Dein erstes Forum » the tight ends matchup was

DENVER -- The Houston Rockets sure didnt look -- or play -- like a tired team.James Harden scored 20 points and the Rockets led from start to finish in beating the Denver Nuggets 128-110 on Friday night.Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson had 18 points each and Sam Dekker added 17 for Houston, which completed an impressive back-to-back road sweep that began with a 132-127 win over Golden State in double overtime Thursday.The latest victory came despite the Rockets 5 a.m. Friday arrival in Denver. Most of the players and coaches got little sleep before playing the Nuggets.Its a good win for us, Harden said. Last night, double-overtime game, getting in at 5 a.m. and not really sleeping. ... We got off to a really good start, guys knocked down shots and just rode that wave the entire game.Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said the win was especially gratifying because of the circumstances and the way his team played.A lot of positives, he said. They found the energy to go ahead and finish up the game. It wasnt always pretty. Its a special group that can conjure that kind of energy in altitude after getting in at 5 oclock in the morning.Wilson Chandler had 24 points to lead the Nuggets, who had won three straight against the Rockets. The Nuggets have lost four of five overall and fell to 3-7 this season at home, the high-altitude venue where they once routinely dominated.Moreover, coach Michael Malone lit into his squad after the game over its lackluster performance.Its one thing to lose games but when youre outworked on your home floor -- Miami did it, Houston did it -- I have no explanation, Malone said. All I know is that it is unacceptable and thats why I do apologize to our fans because they deserve better.Were a bad team right now and I have to start doing a much better job because the direction were headed right now is in a bad, bad place.Up by 10 points at halftime, the Rockets took a 99-84 lead into the fourth quarter and kept the pressure on the rest of the way as part of a sharpshooting display that included converting 17 of 37 3-point attempts against a listless Nuggets defense. Denver went 9 of 30 from beyond the arc.The Rockets took a 73-63 halftime lead over the Nuggets, who allowed a season high in points by an opponent over the first two quarters.Houston led by as many as 15 in the first half, hitting nine 3-pointers, including four by Anderson, to gain early separation with its highest-scoring output over the first two quarters this season.The lack of defensive urgency by Denver was epitomized by Gordons fast-break layup at the halftime buzzer as he drove the length of the court virtually uncontested in the final 3 seconds of the period.TIP-INSRockets: F Trevor Ariza left the game in the final minutes with back spasms, DAntoni said, apparently after coming down awkwardly while going for a rebound. ... Houston has made at least 10 3-pointers in 19 consecutive games, the longest streak of its kind in NBA history. ... Houstons previous high for first-half points was 71 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 26. ... The Rockets are 7-2 on the road since beginning the season 2-3.Nuggets: C Nikola Jokic missed the game because of a sore left wrist. ... G Gary Harris remains sidelined with a right foot injury. ... G Will Barton returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the previous two games.QUOTABLEThey played harder than us. They wanted the game more than us. It was a bad loss on our home court. They came back very, very late (to Denver). We should have jumped on them since the beginning and it was the opposite. -- Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari.UP NEXTRockets: Completed a five-game trip and return home to host the Boston Celtics on Monday night.Nuggets: Play at Utah on Saturday night in the first stop of a six-game trip. Custom Washington Redskins Jerseys . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. John Riggins Youth Jersey . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Ereck+Flowers+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1369 . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Russ Grimm Redskins Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Trent Williams Redskins Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. As we do each Sunday right here, we recap the weeks winners and losers from a fantasy perspective, complete with applicable game and historical data. Check back after the conclusion of the 1 and 4 p.m. ET (and, when applicable, Sunday Night Football) games for our picks of the weeks best and worst.WinnersRobert Kelley, RB, Washington Redskins: In only his third NFL start, Kelley topped the fantasy leaderboard, scoring 31 points against the struggling Green Bay Packers defense on Sunday Night Football. In doing so, he nearly doubled his season total, as he had 36 fantasy points combined in his first eight games (23 in his first two career starts). Kelleys 53.6 percent start rate in ESPN leagues was also a season high.David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: An exemplar of consistency, Johnson cracked double-digit fantasy points for the 10th consecutive game to begin this season, and in fact led all players in the 1 p.m. ET block with 27. That was his 15th career start -- he was elevated to starter status in 2015 Week 13 -- and in those he has a combined 288 fantasy points. Thats the third most by any running back through that many career starts since the merger, behind Larry Johnson (383) and Eric Dickerson (320).Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Ho-hum, another Sunday, another big fantasy point total by Brady. He scored 28 -- third among all players through Sundays games -- giving him his fourth game this season (in six played) with at least 27; thats more than any other player has had in 2016 (Marcus Mariota, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan each has three). Whats more, it boosted Bradys seasonal per-game average to 23.3, putting him within range of his career-best 23.6 from his 378-point 2007. As things stand, Brady is on pace for 280 fantasy points, which if it holds would be his sixth-best total in any of his 16 NFL seasons despite his having missed four games.Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys: His sensational rookie season continued on Sunday, his 25 fantasy points pacing all quarterbacks during the 1 p.m. ET block. With that, he has 92 fantasy points in the past four weeks combined, tied with Marcus Mariota for the lead during that time span. Prescott also extended his rookie record of consecutive games with 15-plus fantasy points to nine.Strangely enough -- or perhaps not, considering the opposing Baltimore Ravens entered the day having allowed the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (13.8) -- Prescotts start percentage in ESPN leagues declined significantly, from 63.8 percent in Week 9 to 56.5 percent in Week 10 to 38.8 percent on Sunday, which was his lowest since the Week 8 Monday Night Football game on Halloween versus the Philadelphia Eagles (26.3 percent).Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans: As mentioned, his 92 fantasy points -- fueled by a 21-point score on Sunday -- ties him with Prescott for the most from Weeks 8 to 11 combined, but Mariota actually leads all players in fantasy points if you widen the date range to Weeks 5-11, as he has 165 in seven games during that span, for an average of 23.6 per contest.LeVeon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Even when his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has quieter days, Bell always seems to shine. Bells 25 fantasy points represented his best single-game score since 2014 Week 14 (41); he had played 15 games in between those contests. Out of the six games Bell has played in his career in which Roethlisberger has been held to 10 fantasy points or fewer, Bell has managed 15-plus fantasy points in three, while averaging 16.2 in those six contests.Rashad Jennings, RB, New York Giants: In case you havent noticed, and judging by his ESPN ownership percentage (78.4, 28th among running backs) you havent, Jennings fantasy production has enjoyed an uptick in recent weeks, capped by his 18-point score on Sunday. It was his fourth-best single-game effort as a member of the Giants, and his third double-digit total in his past four games.Heads up: In the next two weeks, the Giants face the Cleveland Browns and Steelers, who entering Week 11 had allowed the third-most (22.6) and second-most (22.8) fantasy points per game to running backs.Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys: His 20 fantasy points paced all wide receivers during the 1 p.m. ET block, but perhaps more importantly, they represented a new season high, and his best effort to date working with Prescott. They also gave Bryant a combined 55 fantasy points in his past four games, which is his most in any four-game span within a single year since 2014 Weeks 14-17 (71). Thats encouraging considering his next three matchups will come against the Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, who, entering Sunday, all ranked in the bottom half in terms of fantasy points per game allowed to wide receivers.Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit Lions: All it took was a rushing touchdown -- yes, you read that correctly, rushing -- for Ebron to have one of the best fantasy days of his career, as his 13 points finished one shy of his total in 2015 Week 7 (14). Most of Ebrons production, remarkably, came in a span of three plays, as he had a 61-yard reception before running it in from the 1-yard line two plays later.Steelers, Vikings and Lions defense/special teams: Defenses dominated the 1 p.m. ET block, as all three of these D/STs reached the 20-point fantasy plateau, with the Steelers (23) narrowly capturing the lead (Vikings 22, Lions 20). Not coincidentally, all three teams scored a defensive touchdown.The Vikings were a popular starting choice on Sunday, active in 73.4 percent of ESPN leagues, but the 31.7 percent of owners who started the Steelers, or 27.4 percent who started the Lions, were pleasantly rewarded. In fact, this was the first time all season that either the Steelers or Lions even cracked double-digit fantasy points.Malcolm Mitchell, WR, Patriots: Rookies in the Patriots passing game traditionally dont play significant roles, but on Sunday, Mitchell was the teams receiving standout, scoring a team-best (among wide receivers and tight ends) 15 fantasy points. It was only the ninth time during the Bill Belichick era that a rookie wide receiver or tight end managed to score at least that many, and five of the others were by Rob Gronkowski (3) and Aaaron Hernandez (2) in 2010.dddddddddddd. Mitchell was owned in just 0.70 percent and started in 0.22 percent of ESPN leagues on Sunday, but if this was his first step towards carving out a larger role in the offense, expect those numbers to rise, perhaps significantly, heading into Week 12.Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks: For the third consecutive week, Wilson reached the 20-point fantasy plateau, scoring 22 points. That was fueled in part by a 15-yard receiving -- again, you read that right, receiving -- touchdown delivered by Doug Baldwin in the third quarter. It was most encouraging in that it came against a Philadelphia Eagles offense that had entered the week allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (13.2), and it helped ease any worries amongst Wilsons owners that hes still limited by his early-season knee and ankle injuries.Kirk Cousins, QB, Redskins: His 27 fantasy points were a season high, enjoyed by his owners who had him active in 32.6 percent of ESPN leagues. They also gave him 90 fantasy points since Week 7, a total exceeded by only seven other quarterbacks during that time span, five of whom played an additional game (five, to Cousins four).Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers: For the fifth consecutive week, Rodgers scored more than 20 fantasy points, his 29 the second-most by any individual player in Week 11 (through Sundays games). With that, Rodgers captured the season lead in fantasy points, with 224 in 10 games, putting him on pace for 358 come seasons end.LosersBen Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers: Considering his opponent was the Cleveland Browns, who entered Sunday having allowed 20.4 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, Roethlisbergers 86.9 percent start rate in ESPN leagues seemed unusually low. Unfortunately, he let that large number of his owners -- the fifth highest among quarterbacks -- down with an eight-point fantasy score, his worst since Week 3 (6). With the performance, you can be sure that Roethlisbergers critics will further stress his wide home/road splits: Since the beginning of 2014, he has averaged 24.3 fantasy points per game at home, including 12 performances worth 20-plus compared to only one in single digits; he has averaged 13.3 fantasy points per game on the road, including four of 20-plus compared to seven in single digits.Roethlisbergers next start is on the road against another defense that surrenders a lot of fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks (19.6 per game), the Indianapolis Colts, so expect the debate to rage on all week.Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo Bills: Though he wasnt one of the 10 most-started quarterbacks in ESPN leagues, his 27.5 percentage ranking 15th, Taylors seven-point stinker was a letdown considering he was facing a Cincinnati Bengals defense that entered affording the fifth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (19.1). Outside of a five-point performance against the Ravens in Week 1, that was Taylors worst individual score since taking over as the Bills starter at the beginning of 2015.Isaiah Crowell, RB, Browns: Game flow might have had a bit to do with it -- the opposing Steelers had a 14-point lead at halftime and never trailed by more than eight points during the second half -- but Crowells two fantasy points were still a poor output considering the Steelers aforementioned status having afforded the second-most fantasy points per game to the position. It was the third consecutive week that Crowell was held in single digits, and he has just 13 total during that span. Despite that, hes owned in 91.2 percent and was started in 66.7 percent of ESPN leagues on Sunday.Marvin Jones and Golden Tate, WRs, Lions: Matthew Stafford was held without a passing score on Sunday, so it follows that both Jones and Tate let their fantasy owners down, as they managed one and zero points respectively on a combined six targets. It was the sixth time this season that both were held to single digits, though three of those have come in the Lions past four games (Weeks 7, 8 and 11), as Jones has 13 fantasy points and Tate 26 during that time span.Jones, who was started in 47.2 percent of ESPN leagues to Tates 58.9 percent, has now been held to single digits in each of his past seven contests.Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, WRs, Jacksonville Jaguars: Across the field from Jones and Tate, Robinson and Hurns didnt fare much better, and one could argue that they were the greater disappointments considering they had the more favorable matchup on paper. Thanks to a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter, Robinsons day wasnt a total disaster, but that still represented six of his seven fantasy points for the day on seven targets. Hurns, meanwhile, was shut out on two targets.Robinson, incidentally, was the sixth most-started wide receiver in ESPN leagues, active in 95.5 percent. Hurns was active in 28.3 percent.Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Giants: Dont you hate when you see that your starting wide receivers quarterback completed two touchdown passes en route to 17 fantasy points, then check your receivers stats and see a mere four-point total? That was the story of Beckhams day, as he was held under five fantasy points for only the seventh time in his 37 career games, though three of those have come in his past seven contests.Delanie Walker, TE, Titans: A similar thing to Beckham could be said of Walker, and the tight ends matchup was the superior one of the two. Walker was the second most-started tight end in ESPN leagues, active in 95.6 percent, but he managed just three fantasy points on his six targets facing an Indianapolis Colts team that entered having allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to the position (9.4).Martellus Bennett, TE, Patriots: Fantasy owners, once they learned that Rob Gronkowski (chest/lung) would sit out Week 11, boldly expected similarly big things from Bennett, starting him in 67.2 percent of ESPN leagues, the seventh-highest percentage among tight ends. He delivered just one point on two targets, the third time this season that he has managed a point total that low in a game missed by Gronkowski (Weeks 1 and 3, also one point apiece). ' ' '