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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves seemed to be two teams on similar paths; young rosters filled with high draft picks to develop with new coaches.While Minnesotas youth seemed to be further along and the Timberwolves were considered an upstart team to begin the season, Los Angeles has adapted the quickest with its new pieces gelling under coach Luke Walton.The two teams get their first chance at each other Sunday as each will play the second game of back-to-back situations.The Lakers (6-4) showed their growth again on Saturday night in New Orleans, cruising to a 126-99 victory against the Pelicans. Los Angeles has won five of its past six games.I think our guys love competing, Walton said. I think they feel more challenged in the second half to go get it done. Its almost as if when the game starts, you know we have 48 minutes to get it done. Obviously, we dont want that ... but its a process.Under coach Tom Thibodeau, Minnesota has struggled to open the season, especially on the defensive end. The Timberwolves (2-6) lost at home to the league-leading Los Angeles Clippers 119-105 on Saturday night, giving up 21 fast-break points to Los Angeles and allowing the Clippers to shoot 52.6 percent from the field and make 11 of 24 3-pointers.Right now were not consistent enough, Thibodeau said. We have to build the right habits. Defensively its hard to win when you give up 119 points.Defensive improvement was expected under Thibodeau for a team that has long struggled to stop opponents. The transition is proving to take time. Minnesota has allowed 119 points in two of its past three games. Opponents have scored more than 102 in all but one game.The Timberwolves did get point guard Ricky Rubio back in the lineup on Saturday after he missed five games with a sprained right elbow. Rubio had seven points, six rebounds and six assists in the loss.Im trying to find a rhythm, trying to find how to run the team too, Rubio said. First game back after a couple weeks, just get the rust off.Minnesotas talent has shined at times on the offensive end. The Timberwolves have two players averaging more than 20 points per game in forward Andrew Wiggins (23.8) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (22.1). Guard Zach LaVine was also above the mark before he was held to 15 points on 7 of 15 shooting on Saturday.Wiggins struggled against the Clippers league-best defense on Saturday. He scored 22 points but was constantly harassed and shot just 8 of 24.The Lakers had no trouble shooting Saturday against New Orleans, particularly from Los Angeles guards and bench.Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points and Williams added 21 for the Lakers, who entered the game leading the league with 48.8 points per game from their bench.Me and Lou are going to be real aggressive coming in. Were trying to do a good job of leading this second group, bringing the energy, scoring the ball, pushing the pace, Clarkson told the Associated Press. Coach gave that to us. Thats our role and thats what were going to do.Including starters DeAngelo Russell (22 points) and Nick Young (15), the Lakers backcourt accounted for 81 points on 31-of-51 shooting, including 15 of 25 from 3-point range.We got some great guards -- we got some killers, Russell said. Its up to us to go out there and maintain it and do it every game.Los Angeles rookie Brandon Ingram left Saturdays game with a sprained ankle but told the Associated Press he could have returned if the game was closer.Of course, these are two teams used to integrating high draft picks. Towns was picked No. 1 overall a year ago, one spot ahead of Russell. In 2014, Wiggins was the top pick by Cleveland before being traded to Minnesota. The Lakers took Julius Randle seventh overall.Ingram was this years second pick and the Timberwolves went with Kris Dunn at No. 5. Cheap Authentic Asics Shoes .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Cheap Asics Shoes From Uk . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. http://www.cheapasicsuk.com/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Asics Shoes Uk Free Shipping . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Asics Shoes Uk Sale . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. After winning the USTA boys 18s national championship back in August, Michael Mmohs parting gift was a trip to New York City.The American teenager, who soared as high as the No. 2 junior in the world, also received a berth in the US Opens main draw, opposite Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.Mmoh is a terrific athlete with dazzling retrieving skills that have been compared to those of Gael Monfils. But looking a tad tentative, he got schooled by Chardy 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.All things considered, it might have been the best result possible. Chardy, a journeyman with a career record just under .500 and a single tour-level title in more than a decade as a professional, preyed on Mmohs defensive posture.Monumental, was how Mmoh recently described it. You cant play tennis just hoping your opponent is going to miss. You have to have an aggressive mentality to win. Andy Murray didnt win many Slams because at crunch time hed revert to his defensive ways. Look at [Novak] Djokovic in the US Open final. He was very defensive in that final against [Stan] Wawrinka -- thats not going to get it done.His coach, Glenn Weiner, seized on that teachable moment.Its been in our vocabulary to make him more aggressive, Weiner explained. In that respect, Chardy was a great learning experience. We simplified the message to: How do we make you just a little more dangerous?We followed that game plan through the fall. After the summer he had, did I expect him to start winning like he did? No. I have to say I like wheres headed.This is not a random assessment. Weiner, who has played and coached at IMG Academy for nearly 25 years, coached No. 5-ranked Kei Nishikori for three years in Bradenton, Florida.After a terrific stretch run at the Challenger level, the ATPs equivalent of Triple A baseball, Mmoh has another Grand Slam main-draw appointment in January. He accumulated the most points in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Champaign, Illinois to win the USTAs Pro Circuit Australian Open Wild Card Challenge.Mmoh, 18, is one of five American teenagers to win an ATP Challenger Tour title this year, joining Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, Frances Tiafoe and Stefan Kozlov, who won in Columbus, Ohio, a couple of weeks ago. Eight American men aged 20 and younger -- the aforementioned five, plus Jared Donaldson, Ernesto Escobedo and Noah Rubin -- are ranked among the ATP World Tours top 204 players.Theres your short list for future U.S. male tennis stars hoping to follow in the tradition of former top 10 Americans Andy Roddick, James Blake, Mardy Fish and John Isner. They are all contenders for the Next Gen ATP Finals next November in Milan, a new event that will feature the top 21-and-under singles players.The last time there more than six Americans under the age of 21 in the year-end top 200 was 1991, when there were seven. That group included Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang -- all future Grand Slam winners.The competition really motivates you, Mmoh said. When Taylor or Francis is doing well, you might be ranked like 300, while theyre 170 and winning a Challenger. You dont want to be the guy falling behind.Its been a constant battle for a long time. At the end of the day, its huge for American tennis, and us, too.That Mmoh is playing under the U.S. flag is something of an upset, considering his unusual provenance.He was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a Nigerian-born father and an Irish-born mother. Tony and Geraldine (OReilly) met in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s when she was a nurse and he worked in sports marketing. Tony had moved to the United Statees to play tennis at St.dddddddddddd Augustines and eventually became an American citizen. He was ranked as high as No. 105 among ATP players and played doubles at the Seoul Olympics for Nigeria. With Geraldine, he raised the family in both Washington, D.C., and Saudi Arabia.Michael Mmoh was 12 years old when he got his first big break in tennis, playing at the Eddie Herr ?at IMG in Bradenton. He got trashed in the final by Duckhee Lee of Korea but was discovered by the IMG staff and eventually offered a scholarship. Mmoh has progressed steadily ever since.With his ranking in the mid-400s, he began the year playing Futures events and trying to qualify for Challengers. Receiving a wild card in Miami, he forced rising German star Alexander Zverev -- also 18 at the time -- to two tiebreakers before losing in the first round. On the downside, Mmoh blew a 3-0 double-break lead in the second set.An elbow injury cost him April and May, prompting a weeklong visit and a heartfelt discussion with his father, who now lives in Atlanta.I was struggling after the injury, Michael said, and I wanted a different insight into my game. My dad was a top-100 player and had some ups and downs in his career. He gave me some useful words, and I started playing well.When Im not confident, Im not the most aggressive player. I use my athletic ability to retrieve a lot of balls. In todays pro game, guys are hitting the s--- out of the ball. Getting a lot of balls back -- that can be your Plan B. But to be successful, you want to be in control of the points.Weiner helped Mmoh make another adjustment, taking a subtle hitch out of his long forehand stroke, which helped take critical time away from opponents. In late September, Mmoh won three matches to qualify for the main draw at the Tiburon, California, Challenger. He survived three match points in a first-round match against Tennys Sandgren and won when Sandgren retired in the third set. Mmoh won seven straight matches to get to his first Challenger final, where he lost to Darian King.In November, Mmoh went one step further, winning the Challenger in Knoxville. Reaching the quarterfinals a week later in Champaign got him into the top 200 for the first time, his overriding goal for 2016.And now he gets to visit Australia, a place that feels like home. His mother, since divorced from Tony, has an Australian passport, and his aunt has lived there for years. The first Grand Slam that Mmoh watched in person was in Melbourne, as a 7-year-old in 2005, the year Marat Safin won the title.After Australia, Mmohs ranking should allow him into the main draw of most Challengers and qualifying for the remaining Grand Slams and some ATP events. For the next month, he and Weiner will work on strengthening his already strong serve by hitting targeted spots more often.It comes down to how good he wants to be, Weiner said. One thing Ive been working on with him is routines and setting a good example. Ive seen moments where there is a glimpse of some special tennis. Glimpses are not good enough.We have to have a higher percentage. It needs to be more of an everyday thing. I believe he can be a great player.So does Mmoh, who lists reaching the top 10 and winning a major among his top career goals. For 2017?Id have to say, I think the year-end top 100 is realistic for me, Mmoh said. The main thing I need to do to improve my game is be more unpredictable.My games there to do the damage. ' ' '