Termine » to be a captain because you have to work on plans

MINNEAPOLIS -- Cool as their unflappable head coach, Brad Stevens, the Boston Celtics never got down even as their deficit ballooned against the young and athletic Minnesota Timberwolves.When the Celtics finally got going, the Wolves tensed up once again and let another big lead get away.Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points and Boston rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Timberwolves 99-93 on Monday night.Al Horford added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Celtics, who trailed 81-68 after three. Boston opened the fourth on a 17-0 run to take the lead and held on down the stretch for its second straight win.I think give us credit for playing a little harder than them and making them think a little more and getting them uncomfortable, Thomas said.Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Gorgui Dieng added 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Andrew Wiggins was just 5 for 18 and Minnesota scored three points in the first 9 minutes of the fourth.We laid a damn egg, said Zach LaVine, who was 4 of 12 from the field and 0 for 7 on 3-pointers.Terry Rozier added a career-high 12 points off the bench and keyed the Celtics surge in the first 6 minutes of the fourth.The Timberwolves have normally reserved their meltdowns this season for the third quarter, when they have the NBAs worst point differential. But they won that period 29-26 on Monday night, just the second time this season they have outscored their opponent in the third.Jonas Jerebko and Rozier opened the fourth with 3-pointers, and Rozier added another long ball and a steal and dunk to push the Celtics in front.Towns was the only player who scored for the Wolves in the first 11 minutes of the fourth quarter, converting a three-point play with 5:18 to go for their first bucket and hitting a 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining.Boston outscored Minnesota 31-12 in the fourth as the Timberwolves shot 5 for 25.They were definitely pressing, Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. Guys were into guys, we were making everything hard. You could definitely tell they were pressing to find a great shot.The Wolves outscored Boston 58-34 in the paint and outrebounded the Celtics 51-39, including 16-6 on the offensive glass. But Minnesota missed eight free throws.I think we have to play tougher with a lead, coach Tom Thibodeau said. And the big thing for us is to improve and learn.TIP-INSCeltics: Horford also had three blocks and reached 20 points for the first time with the Celtics. ... Boston was issued a rare delay of game warning coming out of a timeout late in the third quarter. ... Jerebko was a plus-20 in under 19 minutes.Timberwolves: Minnesota entered the game leading the NBA in 3-point shooting, but was 4 for 24. ... Towns has blocked a shot in 20 straight games. ... F Brandon Rush was active after missing the previous seven games with a sore big toe on his right foot. He played 2 minutes in the fourth quarter.TEMPERS FLAREOne of the biggest guys on the court and the smallest got into it in the third quarter when the 6-foot-11, 240-pound Dieng leveled the 5-9, 185-pound Thomas with a screen. Dieng was called for an offensive foul because he was moving while he set the screen, and Thomas took exception. The All-Star guard got up and shoved Dieng, and the two exchanged words while being separated by teammates.It was the heat of the battle, Thomas said. We talked about it after, and he loves my game, I love his, so were good.CROWDER AILINGJae Crowder missed eight games with a sprained left ankle before returning on Saturday against Detroit. He made life difficult on Wiggins, who was 0 for 5 from 3-point range. But Crowder had to leave the game in the third quarter because of soreness in that left ankle and did not return.Hopefully hell be OK, Stevens said.UP NEXTCeltics: Boston wraps up a three-game road trip in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.Timberwolves: Minnesota starts a three-game trip with a game at New Orleans on Wednesday night in which Towns will face fellow Kentucky big man Anthony Davis. Nike Air Max 1 Shoes . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Anniversary OG Blue . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.airmax1cheap.com/cheap-nike-air-max-1-anniversary-obsidian/ . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Anniversary Sport Royal . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Anniversary Release . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. A man and his dog were at Newlands on Wednesday afternoon but not to make up the proverbial crowd that usually attends domestic first-class matches here. The man was Faf du Plessis, who was making his first appearance as the new permanent Test captain. The dog was Giorgio, his nine-year old dachshund, who had a back operation earlier this year after becoming temporarily paralysed and now has his hind legs in a harness.Together they walked the outfield that is now du Plessis domain; the outfield on which South Africas captaincy conundrum has come full circle.It was on this ground that Hashim Amla announced he would not continue to captain, opening the door for AB de Villiers to do the job he always wanted. It was also on this ground that du Plessis, standing in for an injured de Villiers, led South Africa in completing a 5-nil ODI series whitewash over Australia to begin the conversation over whether the leadership role needed to be looked at again. And it was on this ground last Thursday that du Plessis played for the national cricket side against the national rugby side and afterwards found out that de Villiers had made the decision to give up the captaincy before anyone else could make it for him.I got the call just after the Proteas game against the Boks that AB is going to stand down for the Test matches, du Plessis said. I spoke to him that evening and I phoned him the next day just to make sure. My policy will always be one of being really honest, so it was just speaking as friends would do about going forward.De Villiers decision came on the back of his own injury problems. He has not yet recovered from an elbow problem and hasnt played for South Africa in almost six months, since their triangular series in the Caribbean. In that time the team have found the drive they lacked last summer and they have started winning again. It is obvious that they have got a good thing going and de Villiers did not want to stand in the way of that developing.AB has been amazing, du Plessis said. He has always been a guy that puts the team first, as youve seen by his making this decision. To be part of something like that says a lot about our culture but also shows a lot about AB as a person and how he values the team above himself. Du Plessis stressed that having his old schoolmates backing is the crucial to his captaincy. Thats something he said to me, that he will always be there no matter what and he will always back me. It was great to hear that from him. I got a call from Hashim as well, to say well done. Hashim passed it on to AB and then AB passed it on to me.While Amla has completely relinquished armbands of any description - except when leading du Plessis defense against ball-tampering - de Villiers remains in charge in some capaacity.dddddddddddd He is the ODI captain and should return to that role mid-January, when South Africa play Sri Lanka as they start their planning for Junes ICC event. Du Plessis has promised to offer him reciprocal commitment. AB is still captain in ODIs and I am really excited about that because he wants to win that Champions Trophy and I will be completely behind him, du Plessis said.Little else could be expected from two men who knew each other before the world knew either of them, more than two decades ago. To outsiders its a bromance between school-friends turned international team-mates but to South Africa, it means adjusting between captains. Split leadership was in vogue a few years ago but more recent thinking - including Graeme Smiths appreciation for streamlining the captaincy - has suggested it could be a curveball. Du Plessis played that down, saying the only difference between de Villiers and him is that his friend is the brightest star in South Africas sporting sky while du Plessis is just one of the troops - albeit one who has the teams buy-in. AB leads from performance - he is a guy that every time he steps onto the field, you want to be better as a player because he is that good. He is a freak when it comes to cricket. He always puts himself out there and he gives 150%, so its easy for a team to follow that, du Plessis said. My style is a little bit different to that. I am not as good as AB is, so I have to rely on other qualities. I try and challenge a team as much as I can. For me its harder work, I suppose.But its also work that du Plessis loves. He has long said captaincy brings out the best in him and he has proved it with two hundreds in five Tests as stand-in captain. The longest format is his first love and leading in it gives him his greatest joy.Being a Test captain is almost the first time when people really take you seriously. T20 is like fun, the X-factor of cricket. Test cricket is, for me the most enjoyable time to be a captain because you have to work on plans for a long period of time, you have to strategise how you are going to get guys out and continuously challenge guys over a long period of time, du Plessis said. Its a huge honour and I will be taking it very seriously.Just at that moment, things became completely un-serious. Giorgio grew restless, shifted between the cameras and the reporters, wandered towards the pitch and eventually sat at du Plessis feet, looking up with puppy eyes and whimpering. His wish was du Plessis command. Mid-interview, Giorgio was lifted off the floor and cuddled. 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