econd period. Malkin helped the Penguins regain the two

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder coach Scott Brooks joked during pregame that he didnt like what he saw from Kyrie Irving at the All-Star game. Brooks coached the West and watched as Irving led the East to a comeback win on his way to earning MVP honours. Brooks didnt like what he saw from Irving on Wednesday night, and it was no joke this time. The point guard made it look like All-Star weekend again, scoring 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Oklahoma City 114-104. Irving also had nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. "Kyrie had a huge performance for us," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "He was very efficient in the 43 minutes that he played tonight, I thought offensively, especially." The young Cavaliers, still adjusting to roster changes since the trade deadline, picked up a meaningful victory. Cleveland shot 14 for 21 from the field in the fourth quarter against the Western Conference-leading Thunder. "To come here and get a win in this building versus this team and those players and that coaching staff, for us, is a good confidence booster," Brown said. "Everything for us right now to be a positive will help us long term just as much as it will short term." It was Oklahoma Citys third straight home loss since the All-Star break. The Thunder lost three games at home the entire season before the break. "No one in the locker room, including myself, feels good about it," Brooks said. "The exciting thing is we know we can do better. We just have to maximize our potential." Jarrett Jack scored 21 points, Spencer Hawes scored 19 and Tristan Thompson added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Kevin Durant had 28 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Russell Westbrook had 24 points and nine assists and Serge Ibaka added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City is 0-3 since Westbrook returned from his latest knee surgery. Brooks said the bigger issue for the Thunder is their suddenly porous defence. Oklahoma City, one of the leagues top defensive teams all season, allowed 103 points on 55 per cent shooting against Miami and 125 points on 52 per cent shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers before its latest collapse. "Its a defensive toughness," Brooks said. "We have to get tough on the basketball because were giving up too much penetration. We have to fight through screens. These are things that weve done a great job at, we just have to get back to it." In the closing seconds of the first half, Westbrook dribbled as the clock wound down, then pulled up in front of Irving and drained a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 52-51 lead at the break. The Thunder committed 12 turnovers in the first half, but made up for it by shooting 57 per cent from the field. Durant scored 15 points before the break and Westbrook had 13 points and six assists. Irving had 14 points, four assists and three steals at halftime. The Thunder opened the second half with 3s from Durant and Thabo Sefolosha to take a 58-51 lead. A mid-range jumper by Ibaka stretched Oklahoma Citys lead to 62-53, leading Brown to call a timeout. Cleveland regrouped and cut Oklahoma Citys lead to three on an unusual play. The Cavaliers Luol Deng shot a jumper and Nick Collison was called for goaltending and issued a technical foul for grabbing the net. Irving made the free throw to make it a 69-66 game. The Thunder led 76-72 at the end of the period. "Oklahoma City, they came out and kind of punched us in the mouth a little bit in that third quarter, and our guys didnt panic," Brown said. "They kind of stayed with it." Matthew Dellavedova tied the game at 81 with a floater early in the fourth quarter. Later, a breakaway dunk by Alonzo Gee gave the Cavaliers a 90-86 edge with 7:10 to play. Durants 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 97-95 lead, but the Cavaliers responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Jack and Irving, and they controlled the game from there. "Obviously, playing against a great team, youre going to get up for it," Irving said. "Everyone in the league wants to play against a great team like this, especially on their home floor. But this game doesnt mean any more than any other game that we have coming up. Every game just means a lot at this point, no matter who were playing." NOTES: It was the second consecutive start for Thunder C Steven Adams. He replaced Kendrick Perkins, who is out for six weeks with a groin injury. ... Hawes started for the second time since being traded from Philadelphia. ... Durant was honoured during pregame for being selected as the Western Conference player of the month for January. ... Thunder G Derek Fisher was issued a technical foul early in the second quarter, his third of the season. Air Max 720 Cheap Online . Rob Klinkhammer and Mikkel Boedker scored 63 seconds apart in the first period for the Coyotes, who handed the Kings their third straight loss and took over sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. Mike Smith made 36 saves. Air Max 720 For Sale Cheap .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. http://www.airmax720ireland.com/. This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Cheapest Air Max 720 .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. Air Max 720 Discount Ireland . With his father watching from the stands, Harrison homered, doubled, single and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pirates to a 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.PITTSBURGH -- The New York Islanders up-and-down, fast-paced tempo always seem to bring out the worst defensively in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fortunately, for the Penguins, captain Sidney Crosby was there, helping his team prevent a second home collapse in four weeks against the upstart Islanders. Crosby scored with 1:16 remaining on Friday to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Islanders during a game that saw New York rally from a pair of two two-goal deficits for the second time in two games against Pittsburgh. "We had the lead, so they started taking chances, and we kind of got sucked into playing that style of game," Crosby said. "Instead of managing the puck, we were taking chances and throwing the puck everywhere, and when you play that game, whoever scores the last goal is going to win." Thats exactly what happened and Crosby provided the late game-winner. Crosbys 12th goal of the season was also the 250th of his career, and the Penguins captain also had an assist. Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist, Evgeni Malkin added a goal and two assists, and James Neal had two assists. Malkins goal ended his career-high 15-game scoring drought. Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff, playing for the first time since Nov. 2, stopped 32 shots in his fourth NHL start. "We had a lot of chances, but that wasnt our best game," Crosby said. "We probably couldve put it away early, but they hung around." Thomas Vanek scored twice for the Islanders in his first game after missing five with an upper-body injury. Vanek has three goals and two assists with New York since being acquired from Buffalo last month. Colin McDonald also got his second of the season for New York. Kevin Poulin made 30 saves for the Islanders. He started his sixth straight game in place of injured starter Evgeni Nabokov, who is out with a groin injury. The two teams combined for six goals through two periods, but things settled down in the third. With less than 90 seconds left, Kunitz got the puck to Pascal Dupuis behind the net, and he centred it to Crosby, who got the tiebreaker for the Penguins. "It was kind of a patient third period from both teams, and there wasnt much going on," Crosby said. "A lot different from the first two periods." The Penguins won their third straight and fourth win in five games to rebound from a three-game skid. Pittsburgh also won its third straight at home -- and fifth time in six games at Consol Energy Center, where the Penguins are 10-3 while having allowed just 24 goals. Pittsburgh, tops in the Metropolitan Division, thumped rival Washington 4-0 on Wednesday night and gained a measure of revenge from a heartbreaking loss to the Islanders four weeks earlier. However, it wasnt easy for the Penguins, who werent nearly as disciplined defensively on Friday. The Islanders, tied for last in the Metropolitan Division entering Friday, lost for the seventh time in nine games, but the matchup with the division-leading Penguins brought out thhe best in New York, as it has done recently.dddddddddddd Pittsburgh, which survived a six-game playoff series against the underdog Islanders last season, held third-period leads of 2-1 and 3-2 four weeks ago before New York rallied, scoring three times in the final 7:14 for a 4-3 victory. The Islanders nearly did it again, coming back from early deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 before Crosbys heroics. "We were flirting with danger and we realized that in the third," Crosby said. Malkin has been productive with 14 assists in 15 games -- 12 coming in nine November games -- but had no goals to show for it. He previously scored Oct. 17 during a 4-1 win at Philadelphia and it showed as emotion poured from Malkin, who aggressively pumped his fist and slammed his stick against the end boards after beating Poulin midway through the second period. "Its a good moment for him to get the goal," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "Hes played some really good hockey and has done some really good things. To see the puck dribble over the line was a great moment for him." New York committed three penalties in the first 7:42 of the game, and Kunitz made the Islanders pay, staking the Penguins to a 2-0 lead with two power-play goals in 7:55. Crosby and Malkins slick tic-tac-toe passing sequence set up Kunitzs first goal 4:04 into the game. Kunitz scored his second less than four minutes later, blowing a slap shot past Poulin after taking a pass off the rush from Neal. Kunitz thought he had the natural hat trick with 1:10 left in the first period, but a high-sticking call on Malkin before the puck went in negated the goal. That allowed Vanek to trim the Penguins lead to a goal 1:46 into the second period. Malkin helped the Penguins regain the two-goal advantage less than 5 minutes later. Malkin initially passed to an open Neal on the left wing but he dished it back to the Penguins superstar, who slid a shot underneath Poulin with a defender draped on his back. Malkins goal gave the Penguins life as Pittsburgh buzzed the Islanders zone looking for more. The Islanders weathered the storm, tying the game a little more than 5 minutes later with two goals in less than 2 minutes. McDonald started the comeback, beating Zatkoff with a wrist shot to the blocker side off the rush. Vanek scored his second of the game soon after, finding a loose puck during a scrum in front after the Islanders capitalized on a Penguins turnover. "I think in the second period we had opportunities, but it was up-and-down opportunities," Bylsma said. "At that point, we were not in a game we wanted to play regardless of the score." NOTES: Penguins F Beau Bennett left the game with an injury and will be re-evaluated. ... Islanders D Andrew MacDonald and C Frans Nielsen will also be re-evaluated Saturday. ... The Penguins and Islanders meet in two weeks at the Nassau Coliseum. ... Both teams are in action Saturday, Pittsburgh visiting Montreal, while the Islanders continue a three-game road swing at Philadelphia. ' ' '