zards: C Ian Mahinmi sat out with a sore right knee. ... Washi

Glenn Maxwell has conceded that his batting form warranted being axed from Australias ODI side, and is determined instead to make the most of his opportunity for some red-ball cricket with Australia A. Despite being named Australias ODI cricketer of the year in January, Maxwell has been cut from the squad for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka.National selector Rod Marsh said Maxwell had been given a lot of chances and lacked the consistency to justify ongoing selection in the ODI batting order. Since the end of the home one-day summer, Maxwell has batted seven times in ODIs for scores of 0, 6, 0, 0, 3, 46*, and 4. In the past year, Maxwell has 396 ODI runs at 28.28 and 11 wickets at 39.45.Instead of being part of the Sri Lanka tour, Maxwell joined the Australia A squad in Queensland and scored 0 and 38 in the first four-day game against South Africa A in Brisbane. The series has now moved on to Townsville for the second red-ball fixture.I think Ive taken it pretty well, Maxwell told reporters in Townsville. Having this opportunity at the same time probably softens the blow a little bit. It gives you an opportunity to prove them wrong or show them that you really want to be back in there. It gives you an opportunity to play games of cricket in July and August, which other people dont have. So it is a big silver lining having these games.If you look at my last 10 one-dayers, I didnt score enough runs. As theyve always said, if youre in that top six, youre a batting allrounder first. I probably didnt make as many runs as I would have liked. It would have been nice to have been in Sri Lanka with the spinning conditions and get a bit more of a chance with the ball, but I had to make more runs when I had the opportunity. I fully take responsibility for that.Maxwell said he was happy to have the chance at some first-class cricket, a format that has provided him with consistent results over the past few years, but limited opportunities due to his regular commitments in the shorter formats for Australia.Ive been in really good form with that over the last few years, Maxwell said of first-class cricket. It has been a really consistent format for me, statistically my best format, which people dont seem to quite grasp very well.Maxwell will stay on with Australia A for the quadrangular one-day series that follows the four-day game against South Africa A. India A and Australias National Performance Squad round out the teams in the one-day competition. Pete Maravich Jazz Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. 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Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. OKLAHOMA CITY -- For more than 47 minutes, Russell Westbrook could barely hit a shot.For the next 5-plus minutes, he rarely missed.Oklahoma Citys fearless star was 7 for 28 from the field before he drained a 3-pointer late in regulation that forced overtime. He followed that by scoring 14 of his 35 points in the extra period to help the Thunder defeat the Washington Wizards 126-115 on Wednesday night.Never stop believing in yourself and your capabilities of doing what youre able to do on the basketball floor, Westbrook said.Bradley Beal, who led the Wizards with 31 points, couldnt believe Westbrook hit the shot with 8.5 seconds remaining. It was the only 3-pointer he made in six tries.I felt like I did a great job of cutting him off to the basket, Beal said. He wasnt making any jumpers all game. The only 3 he makes is the one to go into overtime.Westbrook was 4 of 6 from the field and 6 for 6 on free throws in the extra period. He finished with 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth straight triple-double, his ninth this season and the 46th of his career. The Thunder have won all four games during his triple-double streak, and he heads into December averaging a triple-double through 20 games this season.Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks returned as Washingtons coach, and the Oklahoma City crowd greeted him warmly. Brooks coached the Thunder for seven years and led them to the Western Conference Finals three times and the NBA Finals once.Im humbled that they did that for me, and I appreciate it, Brooks said. Im glad they came out and supported their team and showed kind of what we did throughout the years.John Wall had 15 points and 15 assists and Marcin Gortat added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who had won three of four.The Thunder led by 16 early in the second quarter and were up 60-53 at halftime. A block by Domantas Sabonis led to a fast-break dunk by Steven Adams that put the Thhunder up 74-62 in the third quarter and prompted Brooks to call a timeout.dddddddddddd. The Wizards closed the quarter strong and tied the score at 84 heading into the fourth.The Wizards took control before the Thunder rallied. A 3-pointer and a dunk by Victor Oladipo cut Washingtons lead to one, and the assist on the dunk gave Westbrook his triple-double.Washingtons Otto Porter missed a short fadeaway at the end of regulation that would have won the game, and then Westbrook took over.I thought we did a good job until overtime on Westbrook, Brooks said. Hes hard to stop. Hes a terrific basketball player playing at a high level -- another triple-double -- but I thought we did a pretty good job of containing him most of the night.TIP-INSWizards: C Ian Mahinmi sat out with a sore right knee. ... Washington missed five of its first seven free throws and made 17 of 26 for the game. ... Markieff Morris was issued a technical foul in the third quarter.Thunder: Oladipo scored 25 points. He hit a long 2-point jumper as time expired in the first quarter to give Oklahoma City a 32-19 lead. ... Westbrook was called for a technical foul with 6:09 to play. ... Adams left the game briefly in the first half after taking an elbow to the face.STAT LINESThe Thunder are 7-2 this season when Westbrook gets a triple-double. They have won 25 of their last 27 games over the past two seasons when he accomplishes the feat.QUOTABLEBrooks, on what he told Westbrook before the game: I told him, `My daughter still loves you. Lexi had a crush on him and was disappointed that he married Nina, but were happy for him. Thats the truth.UP NEXTThe Wizards visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.The Thunder host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP. ' ' '