Dein erstes Forum » offense that is holding onto the ball.Coach Mike

SALT LAKE CITY -- The offseason acquisition of George Hill was a clear upgrade at the point guard position for the Utah Jazz, but few expected this type of production from the nine-year veteran.Hill scored 25 points and the Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks 97-81 on Wednesday night.Hill continued to power the Jazz offensively after coming to the team in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks last summer. He has scored 18-plus points in all five games, the only Jazz player to do so.Some of the things that hes doing, you were hopeful that he would do, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. But youre equally pleased that hes doing them. Hes made big shots at crucial times. What Ive seen is his willingness to (say), `Where do you need me? Do you need me to score? Do you need me to get a stop? Do you want me to lead?The leadership component, to me, is probably the most unique. Thats something our team is responding to.The Mavericks trailed the entire game except for a 16-15 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. After shooting just 37.0 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz hit 49.2 percent the rest of the way. They were 12 for 25 from 3-point range.Im just happy were winning, I dont care about the numbers, Hill said. Just doing what it takes to try to win a game. Im glad my teammates have confidence in me to control the tempo out there and try to make plays.Rodney Hood scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Jazz as teammate Rudy Gobert had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 14 points, but they shot just 26.9 percent behind the arc.Its been a tough start for us, Mavs center Andrew Bogut said. No one is going to give us anything easy, so we got to dig ourselves out of this hole.We werent in the game, really from the start. Whatever it was, we were kind of chasing our tails from the start. Our bench did a great job of getting us back in the game. Made a run. We just couldnt sustain it.TIP-INSMavericks: Dirk Nowitzki started after missing the last two games with an illness. He scored nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. ... Point guard Deron Williams, who was drafted by the Jazz No. 3 overall in 2005, was still booed five years after being traded away.Jazz: Derrick Favors matched a season-high with 23 minutes as he works his way back from a knee injury. ... Dante Exum matched a season-high 10 points off the bench.STICKING AROUNDGobert signed a lucrative multi-year extension Tuesday to keep from entering restricted free agency after the season. The 7-foot-1, 245-pound center averaged career-highs in points (9.1), rebounds (11.0) and blocks (2.2) last season and has developed into one of the top defenders in the league. Gobert said the extension puts both he and the team on the same page and reinforces their belief in him. He knows he has to produce, but said there isnt any extra pressure. As a human, it wasnt really impacting my game, but in my mind you think about it a little bit, Gobert said. Now that its done Im focused on basketball and the team.MORE OFFENSEThe Mavericks entered the game ranked No. 15 in the league averaging 103.7 points per game. Coach Rick Carlisle is looking for more on that end of the court, but didnt get it Wednesday. We want to move the ball, Carlisle said. We want to get it in the paint as much as possible. Weve had some tough luck with shot-making, but that will come.UP NEXTMavericks: Host the Portland Trail Blazers and star point guard Damian Lillard on Friday.Jazz: Host the Spurs on Friday after upsetting Kawhi Leonard and company in San Antonio on Tuesday.Boston Red Sox Pro Shop . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Fake Red Sox Jerseys . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. https://www.cheapredsox.com/ . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Boston Red Sox Shirts . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Red Sox Jerseys 2020 . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area.MIAMI -- Ninety minutes up the Florida Turnpike, a restaurant in Fort Pierce advertises its hours: We take Sundays off, just like the Dolphins.In South Florida and beyond, Miamis NFL team is again the butt of jokes. Theyre laughing in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce and probably Fort Collins.Another punchline of a score could come Sunday when the Dolphins (1-4) play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1).The Dolphins are one-touchdown underdogs at home, for good reason.Their only victory came in overtime against winless Cleveland, and in two games since, theyve been outscored 52-24.Following last weeks dismal home loss against Tennessee, first-year coach Adam Gase described his offense as inept, and his defense might be even worse.The Steelers, meanwhile, lead the AFC North following consecutive wins by a combined score of 74-27. Here are things to know about two teams headed in opposite directions:BAD START: Rather than contend for their first playoff berth since 2008, the Dolphins are in the mix to pick No. 1 in the draft for the first time since ... 2008.Defensive end Cameron Wake is in his eighth season with Miami and said losing doesnt get easier.I hate it as much as my first high school game, the first time I lost, Wake said. The same pain, the same disgust, same fury. It boils inside of you. Unfortunately, Ive experienced it too many times.As usual, fans have directed the bulk of the blame at the quarterback. Fifth-year starter Ryan Tannehill has led the offense to just one touchdown in three of Miamis five games, and he was jeered like never before last week.But there are plenty of other culprits. The Dolphins rank fourth worst in the NFL in yards, and fifth worst in yards allowed. Their run defense ranks last, and their running game next to last.It aint just one person. It aint one group, center Mike Pouncey said. We all have to do better to win games.BAD BLOCKING: After Tannehill endured six sacks against the Titans, Gase released two offensive linemen who made emergency starts, sending a signal that even the Dolphins have standards.That ensures more lineup changes this week. Because of injuries and illness, Miami has had three starters at left tackle, three at left guard and three at center.ANOTHER REVAMPED LINE: The Steelers wwill play without defensive end Cam Heyward for the first time since they took him with the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft.ddddddddddddPittsburgh will split Heywards snaps between rookie Javon Hargrave and veteran Ricardo Matthews, while Stephon Tuitt will take over the defensive line calls, a role Heyward prepped Tuitt for over the past two-plus years.Hes telling me hes talking a lot more, and we need him to do that, Heyward said. When I come back, we can do that twice as much. Hes only going to grow in this situation.Pittsburghs pass rush has picked up after a slow start. The Steelers have seven sacks in their past two games, numbers that could rise significantly against a Miami offense thats allowed Tannehill to be sacked 17 times. Only the Colts have given up more.Were getting more pressure, but weve got to figure out ways to get the quarterback down, linebacker Lawrence Timmons said.NUMBERS LIE: Pittsburgh is just 25th in total defense and 30th against the pass, an area the Steelers pledged to shore up in the offseason when they spent high draft picks on cornerback Artie Burns and safety Sean Davis.Yet Pittsburgh is a respectable ninth in points allowed (18.6) thanks in part to effective work on special teams and an offense that is holding onto the ball.Coach Mike Tomlin said he can live with the lack of splash plays like turnovers and sacks if it means the defense doesnt give up chunk plays that can flip the field and momentum in a hurry.We just have a desire to be a difficult team to beat, and for us it starts with not beating ourselves, Tomlin said. Defensively specifically, we look at not being a highly penalized group and one that makes our opponent earn it, and by that I mean keeping the ball in front of us.FAMILY REUNION: The Pouncey twins will butt heads Sunday. Not literally, because both play center, but the Steelers Maurkice and the Dolphins Mike will go against each other for the first time.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine ' ' '