NEW ORLEANS -- When Pelicans 7-footer Jason Smith stepped outside for the type of mid-range jumper he hits routinely, Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka sprang out to the perimeter and blocked the shot. While the Thunder can usually rely on plenty of scoring from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, it was a concerted defensive effort in the second half that helped them build and keep a comfortable lead down the stretch in a 109-95 victory over New Orleans on Friday night. "Everybody did a great job helping each other on defence and there was more communication," said Ibaka, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three of the Thunders 11 blocks. "Our focus was to contest every shot and make them make tough shots. Some nights they will make them but I think tonight we did a great job and that was the key." Durant scored 29 points and Westbrook added 25 as Oklahoma City beat New Orleans for the ninth straight time and 14th in 15 meetings. Most of those games occurred when New Orleans team was called the Hornets. Ryan Anderson scored 18 for the Pelicans, who lost their second straight at home while playing their third full game without power forward Anthony Davis, sidelined by a broken left hand. New Orleans also lost guard Tyreke Evans to a left ankle sprain late in the third quarter, and soon afterward Oklahoma City built a 15-point lead. "I hate to say we didnt play well. We just missed so many shots in the paint," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "Whether they blocked the shot or distracted us, or we threw it up there and just didnt make it, I thought that messed with us a little." New Orleans raced to an early double-digit lead, only to fall behind 58-52 by halftime after Westbrook pulled up for a quick 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the quarter and Reggie Jackson hit another with 2.7 seconds left. Westbrook said he was just trying to assure his team two possessions inside the last 38 seconds. "It worked out for us," he said. "We got two 3s out of it. They got nothing." Durant, who also had three blocks, opened the second half with a 3 to make it a nine-point game and the Thunder led the entire second half -- rather comfortably throughout the fourth quarter, going up by as many as 20. It was precisely the type of second-half effort the Thunder sought after giving up 35 third-quarter points in a loss at Portland two nights earlier. "We were really disappointed in how we lost last game and wanted to be better," Durant said. "Were a really good team after losses." Jackson scored 15 for Oklahoma City, which shot 50.6 per cent (39 of 77) and rarely allowed its lead to slip below double digits after Thabo Sefoloshas driving dunk made it 74-64 in the middle of the third quarter. Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon each scored 16 for New Orleans, which shot 37.5 per cent (33 of 88) and hurt itself by going 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Evans had 11 before his injury and Anthony Morrow 10. Oklahoma City shot nearly 59 per cent in the opening half, when Durant (19 points) and Westbrook (17) combined for 36 points. New Orleans had the largest lead of the half when Holidays reverse layup made it 22-11 halfway through the opening quarter. But the Thunder chipped away, regaining the lead early in the second. The game was tied at 52 after Gordons fast-break layup. Then came the back-to-back 3s by Westbrook and Jackson in the final half-minute of the second quarter, and the Thunder never trailed again. NOTES: Oklahoma City, which is 9-0 at home, improved to 5-4 on the road. ... New Orleans outrebounded Oklahoma City 49-41. Smith grabbed 12 rebounds for the Pelicans and Al-Farouq Aminu had 10. ... Oklahoma City turned 16 New Orleans turnovers into 24 points and outscored the Pelicans in fast-break points 17-10. ... New Orleans might have lost the game by an even wider margin if not for 19 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points. Wholesale Jerseys .R. Smith hasnt had a run like this since high school. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Cousin appeared in two preseason games, averaging 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds. Kabongo finished with six points in five minutes at Denver on Oct. http://www.wholesalejerseysdeals.u... . Sacco inserted little-used Mark Olver into the lineup, and the forward had a goal and an assist to help spark Colorados rally in the third period that beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Wednesday night. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysdeals.us.com/]Wholesale Jerseys China . It is the second straight off-season Cobourne has been released by the team. Cobourne was the teams leading rusher last season with 737 yards on the ground mainly sharing time with rookie Chevon Walker.VANCOUVER -- Brad Jacobs is getting ready to exchange his moose for a Maple Leaf. The 27-year-old Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., curler got comfortable wearing a moose emblem, symbolic of Northern Ontario, while skipping his rink at the past four Brier championships. He is still getting used to the idea of wearing Canadas colours in his inaugural appearance at the world mens curling championship in Victoria, which begins Saturday and concludes April 7. Watch the mens championship live on TSN all week. But it wont be difficult to get motivated. "This is the first time were going to wear the Maple Leaf on our backs, so were new to this," said Jacobs on a conference call Monday. "I think once we get there, and we throw on the clothes and we go out for practice, were really going to feel what its like to be Team Canada and the pride that goes along with that." Jacobs will compete against the worlds best with his rink, comprising of brothers lead Ryan Harnden and second E.J. Harnden, along with third Ryan Fry. The skip and his front end mates are actually first cousins. Jacobs and company will try to give Canada its fourth consecutive world title. As a youth, Jacobs dreamed of winning the Brier, which he did for the first time in Edmonton earlier this month. The worlds? Not so much. According to Jacobs, the foursome has not had much time to prepare for the Victoria event, either. Jacobs, the Harndens and Fry were feted upon their return to the Sault Ste. Marie with a large turnout at the airport; a party attended by approximately 500 people at their local curling club, with some people turned away at the door; a meeting with the mayor and a special ceremony at a Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds junior hockey game. Jacobs, an RBC accounts manager, and .J. Harnden, who works for the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission, and Ryan Harnden, a real estate appraiser, also had to deal with their day jobs. Then they had to fit in a busy practice schedule with Fry, who most recently managed a bar and restaurant at a golf course, but now curls full-time. "To be honest with you, we havent scouted the other teams," said Jacobs. "What were more concerned with is how were feeling going into the worlds." The specific opponent "doesnt matter." "Were more concerned with what the rocks are going to be doing," he said. "Really, your opponent is only out there to help you read the ice and help you make your shots in that sense." As a result of the time constraints, Jacobs declined to seek out Al Hackner, Northern Ontarios last Brier chaampion in 1985, and other Canadian title victors for insight on the worlds.dddddddddddd. "Were really looking at this as another weekend of curling," said Jacobs. "Its another bonspiel. ... Were there to experience it ourselves." In a recent separate interview, Jacobs attributed his rinks success to its closeness and family ties. Fry, a 34-year-old Winnipeg native who joined the Jacobs rink this season, provides diverse experience, having curled for three different rinks -- Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador, and Northern Ontario -- at provincials and the Brier. "Ive curled with three really good teams, but Ive always been looking for a different aspect of what makes a curling team, and I think theres only a few teams like that out there," said Fry, adding he was looking for team unity and a strong will to win among other factors. "I was able to find that with the three guys that Im curling with now. ... Being a little bit of a smaller community, everyones rallied around us. I think that gives us a little bit of extra motivation going forward to try and bring home a world championship to this city and this part of the province, just because everyone is so excited and wants it so bad." When it comes to getting insight on competing in a global event, the Jacobs rink will rely on team leader Rick Lang, who skipped Northern Ontario to five Canadian titles. Tom Coulterman, the rinks coach, also has experience on the international stage. He served as the team leader for Canadian entries at 13 world junior championships. But the worlds, he said, offer several challenges, because coaches are limited in the amount of contact they can have with curlers during games. "Its a lot easier at the Canadians to contact or talk to the players," said Coulterman. "You have constant contact with the players, even on the bench. "The bench is much closer to the players than it is at the worlds, where at the worlds youre not allowed to have any contact with your players even between ends or until the fifth-end break or if theres a timeout. ... In the (world) juniors, you couldnt even make eye contact with your players out there on the ice." While the limited access could be an issue, Coulterman believes home ice will offer a major advantage, in contrast to sparse crowds that Canadian champion Rachel Homans Ottawa rink faced while earning bronze at the recent womens worlds in Latvia. "Were looking forward to the fact that it is in Canada, where there is going to be so much more support," said Coulterman. cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '