24 games this year behind a strong pitching staff and Francona,

LOS ANGELES -- A little bit of tweaking to the starting lineup by coach Mike DAntoni worked wonders for the Los Angeles Lakers, resulting in a dominant first half against the Atlanta Hawks. Then came the second half, and they ended up fighting for their lives to escape with a victory. Xavier Henry scored 18 points, Pau Gasol hit two tiebreaking free throws with 6 seconds remaining, and the Lakers beat the Hawks 105-103 on Sunday night after blowing a 21-point lead. "There was a little bit of an energy drop in the second half and a lot of missed assignments, but we picked it up and a lot of guys made some good plays," Henry said. "I dont want to say it was because we wanted it more, but you could tell. When the game was on the line, guys were like: We were already up 20. We were not going to let this one slip by." Henry started at forward for the first time as a Laker and the 19th time in 137 NBA games, while Nick Young came off the bench. DAntonis intention with the lineup change was to perk up the team at the outset, and also inject some energy into the Lakers second unit while doing likewise for the cold-shooting Young. "Were still trying to find the right combinations and rack up the wins while we do it," Henry said of the growing pains the club is going through without Kobe Bryant. "We have a lot of new guys, and a lot of guys still need to learn how to play with each other. Were trying new lineups and stuff, so were still going to be working and trying to compete." Henry, who received nine stitches in his forehead during Fridays loss to San Antonio after colliding with teammate Wesley Johnsons knee on a drive to the basket and missed all six of his shots that night, was 5 for 11 from the field against the Hawks. "Ive been playing those guys for a while, so I really didnt have to change anything," Henry said. "Basically I just had to go out there and still be aggressive and still be consistent." Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Steve Nash had 13 points and six assists and Young finished with 13 points. Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 22 points, converting all six 3-point attempts, but his attempt at a tying 21-footer from the right baseline was blocked by Gasol as time ran out. Hawks point guard Jeff Teague had 14 points and six assists after missing his first five shots. "We cant put ourselves in that situation, to always climb uphill," Hawks forward Paul Millsap said. "We have to do a better job of starting the game off." Two nights after shooting only 37 per cent from the field and blowing a 15-point lead against the Spurs despite the absence of injured centre Tim Duncan in the paint, Los Angeles shot 42.7 per cent against the Hawks. And for the first time this season, all five Lakers starters connected from 3-point range while the team went 9 for 25 from behind the arc. Trailing by 12 points after three quarters, the Hawks narrowed the gap to 90-83 on a jumper by Dennis Schroder with 10:25 remaining. Chris Kaman then lost the ball out of bounds on the Lakers next possession and committed his fifth foul on an offensive charge 34 seconds later. Millsap got the last of his 14 points on an 11-footer that tied it at 103-all with 35.3 seconds left, after Korvers sixth 3-pointer made it a two-point spread. "Theres a few things they can do to get a guy like that open," Henry said of Korver. "If they want to get someone open, they can set enough screens to do that. He was running around them and finding his way." Eleven Lakers got into the scoring column as they built a 62-49 halftime lead, without anyone on the team reaching double digits. Young, who shot 6 for 22 over his first three games, made four of his first five field goal attempts -- including a 17-footer that capped a 15-2 run and gave the Lakers a 44-23 lead with 9:19 left in the second quarter. "I think we came out with the right mindset, but they just came out and hit us first," Hawks centre Al Horford said. "Coach (Mike Budenholzer) definitely challenged us in the second half, and we were much better. I think our second unit changed it early in the fourth, making plays and getting the momentum going our way." The Lakers have beaten the Hawks eight straight times at home and have won 21 of the last 24 meetings at Los Angeles dating to Feb. 2, 1990 at the Forum. Last season at Staples Center, the Lakers won 99-98 on a layup by Bryant with 9 seconds remaining after they blew a 16-point second-half lead. NOTES: Sunday was the 38th anniversary of the day the Lakers traded Pat Riley to Phoenix for two draft picks. One of the mainstays of the Lakers first NBA championship team in Los Angeles (1971-72) he went on to win four more rings as Lakers coach, another as coach of Miami, and two more as the Heats team president. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. ... Shawne Williams, the Lakers other starting forward, had seven points before fouling out with 5:40 remaining. ... Eight Lakers hit a 3-pointer, the third time in franchise history thats happened and second time this season -- including the season opener against the Clippers. They also did it on Feb. 2, 2013 at Minnesota. Cheap Yeezy Powerphase Ireland .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Adidas Nmd Cheap Ireland . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. http://www.cheapnmdsneakersireland.com/adidas-basketball-shoes.html .com) - The Vancouver Canucks hope an upcoming stretch of home games will be enough to get the club into the postseason. Adidas Basketball Shoes Wholesale . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Adidas Basketball Shoes Discount . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. MINNEAPOLIS -- As he dived through the clubhouse on a makeshift slip-and-slide drenched with beer and champagne, a euphoric Nick Swisher could only think about how far his Cleveland Indians had come, and how quickly they got there. They staggered into September on a five-game skid that had them all but finished in the AL playoff picture and entered the final two weeks of the season essentially needing to win every game to scratch their way into the post-season. And they did just that. Cleveland earned its first post-season berth since 2007, beating the Minnesota Twins 5-1 Sunday to clinch an AL wild card as Ubaldo Jimenez tied a career high with 13 strikeouts. Swisher homered in the first inning for the Indians, who became the first major league team to win its final 10 regular-season games since the 1971 Baltimore Orioles finished with 11 straight victories, according to STATS. "The way weve been playing as of late, talk about starting pitching, talk about clutch hitting from our guys," a goggled Swisher hollered amid the celebration. "Im telling you, were bringing that wild card game back to the 216 and that place is going to be packed out and rockin, baby!" Cleveland will host Tampa Bay or Texas, who will play a tiebreaker on Monday, in the one-game AL wild-card playoff on Wednesday night. Jimenez (13-9) gave up one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings for the Indians, the first team to sweep seven four-game series in one regular season since the 1943 St. Louis Cardinals. After the final out, Cleveland players mobbed each other on the diamond in a jubilant celebration. "Im so crazy about this group of guys," first-year manager Terry Francona said. "From ownership to baseball ops to the clubhouse guys, to be able to stand here and say the Indians are going to the playoffs, Im so proud of everybody." Scott Diamond (6-13) gave up four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits for the Twins (66-96). Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes also drove in runs for the Indians, who entered with a one-game lead over Tampa Bay and Texas. If the Indians had lost Sunday and the Rays and Rangers won, two days of tiebreaker games would have been needed to determine the wild cards. Jimenez and the Indians wanted no part of that.dddddddddddd After giving up a leadoff single to Alex Presley in the first, the right-hander retired 17 straight. He was on a run of five strikeouts in a row when he walked Presley with two outs in the sixth and gave up a single to Brian Dozier. But Jimenez threw a called third strike past Trevor Plouffe to end the threat. Jimenez went 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA and 51 strikeouts in six September starts. "Its really good," Jimenez said. "Were going to start that game knowing we have played really good lately. Were going to be bringing everything we have, especially (because) its only a one-game playoff. Anything can happen. Definitely we have a lot of confidence right now. Hopefully we get that game." Swishers two-run homer landed just over the flower bed in left field in the first inning and the Indians tacked on two more in the sixth thanks in part to throwing errors by shortstop Pedro Florimon and Diamond. Cleveland lost at least 93 games in three of the previous four seasons. But the Indians increased their wins total by 24 games this year behind a strong pitching staff and Francona, a rejuvenated manager who has found a home in Cleveland after a messy end to his tenure in Boston in 2011. Their 21-6 record in September is the best in the majors, and they feasted on a soft schedule. The Indians won 15 of their last 17 games, beating up on the White Sox, Royals, Astros and Twins, but theyre not apologizing. "We needed every one of them," general manager Chris Antonetti said. "We never set any limits on what we can do as a team. Its been really fulfilling to see how weve come together and its a testament to this group of guys and the way theyve continually picked each other up. Its a really resilient group that had some tough stretches but always rebounded. Its been fun to see." And its not over yet. "I just hope we get to keep playing," Francona said. "We dont want to go home." NOTES: The Twins offence reached double digits in strikeouts for a game for the 66th time this season. The previous franchise high for a season was 26. ... Indians 2B Jason Kipnis stole his 30th base of the season in the seventh inning, his second straight season to reach that plateau. ' ' '