er hard hits (and sense of humor), is 5-11.Hunnie is cripplingly funny. She brings a kind of levity every team needs, Johnston s

LOS ANGELES -- The improved Los Angeles Lakers play host to the San Antonio Spurs in a matchup of two of the NBAs top offensive teams and best defensive clubs on Friday night at Staples Center.The Spurs (9-3) are riding a four-game winning streak after a 110-105 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Ex-Laker Pau Gasol led the way for San Antonio with a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds. Gasol will face his former team for the first time in a Spurs uniform.The Lakers (7-5), who have won three of their last four games, will face an obvious and early challenge against the Spurs, annually one of the leagues top teams. After dropping consecutive contests to the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets at home more than a week ago, the Spurs responded with consecutive wins over the Detroit Pistons, the Rockets, the Miami Heat and the Kings.Were connecting with each other better, moving the ball better, said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is tied with Larry Brown for seventh on the all-time NBA list for regular-season coaching victories at 1,098. Were improving.The Spurs are 6-0 on the road and have captured the last five contests against the Lakers, going 4-0 last season. Ball movement and contributions from several players sparked the Spurs recent surge.Forward Kawhi Leonard, again an early MVP candidate, is averaging 25 points per game and 2.4 steals (third best in the league). LaMarcus Aldridge is scoring 17.8 points per game and hitting 54.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.Were at our best when we move the ball, when we make the defense work and we find the open guys, Gasol said. We get much better shots that way, and it pays off. It creates a flow and energy that carries over to the defensive end.The Spurs average 101.9 points on offense (19th in the NBA), but their defense is holding opponents to 96.8 points (fourth).The Lakers have emerged as one of the leagues top scoring teams. Los Angeles is ranked second in scoring at 110 points per game, trailing only the Golden State Warriors (117.4 points).Point guard DAngelo Russell scored a season-high 32 points and forward Julius Randle contributed a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists Wednesday in a 125-118 win over the Brooklyn Nets.The Lakers bench has been another strength, averaging a league-best 50.6 points. Reserve guard Lou Williams has been one of the main sparkplugs with a 15.6 scoring average.They have been great all year, so obviously were not going to complain about them, but even before the (Brooklyn) game I said I think the reason that they have so much success is because of how unselfish they play as a group, Lakers coach Luke Walton said of his reserves.Both clubs are among the leaders in 3-point shooting percentage. San Antonio is ranked second at 39.2 percent per game, with Los Angeles is tied for third with Golden State at 37.4 percent.The Spurs will be without center Dewayne Dedmon (left knee sprain), who is not traveling with the team.Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Discount NBA Jerseys . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. NBA Jerseys China . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3.When Kwynn Perry landed in Los Angeles a decade ago to start a masters program at USCs film school, she was itching for more than just a directors chair. What she was craving more than anything, it turns out, was an extra.As in extracurricular.When I got to grad school I knew I really missed playing, Perry said. I wasnt sure exactly what I wanted, but I looked around L.A. for sports to get back into.Her search started with the sports with which she was familiar. There was soccer, which she enjoyed as a kid playing goalkeeper. And basketball, her familys sport. And volleyball, which she played at the club level at Vanderbilt.But it was a different sport that caught her eye.It wasnt until I started roller derby that I knew what I had been missing, she said. And what it was I needed.One of the things she missed, she said, was the thrill of competition. Roller skating just might have been in her genes, too.My mother always tells stories about skating with me until she was nine months pregnant, Perry said. And of us skating in crowded roller rinks together when I was a toddler.After seeing her first derby game in Ventura, California, Perry joined a local outfit called the L.A. Derby Dolls. Perry said that she was drawn to the speed and danger she perceived in LADDs style, played on a tilted surface called a banked track.Banked-track roller derby called up my inner thrill-seeker, Perry said, adding that roller derby got her reacquainted with the camaraderie of being part of a close-knit team that she cherished in high school.Seven years on, Perry is a 36-year-old Ph.D. candidate and married mother of a kindergartner. She has switched to flat-track derby and plays for the Angel City Derby Girls.She is recognized as one of the best defensive players on one of flat-tracks best teams.This weekend, the skater who plays under the name Hunnie Brasco will try to help Angel City, ranked fifth in the world, advance to the Womens Flat Track Derby Association championship when it plays in the Division 1 playoffs in Vancouver, British Columbia. As the No. 2 seed in the WFTDAs third of four playoff tournaments, Perry and her teammates need to win their first two games to book a ticket to Champs, which takes place in Portland, Oregon, Nov. 4-6.Perrys switch from LADD to Angel City had less to do with playing on a different surface than what she calls her need for more personal athletic challenges.dddddddddddd She also wanted to play a wider variety of teams across the world, something offered by the WFTDAs several hundred leagues, spanning Seattle to Sydney, Australia.The opportunity to travel across the country and really bond and get to know your team intimately was very part and parcel with what I wanted out of a sport, she said.After Perrys switch in 2014, Angel City crept up the rankings. Now Angel City is a formidable rival to other world-class roller derby teams such as reigning world champion Rose City of Portland, five-time world champion Gotham from NYC, and perennial powerhouse Texas based in Austin.Angel City has made a name for itself with its top-notch athleticism.We have athletes from a diverse set of backgrounds -- everything from hockey to gymnastics, CrossFitters too, Perry said. I love [derby] players who have played other sports, and watch other sports, because you can always learn from other disciplines.Known informally as the Sequoias, many of Angel Citys key players, including Tui Lyon and Rachel Johnston, are 5 feet 10 or taller. Perry, known for her hard hits (and sense of humor), is 5-11.Hunnie is cripplingly funny. She brings a kind of levity every team needs, Johnston said. Her mile-long legs carry her at terrifying speeds -- shes a jammers worst nightmare.Lyon, a key acquisition from No. 2-ranked Victoria (Australia), says Perrys athleticism matches her cool head and competitive temperament.She hits walls with such incredible force and tenacity, Lyon said. Shes like a Tasmanian devil.As important as the friendship and the competition, Perry says her league is extremely supportive of her as a mother.I feel very fortunate at ACDG that I have support from my league. For some leagues it might be a contentious point, Perry said, noting the time commitment and fitness level demanded of derby athletes. We have eight mothers on our all-star team alone.My son always wants to go to practice with me, because its just like a big gymnasium for him.But thats not all that is good about Angel City, and the league she lives to compete for.Our team is also very ethnically diverse, and that for me is wonderful, Perry said. Its not something that I can put into words, but playing here just feels so welcoming. ' ' '