ther the Pacers get by it and prove that theyre truly better or that loss will crush them. 4. Vinny Del Negro (Clippers): He sets a fra

NORMAN, Okla. -- With his Oklahoma Sooners looking listless and trailing upstart Abilene Christian at halftime on Friday, coach Lon Kruger switched two of his starters for the second half, looking for some sort of spark.Rashard Odomes, one of the benched starters, received the message. Once he exited the bench, he scored seven of his 13 points during a three-minute span midway through the second half, helping Oklahoma turn a two-point lead into a nine-point advantage -- a run that proved decisive in a 72-64 win.Jordan Woodard scored 16 points for Oklahoma (4-1), which had to rally from an early 10-point deficit. Oklahoma won for the 58th time in its last 60 nonconference home games, but the Sooners -- a Final Four team a season ago, albeit with only two returning starters -- struggled mightily against Abilene Christian (2-2), a Southland Conference program in its final year of transition from NCAA Division II into Division I.Abilene Christian was much the aggressor in the first half, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. We came back with a little bit better energy in the second half, but not (with) the number of good possessions that we need to have in a ball game. Theres a lot to learn from that one. Credit to Abilene Christian for how well they played and how hard they played. Hopefully it got our attention a little bit.The Sooners overcame poor shooting from the field (36.4 percent) and the free-throw line (63 percent) and the smaller Wildcats outrebounded Oklahoma 42-40.The Wildcats were up 30-26 at halftime and were tied with Oklahoma as late as the 13-minute mark. But their top player, Jaylen Franklin, left the game with an apparent knee injury with 14:51 left after scoring 11 points and didnt return. The Wildcats proved unable to keep up with Oklahoma down the stretch in his absence.Abilene Christians propensity for fouling proved to be its undoing. The Wildcats committed 32 fouls and Oklahoma ended up shooting 46 free throws, making 29, while Abilene Christian went 9 of 19 from the line. The Wildcats outscored Oklahoma 55-43 from the field despite committing 22 turnovers.When you go through transition, you play a bunch of these games, Abilene Christian coach Joe Golding said. Obviously, were trying to turn the program where we can come in here and compete in these games. If we keep competing, well eventually get one.Abilene Christian wasnt expected to offer much resistance against the Sooners. Abilene Christian was coming off a home loss to Charleston Southern and the Wildcats win in their most recent road game, at New Hampshire on Nov. 17, had ended their 20-game nonconference road losing streak that dated to November 2011.Even so, the Wildcats overcame 16 fouls to lead at halftime, having trailed for all of 23 seconds to that point. They used a 7-1 run to build a 15-5 lead on a layup by Jaren Lewis at the 12:35 mark. Consecutive baskets by Franklin in the final 73 seconds of the half gave Abilene Christian its four-point halftime lead.A 3-pointer by Jovan Crnik gave the Wildcats their last lead at 33-32 with 18:28 left. Woodard answered with a 3-pointer for Oklahoma and with the score tied 39-39, he threw an inbound pass off the back of Abilene Christians Hayden Howell, grabbed the carom and laid the ball in the basket while being fouled. He hit the free throw with 12:46 left and the Sooners led the rest of the way.Odomes had two baskets and went 3 for 5 from the line during his second-half flurry and Darrion Strong-Moores 3-pointer put the Sooners up 54-45 with 7:53 left. With Abilene Christian within 64-59, Odomes drove the lane and dunked to start an 8-0 run that sealed the win for Oklahoma.Weve just got to get back in the lab, back in the gym, and get some reps in in practice and get things going again, Woodard said.Lewis finished with 12 rebounds and eight points for Abilene Christian, while Khadeem Lattin had nine points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma.BIG PICTURE:Abilene Christian: It can only get easier schedule-wise for the Wildcats, as Oklahoma was the only major-conference foe on their schedule. The rest of Abilene Christians nonconference slate will be against teams with which the Wildcats should be competitive, with one tough test at New Mexico next week.Oklahoma: After taking third in the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, the Sooners showed they still have plenty of kinks to work out before facing tougher opponents like Wisconsin, Wichita State and Memphis.TIP-INS:Woodard, a senior point guard, jumped two spots to No. 25 on the Sooners career scoring list with his 16-point outing. Woodard, who now has 1,236 career points, passed former NBA player Garfield Heard and David Little. . Oklahoma is 3-0 all-time against Abilene Christian, having won by 24 points in December 1969 and 49 points in December 1982, a game in which Wayman Tisdale scored 51 points on a still-standing school-record 22 field goals.QUOTABLE:They had a big tournament trip . and they come back here and its tough to motivate them. We probably dont motivate them like some teams do. Im sure there was some waking up on (their part). But they woke up. Theyve got a good team. Theyre going to be really good down the road. You can tell the pieces are there for them. -- Golding on the Sooners performance against Abilene Christian.UP NEXT:Abilene Christian: Returns home for a game against Division III Howard Payne (Texas) on Sunday before a Wednesday road trip to another marquee foe, New Mexico.Oklahoma: Hosts Northern Colorado on Tuesday to prep for what figures to be a tough nonconference road game at Wisconsin on Dec. 3.Marshawn Lynch Seahawks Jersey . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Michael Dickson Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/marquise-blair-jersey/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Phil Haynes Seahawks Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Cortez Kennedy Jersey . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Thunder GM Sam Presti, The Eastern and Western Conference finals, the firing of Vinny Del Negro in Los Angeles and Mike Krzyzewski returning to Team USA. 1. Sam Presti (Thunder GM): As I watch the first two games of the Memphis-San Antonio series, I keep telling myself that neither team is better than the Thunder if James Harden is still there this season, even if Russell Westbrook is injured for the Playoffs. The Thunder would win the West with Durant and Harden in my opinion. Look at Thursdays announcement of the All NBA Teams, Kevin Durant along with Westbrook and Harden were selected to the Teams. OKC has three of the top 15 players in the league. As a GM, you to hold onto them as LONG as you possibly can and if you need to do a salary dump for luxury tax/cap purposes you do it after you give this thing as much of a chance to win a title. You owe it to your fans. With all due respect to Kevin Martin, he isnt even close to James Harden and we saw it in the Memphis series. Martin is a nice player but not a difference maker. Harden was a restricted free agent at the end of this season. The Thunder should have played it out for this season and maybe even another year/two to give themselves more time to win it. Instead they jump the gun and miss an opportunity. Has the window shut in OKC? No way, but when I look at a guy like Kendrick Perkins I shake my head because he looks like a guy thats aged a bunch in the past 18 months. You dont get many chances in a market like OKC, so you must capitalize. Sometimes folks Over-Think issues, which I think Presti did. 2. Memphis vs. San Antonio: The Grizzlies have to win four of the next five games to get to the NBA Finals, and I think they can do it. Will they? Not likely but it wouldnt shock me. I look at the Grizzlies and the whole key is going to be taking care of the ball and slowing the pace of play down considerably. Memphis needs to get into the power-game mode with points in the paint and rebound differential. The Spurs are one of those team that if you can take away transition and guard the three-point line you give yourself a chance. The Mike Conley-Tony Parker match-up will still prove to be a huge factor. The Grrizzlies must keep Parker out of the lane and Conley needs to play at the elite level weve seen from him in the past few months.dddddddddddd Its do-able yet not going to be easy. 3. Pacers vs. Heat: Paul George was brilliant late in Game 1 and gave his team chances to win, yet in the defining moment he allowed LeBron James an easy look. I would like to have seen George play sound and make James shoot a contested Jumper. Im sure coach Frank Vogel didnt sleep well last night having his rim protector Roy Hibbert on the bench with him. Was it a mistake? I say yes. You always make a team beat you on the perimeter with a hand in the face. You cant allow an opponent to have a easy shot in the heart of your defense at crunch time. I know match-ups were a concern yet the Heat needed to know by Hibberts presence that youre dictating to them the type of shot theyre going to have to take. Indy looks like they can play with the Heat and they believe they can yet a loss like that is the defining moment. Either the Pacers get by it and prove that theyre truly better or that loss will crush them. 4. Vinny Del Negro (Clippers): He sets a franchise record in wins and loses his Job. The NBA is a great business aint it? Youve got to win in the playoffs. This is the best available job (Brooklyn Nets are the second best) in the NBA right now. The Coach they hire will surely be a guy that will pass Chris Pauls inspection. The Clippers must hold on to Paul in free agency. This hire will set the stage for whether Paul sticks around and if they can take that next step as a franchise. This is a defining moment. 5. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke & Team USA): Stick with what works. Back for the 2016 Olympics. If youre USA GM, Jerry Colangelo you do everything in your power to convince him that he needs to give you one more run. Mission accomplished. Coach K has amazing leadership, coaching and most importantly, people skills. He gets it". Players respect him and play hard for him. Only truly talented coaches can lead the best and get the most out of them. He does it beautifully. ' ' '