e final shot for Thomas, but it hit the front rim and Durant secured

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - The Vancouver Whitecaps hadnt experienced a loss in over two months before falling to the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Saturday. Dillon Powers and Vicente Sanchez both scored in the first half as the Rapids snapped the Whitecaps (5-3-7) franchise-best unbeaten streak at eight matches. But as head coach Carl Robinson saw it, it wasnt that big of a deal. "Weve lost one in nine," Robinson said. "I wont get carried away." Despite the loss, Vancouver had reason to celebrate as Whitecaps Mehdi Ballouchy, Steven Beitashour and Nigel Reo-Coker all made their returns after various lengths of absences. Ballouchy played 20 minutes in his first game in nearly 11 months since tearing his right ACL last season. He tore his left ACL two years ago, and played only five games for the San Jose Earthquake before the most recent injury. "Its been a long time," Ballouchy said. "When you do an ACL, you come back, and you do it again, these are long-term injuries. A lot of players dont come back. Its been a steep, steep hill and Im happy to be playing again." Reo-Coker was back in action after missing Wednesdays scoreless draw against Montreal to be in New York for the birth of his first child, while Beitashour was back after a long trek back from Brazil, where he played for Irans national team in the World Cup pool play. Vancouver hadnt lost since falling to Los Angeles 1-0 on April 19. It was the second of a brief two-game losing streak that started with a home loss to Colorado a week earlier. "Weve lost three games out of 15. Its not bad," said Reo-Coker. "Every team has spells like this — even the top teams. Were going through it now. We have so much belief and confidence in this team that were going to bounce back. Its a sign and test of how good we are." Reo-Coker said the birth of his daughter Scarlet changed his life "completely." "Its fantastic," he said. "Its something you cant put into words until you go through." He had a less memorable moment late in the first half when he fouled Sanchez in the box, leading to a penalty kick. Sanchez easily beat goalie David Ousted in the 36th minute to give the Rapids their second goal. "It was just miscommunication between David and myself," Reo-Coker said. "I saw David coming out and we kind of hesitated amongst each other, no one really took command of the full situation." Robinson had no issue with the call. "Second goal, it was a blatant penalty," he said. Powers hit the bar in the 17th minute and put a shot through the legs of a Vancouver defender three minutes later to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. The Rapids had another chance in the 27th minute, but were turned away by Ousted. Vancouver had two solid chances in the second half but Pedro Morales put a shot wide in the 63rd minute and Johnny Leversons laser in the 77th minute was saved by Clint Irwin. Colorado had 19 shots overall to Vancouvers five. "Were going to win games where we dont deserve to and were going to lose games we deserve to win," Robinson said. "Tonight we got what we deserved." Robinson didnt play Beitashour, opting instead to give him a rest after a long period of travel. "Beitas had three flights and in total its probably 16 hours of flying," Robinson said. "What I didnt want to do is risk an injury to him. I made the decision before the game." Kalen Ballage Jersey . To be fair, the celebrations are already anything but tame. Nerf ball tricks shots are just the tip of the iceberg for a group that has performed in zero gravity, faced pro-skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and an assembled team on the MTV series "Fantasy Factory", and even hit a basketball trick shot from a passing blimp. Walt Aikens Jersey . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship. http://www.officialmiamidolphinsfootball...e-jersey-womens. -- Chris Tillman paid no attention to the Baltimore bullpen as it started to stir in the ninth inning. Vincent Taylor Jersey . "Rob brings a wealth of coaching experience, having worked both in Canada and overseas in player development," Canada Soccer technical director Tony Fonseca said in a release. Larry Csonka Jersey . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator. SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Oklahoma Thunder took the fourth quarter off and almost paid for it against the Sacramento Kings. Kevin Durant had 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Thunder withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to earn their eighth straight win, a 97-95 victory over slumping Sacramento on Tuesday night. The Thunder were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, but hung on to improve to 4-3 on the road this season. "We cant ever take a win for granted," said Durant, who missed three of four shots and scored three points in the fourth quarter. "Its hard to win in this league. We won the game, thats all that matters." Although the Thunder played inspired defence in limiting the Kings to a combined 34 points in the middle two quarters, they had no answer for Kings diminutive reserve guard Isaiah Thomas in the fourth period. The Thunder built a 17-point lead early in the fourth, but had to hold off the Kings and Thomas, who scored 21 of his 24 points in the final period and missed a jumper with 1 second left that would have sent the game to overtime. "I felt like I was passive in the first half and I wasnt really doing anything on offence," said Thomas, who made 8 of 14 shots in the fourth, including a pair of 3s. "When I got in at the end of the third and fourth I wanted to try to make a difference. I was in attack mode and my teammates kept feeding me." Thomas made a 20-foot jumper with 37 seconds left, getting the Kings within 97-95. After Durant misfired on a 3, the Kings got the rebound and set up the final shot for Thomas, but it hit the front rim and Durant secured the rebound. "There are no nights off in the West," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "The West is so good and there are so many good teams and tough places to play." One of those teams and places is Portland, where the Thunder play Wednesday night. "We have to play better tomorrow night," Brooks said. "Were playing one of the hottest teams in the game right now. They have a great home crowd and have a great atmosphere. But our team has always been up for challenges and definitely tomorrow night will be a tough challenge for us.dddddddddddd" The Kings played without starting centre DeMarcus Cousins in dropping their fifth straight. He sprained his right ankle against Golden State on Sunday and watched Tuesdays game in street clothes. Cousins, the Kings leading scorer (21.7) and rebounder (10.1), is day to day. The Kings next play Friday at home against the Lakers. Russell Westbrook had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but also committed seven turnovers for the Thunder, who have defeated the Kings seven straight and 13 of 14. Jeremy Lamb scored 14 points, Reggie Jackson had 13, and Serge Ibaka had 13 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City. Rookie Ben McLemore scored 14 points for Sacramento, Derrick Williams added 13, Greivis Vasquez 12 and Jason Thompson had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings have made a habit of getting behind by double digits and making impressive fourth-quarter rallies. "DeMarcus doesnt play tonight, (were) playing against a team thats 12-3, and odds have them one of the favourites to get to the Finals out of the West," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "And we play them tooth and nail, giving ourselves a chance to win. At some point were going to pull these games out." The game was the start of a difficult stretch of road games for Oklahoma City. The Thunder play three games in four nights, then go home to face Indiana on Sunday. Thats followed by two more road games next week at Atlanta and Memphis. The Thunder have been flawless this season at home, winning all nine games and tying Indiana for the best home record. Oklahoma City just concluded a six-game home stand with a convincing victory Sunday against Minnesota. NOTES: The Thunder assigned rookie guard/forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League on Tuesday. He appeared in six games (one start) this season, averaging 1.7 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game. . The Kings shot 58 per cent in the first quarter, 33 per cent in the second, and 26 per cent in the third. . The Kings had eight turnovers after committing a season-high 24 Sunday against Golden State. 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