winners of three of the last five WNBA titles

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Brooklyn Nets knew they couldnt afford to let Russell Westbrook run wild in the paint.It didnt matter. Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Nets 124-105 on Friday night.It was the 41st triple-double of Westbrooks career. He attacked relentlessly, making 13 of 21 shots while taking just one 3-pointer, even with the Nets packing the paint on defense.Too many paint attempts, too many rim attempts, Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. A bunch of them came in transition, unfortunately, where youve really got to try to keep him out of there. Thats easier said than done. He did a good job not settling.Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and Steven Adams added 15 for the Thunder, who won their second straight after a four-game losing streak. Oklahoma City shot 55.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Nets 46-30.Brook Lopez scored 22 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each added 13 for the Nets, who lost their third in a row. Brooklyn scored 40 points in the first quarter but never managed more than 23 in a period the rest of the way.They hit some shots early, Westbrook said. Honestly, they played harder than us to start the game, and we turned the page. We did a good job of making them take tough shots and getting out on the break and finishing.The Thunder led 64-61 at halftime behind Westbrooks 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.Oklahoma City began pulling away early in the third quarter. Westbrook found Oladipo for a reverse layup, then threw a long pass to Joffrey Lauvergne for a dunk that gave the Thunder a 76-66 lead.Westbrook got his triple-double midway through the period. Oladipos floater in the closing seconds of the quarter made it 96-82, and the Thunder cruised in the fourth.Oklahoma City got a season-high 13 points from Lauvergne and a season-high 10 from Alex Abrines.The Thunder had a season-high six players in double figures.We did a really good job of finding the open man, said Enes Kanter, who scored 13 points. It was a really fun game because everybody was sharing the ball, and when somebody scored, everybody was just out there cheering for each other.TIP-INSNets: Former Thunder guard Randy Foye started and scored two points in 15:30. ... Lopez matched a career high for 3-pointers in a game by hitting four in the first quarter. ... Anthony Bennett scored a season-high 12 points.Thunder: Shot 57.8 percent in the first half. ... Backup G Semaj Christon left in the third quarter after stepping on a Nets players foot and banging his head against Kanters knee because he couldnt control his fall. Christon was evaluated for concussion-like symptoms and did not return.HALL OF FAMERMichael Jordan inducted Westbrook into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame on Thursday. Westbrook is one of the most visible and successful Jordan Brand athletes. Jordan said he sees some of himself in Westbrook.This kid has the same passion, Jordan said.STAT LINESOladipo has averaged 27.5 points the past two games and made 23 of 35 shots. He went 8 of 13 on 3-pointers in the wins over Houston and Brooklyn.QUOTABLEBrooklyns Trevor Booker shoved Adams in the fourth quarter, and they were both issued technicals. Westbrook said Adams handled it well.He probably didnt feel it, Westbrook said. Probably knowing Steven, that stuff doesnt bother him. Obviously, hes a big dude and a very strong guy. A push dont do nothing for him. He went up there and knocked down a free throw.UP NEXTThe Nets host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.The Thunder host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP. Henderson Alvarez Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Miami Marlins Store . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/971r-luis-castillo-jersey-marlins.html . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Chad Wallach Jersey .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Kurt Abbott Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. LOS ANGELES -- For their first 11 years, the face of the Los Angeles Sparks was Lisa Leslie. Three-time WNBA MVP. Eight-time All-Star. Two league championships.Leslie retired in 2009, a year after the Sparks took Candace Parker as the No. 1 pick in the draft.Parker was expected to pick up where Leslie left off. Individually, the former Tennessee star certainly did. Shes been rookie of the year, a two-time MVP and MVP of the All-Star game.But she has come up short in delivering the franchises first WNBA title since the Leslie-led Sparks won in 2001 and 02.Parker can change all that Sunday night. The Sparks take a 2-1 lead over the Minnesota Lynx into Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.A victory gives Los Angeles its third title in franchise history. A loss sends the best-of-five series back to Minnesota and allows the Lynx another chance at winning win their record-tying fourth championship.We cant expect them to lay down and just give it to us, Parker said Saturday after practice. Tomorrow is special, but so is this playoff run.The leagues 20th anniversary season is concluding with a matchup featuring two teams with a combined winning percentage of .794, highest in WNBA Finals history.The Lynx, winners of three of the last five WNBA titles, have been down before in this series.The Sparks won Game 1 on the road by two points.Minnesota responded with a 19-point win in Game 2 before the series shifted to the West Coast.Behind Parker and current league MVP Nneka Ogwumike, the Sparks raced to an early 22-point lead and took Game 3, 92-75.The things that we can control are our focus, our intensity and our will to winn, said Alana Beard, whose last-second jumper clinched Game 1.ddddddddddddThe Lynx cut the Sparks lead to eight points but never led in Fridays loss.You cant win a WNBA Finals back on our heels like that. We never want to do that again, Lynx veteran Maya Moore said. We dont want to take that long to respond. Its something that has been on the forefront of our minds. The start of Game 4 will be intense.Minnesotas Rebekkah Brunson, who scored 14 points Friday, could become the leagues first five-time champion. She won her first title with Sacramento in 2005.All of the small things weve done to get here, we just need to continue to do those, she said.The Sparks forced 13 turnovers that generated 24 points in Game 3.The 13 turnovers isnt a crazy amount of turnovers. Its a crazy amount of points off of them, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. It was where we turned it over, around the 3-point line where its hard to build your transition defense. We need to get a better understanding of what its going to take to be successful in the WNBA Finals.The Lynx has little time to figure it out.Parker has had nothing but time while waiting to make the first WNBA Finals appearance of her long career. The rest of her teammates, with the exception of little-used reserve Ann Wauters, have never been this far before either.Were going to bring the same energy, the same competitiveness, the same drive and will that we did in Game 3, Sparks guard Kristi Toliver said, and hopefully well have no regrets. ' ' '