. The scariest part may be that the Pacers didnt even need George to be at his best Monday night. He finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists -- numbers mitigated by the fact the Pacers were so far ahead after three quarters that coach Frank Vogel rested his starters the entire fourth quarter and didnt play any of them more than 28 1/2 minutes. Instead, George was content to let West and Hibbert lead the way. Did they ever. West scored 21 of his points in the first half and finished 11 of 13 from the field, making his last nine shots. Not surprisingly, Indiana outscored Denver 58-36 in the paint. Hibbert finished with 12 rebounds on a night the Pacers had a 56-37 advantage. That, combined with Denvers depleted roster, was just too much for the Nuggets (24-26) to overcome. Denver has now lost three in a row, five of its last seven and has suffered its two most embarrassing defeats of the season in less than a week. It lost 117-90 at New York on Friday. The Nuggets also finished with a season-worst shooting percentage (31.5), far worse than their previous low mark (36.4) against the Clippers on Dec. 21. Only three players reached double figures -- Wilson Chandler with 17, J.J. Hickson with 12 and Jordan Hamilton with 11. Only 10 players dressed for the Nuggets and their top two point guards -- Ty Lawson, the Nuggets top scorer, and backup Nate Robinson -- sat out with injuries. Lawson missed the game with a fractured left rib. Robinson was out with a sprained ACL in his left knee. Randy Foye played reasonably well at an unfamiliar spot, finishing with nine points, 10 assists and only three turnovers, the Nuggets werent the same without their two playmaking ball-handlers. "We were just timid, unsure with everything we did," Shaw said. "Sometimes, youre overmatched. Tonight, we were overmatched." After trailing for the only time all night, 11-10, Indiana quickly took control. West spurred a 22-5 run that gave Indiana a 37-20 lead early in the second quarter. The Pacers then finished the half on a 14-4 run to make it 61-40, and Denver never got closer than 19 over the rest of the night. "At this point in the season, we need every win," George said. "Tonight we were able to come out early and just execute. I thought we played with a lot of energy, we shared the ball, we did a great job defensively. We forced them to take tough shots." Notes: Indianas last win over Denver was a 31-point blowout in November 2010. ... The Pacers also avoided getting swept by Denver, something they had done only three times in the previous eight seasons. ... The Pacers led by 21 points at the half and by 29 after three quarters, both season bests. ... Indianas 58 points in the paint also tied a season high. ... Denver finishes a four-game road trip Wednesday at Minnesota. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Nike Jerseys . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. Fake Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . -- Byron Scott is taking over the Los Angeles Lakers with the vocal support of his fellow Showtime greats. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.co...ls-nike-jerseys. Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. Custom Miami Marlins Nike Jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Custom Baltimore Orioles Nike Jerseys . Forward Iker Muniain scored the winner in the 70th minute after Bilbaos incessant pressure recovered the ball and sparked a counterattack inside Barcelonas half. Neymar was once again tagged to pick up Messis goal-scoring duties, but when he wasnt frustrated by slippery footing Bilbaos defence got the better of him.MILWAUKEE -- Matt Holliday hit a solo homer with two outs in the top of the ninth inning off Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez, completing the St. Louis Cardinals comeback from a six-run deficit for a 7-6 win Friday night over Milwaukee. Milwaukee has lost six straight and 10 of 11 games. Holliday sent the first-pitch changeup from Rodriguez (3-3) into the left-field seats to break the tie. The Cardinals hit four homers and cut the sliding Brewers lead in the NL Central to one game. Trevor Rosenthal wrapped up six shutout innings for the St. Louis bullpen with his 28th save, getting two strikeouts after allowing a leadoff single to Aramis Ramirez in the bottom of the ninth. All-Star setup man Pat Neshek (4-0) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. It was also a second straight tough loss for the Brewers, who fell 9-1 on Thursday to the Phillies despite Matt Garzas no-hit bid into the seventh inning. Manager Ron Roenicke was ejected in the ninth after arguing a strike call. Afterward, a visibly-shaken skipper closed the clubhouse and didnt take reporters questions, citing a death in the family of a player who he did not name. "For respect of him right now, were not going to let anybody in the clubhouse," Roenicke said. "Sorry, but these things are tough and I just dont want to leave any players open to anything." The Cardinals chipped away with three home runs off starter Yovani Gallardo. Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer -- his team-high 14th -- to get St. Louis within 6-5 with one out in the sixth, two pitches after manager Ron Roenicke visited the mound but decided against pulling Gallardo with the bullpen going. Gallardo departed aftter Peraltas homer.dddddddddddd. The bullpen gave up the lead anyway. Rob Wooten loaded the bases without retiring a hitter, and lefty-hitting Oscar Tavares drove in the tying run with a grounder against left-handed reliever Zach Duke. The Brewers tagged Joe Kelly in his first start back from a nearly three-month stint on the disabled list with a left hamstring injury. Kelly got hurt April 16 at Miller Park. Kelly plunked leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez just below the palm of his hand and Scooter Gennett singled. After a double steal, Milwaukee loaded the bases and eventually got a sacrifice fly from Ramirez and two-run double from Khris Davis for a 3-0 lead in the first. Gennett tripled in a three-run second inning during an at-bat extended after a fan in the first row down the left-field line reached for a catchable foul ball that eluded Holliday. Gallardo allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings against a career nemesis. Kelly gave up six runs and seven hits in three innings. NOTES: The Cardinals claimed veteran C George Kottaras off waivers from the Cleveland Indians and planned to add him to the 25-man roster Saturday. Theyre looking for help behind the plate with Yadier Molina out with a thumb injury. The team said Molina had successful surgery Friday. ... Kolten Wong hit his fourth homer for the Cardinals since coming off the DL on July 6. ... Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy will start the All-Star game Tuesday with Molina out. ... RHP Marco Estrada spent his first day in the bullpen after being bumped from the rotation for Saturdays starter, rookie Jimmy Nelson (1-0). RHP ace Adam Wainwright (11-4) goes for St. Louis. ' ' '