ot more pain than people know and he showed a hell of a lot of char

SAN ANTONIO -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle found plenty of positives in his teams performance against San Antonio. His counterpart, Gregg Popovich, could not stomach the Spurs awful and pathetic play.Oh, by the way, San Antonio won.Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Spurs escaped with a 96-91 victory over the struggling Mavericks on Monday night for their sixth straight win.Dallas (2-11) is off to its worst start since 1993-1994, when the Mavericks opened 1-23 in a 13-win season. But they put a scare in San Antonio, which had to keep Leonard on the floor for much of the fourth quarter.This was a pathetic performance on the part of the Spurs, Popovich said in a 30-second postgame interview. You know, they had some guys out, we had some guys out, but they had a lot more out than we did. I thought we showed a lack of humility, a lack of respect for the opponent, a very pathetic performance at both ends of the court. It was an awful performance. Oh, and they deserved to win the basketball game, I forgot to say that.Dallas almost did.With the Mavericks trailing 92-91, Harrison Barnes missed a step-back 17-footer with 15 seconds left that Manu Ginobili rebounded before being fouled. Ginobili hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three, and Seth Curry missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining.Curry matched a career high with 23 points, shooting 5 for 10 on 3s. Barnes and Wesley Matthews each had 20 points in the Mavericks sixth consecutive loss.Its tough, but the guys were fighting their (rear ends) off and theres a lot of positives, Carlisle said. Weve got to build on positives.San Antonio has won six straight against Dallas and 12 in a row at home.The once-heated rivalry between the Texas teams has cooled considerably with the Spurs sustained success and the Mavericks injuries and free-agent troubles.Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and starting point guard Deron Williams both missed the game with injuries. San Antonio starters LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker were in uniform but neither played as Popovich opted to rest his veterans.Spurs rookies Dejounte Murray and Davis Bertans made their first starts in place of Parker and Aldridge, respectively, and fellow rookie Bryn Forbes also saw extended playing time early.Barnes took advantage of the inexperience, making all but one of his six attempts in scoring 10 points in the opening quarter.Dallas shot 8 for 27 on 3s.I think we really did an awful lot of good things, Carlisle said. Theres going to be missed shots, but it was one of our better shooting nights this season so far, so thats a positive.The Spurs enjoyed greater success when their veterans took the court.We let ourselves down in terms of bringing the energy and effort that we usually are pretty solid at, said Spurs reserve Patty Mills, who had 17 points. I dont think we were consistent throughout tonight. We win them together and we lose them together. We get better together.Leonard drove the lane and dropped a bounce pass between Dwight Powell and Dorian Finney-Smith that David Lee dunked ahead of a foul by Salah Mejri to pare the lead to 63-62. After Ginobili missed a 3-pointer, Lee tipped out the rebound to Mills for a 3 that gave San Antonio a 68-65 lead.Dallas had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, which resulted in 12 points for San Antonio.Pau Gasol added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs.TIP-INSMavericks: Nowitzki (strained right Achilles), Williams (strained left calf) and G Jose Juan Barrera (strained left calf) did not travel with the team. ... The last undrafted player to score 26 points in his first or second game prior to the Mavericks Jonathan Gibson doing so Saturday in Orlando was Spurs guard and New York playground legend Lloyd Daniels. He had 26 points on Nov. 7, 1992, at Denver. Both players hit the mark in their second game. ... Curry also had 23 points Nov. 8 in a 109-97 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers.Spurs: Leonard has scored in double figures in 48 straight games, the longest streak of his career. He is 95 for 100 on free throws this season. ... Gasol has played 37,565 career minutes, moving him past Clyde Drexler (37,537) for 49th in NBA history. ... G Nico Laprovittola missed the game with what Popovich described as a tooth-extraction thingy. ... The Spurs have established the longest home winning streak in series history. Dallas won 11 straight matchups at home from 1986-89.WINNING WAYSPopovich became the second-fastest coach to 1,100 career wins, doing so in 1,588 games. Phil Jackson collected his 1,100th victory in 1,560 games with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Popovich is the seventh coach in NBA history with 1,100 wins.INJURIES MOUNTMavericks players have missed 31 games due to injury this season. Devin Harris (12), Nowitzki (nine) and Williams (six) have all missed at least a half dozen. Barnes said Dallas doesnt believe a return to health will cure all that ails the team on the court.We just have to stay vigilant and just continue to keep fighting the way we do, Barnes said. We just cant assume once we get Player X, Player Y, Player Z, the wins will start falling in place. Weve just got to keep plugging away.UP NEXTMavericks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.Spurs: At the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. China Jerseys Wholesale . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. China Jerseys Stitched . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Fake China Jerseys . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. China Jerseys Cheap . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. His words were incongruous in context with the scorecard, but you knew what Alastair Cook meant when he said his England team will leave Visakhapatnam with their heads held high.While there should never come a day when a defeat this crushing - in terms of runs, India have only beaten England once by a larger margin than the 246 here - is accepted without pain, you knew what Cook meant when he said his side had a lot of reasons to be encouraged.The end came quickly. After admirable defiance on day four, England subsided so quickly that, wicket to wicket, they lost all 10 in their second innings for only 83 runs.Clearly that isnt good enough. But there were several unplayable deliveries (it is an overused word, but apt for the balls that dismissed Haseeb Hameed and Zafar Ansari) and several that were hugely demanding. Ben Stokes also received a beautiful delivery; it was no disgrace to be dismissed by it.Perhaps the margin was a little misleading, too. England had decided to concentrate on crease occupation, inspired by South Africa lasting 143 overs in Delhi a year ago, and reasoned that, if they could survive 150, they would be close to safety; Cook admitted it may have been a mistake. They made little effort to chase their improbable target. True, it didnt work out and true, had they played more aggressively, the margin might have been smaller. But they might have lost on day four, too.In truth, by the time England began their second innings, this game was gone and there is no tactic that could have brought it back.This was a game lost on the first two days. By dropping Virat Kohli on 56 (he scored 248 runs in the game and the margin of victory was 246; you dont have to be a genius to understand his influence) and losing five wickets before stumps on day two, England sustained injuries from which they could not recover. As well as Stokes and Jonny Bairstow batted on day three, as well as Cook and Hameed batted on day four and as well as Englands bowlers - their seamers, in particular - performed on both, the wound was too deep.When you concede 455 and youre 80 for five, its a long way back, Cook said. That cost us the game. Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes showed character and if you take Kohlis runs out of their second innings - obviously you cant do that - they only made 120. But when youre behind its very hard to recover in these conditions. Its all about first innings runs. We showed some good skill and fight, though.We made a conscious effort to play the way we did in the fourth innings. Of course, when it does not work you feel you could have been more positive. But you make a decision as a captain. We came up a bit short. We fought so hard. Ive got myself to blame.Clearly the toss was important, too. But Cook was careful to honestly acknowledge its influence without hiding behind it as the reason for defeat. He knows that once sides start looking for excuses, they are already beaten.We can all agree it was a good toss to win, he said. The first day was the best day to bat. It became harder to score.On these two wickets, it has been very advantageous to bat first. But it doesnt guarantee any result. India fought hard and came out with a draw and we werent good enough to do it. Those five wickets on day two meant that we werent capable of getting close to their first innings score.They bowled well. They are good bowlers in these conditions. But in Rajkot we got over 700 runs and here we made them work really hard in the last innings. They are good bowlers, but they are not supermen by any stretch of imagination.Chris Woakes looks almost certain to return in Mohali for the injured Stuart Broad. While there can be no complaints about the performance of Englands seamers in Visakhapatnam, England did - for the first time in a while - appear to have something of a tail. The last three batsmen scored 17 between them in the first innings and the last four nine between them in the second. James Anderson recorded Englands first king pair since 1906. Its not one of the records he will cherish.There will be more concern about the No. 4 position, though. Ben Duckett never looked likely to score runs here with a first-innings dismissal suggesting at technical deficiencies and a second-innings dismissal suggesting a scrambled mind. Seemingly lacking confidence in his defence - not least because of the repeatedd manner of his dismissals against offspin - he snatched at a sweep like a drowning man snatching at driftwood.ddddddddddddAfterwards Cook referred to a technical flaw and seemed to be preparing the ground for a change. It would be a surprise if Duckett played in Mohali.The difference from playing in Northampton to playing here is quite stark, Cook said. Suddenly every innings is scrutinized. Suddenly this technical flaw - whether its a technical flaw or not - people are aware of it and theres no doubt it affects guys. Ben is a really talented cricketer and I think well see a lot more of him in an England shirt. Whether he plays in Mohali or not, the selectors will have to take a call on that.The problem England have is the form of their alternatives. Gary Ballance was dropped after the Dhaka debacle having averaged only 19.90 in the six Tests since he was recalled in July and failed to reach 30 in his last seven innings. He has actually started to bat nicely in the nets and that first-class record (he has an average of 47.38 with 29 centuries) reminds us he is a player of some pedigree. But it would be a surprise if England came back to him just yet.That leaves only Jos Buttler from a squad that looks a batsman short. Buttler has only had one first-class game in the 12 months since he was dropped. While few would dispute his talent, there is a reason he was dropped and it was, in part, due to his struggles building an innings. He has scored only four first-class centuries - both Woakes and Adil Rashid have double that number - and a first-class batting average of 32.07. He looks most likely to play, though. Ansaris place will come under scrutiny, too. He endured a quiet game in Visakhapatnam, taking no wickets and scoring only four runs, but he was clearly not well (he vomited on the outfield at one stage) and suffered a back spasm, too. It remains to be seen if he is Englands best left-arm option (Samit Patel would have offered better batting against spin; Jack Leach better bowling), but it would be harsh to judge him on this showing.Hes had a tough three days physically, Cook said. We do think hes got a role to play, but obviously physically we have to make sure hes all right. Its tough enough conditions when youre operating at 100%, so if youre not, its not ideal.Broad, though, gained great praise from his captain for his whole-hearted, skilful performance in demanding circumstances. There was no five-wicket haul but, when Broad looks back on this Test, he might reflect on it as one of the displays of which he could be most proud. The tendon injury he sustained on the first day renders it most unlikely he will be fit to play in Mohali.To get through like he did was an extraordinary effort, Cook said. I think he was in a lot more pain than people know and he showed a hell of a lot of character. Its probably one of the main reasons why hes been one of Englands greatest bowlers. When it got really tough, he stood up, he bowled his overs and got on with it.We dont know enough about the injury yet because its quite an unusual one, but yes, if he plays in Mohali, hell be a big risk.Despite the magnitude of defeat, Cook remained relatively upbeat. Partly because of Englands success in coming from behind in 2012 - they lost the first Test in Ahmedabad on that occasion - and partly because his side have, for large periods, competed well, he could envisage a way in which success could be achieved. They just have to take every chance and cut out the bad sessions.Whats giving me belief is that, over 10 days of cricket, we have competed very well in India in their conditions, he said. Yes, we have lost by a big margin. But it was a massive toss to lose and in certain periods of game we played some good cricket.We have put their batters under a lot of pressure. Adil Rashid has been excellent in these two games, a real step up for him. Moeen Ali bowled really well and Jimmy Anderson was good on his comeback. So there have been a lot of good things. But we have got to put the whole game together to beat India. If we can get ahead of them in Mohali, then we can put pressure on them.Yes, weve lost this game, but well hold our heads up high. There are a lot of reasons to be encouraged. ' ' '