the Pistons, who had lost eight of their first nine road g

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Russia won a hard-fought contest against France to take Olympic womens handball gold Saturday, drawing motivation from a speech by coach Evgeny Trefilov that emphasized the teams underdog status.Neither of the finalists had been among the pre-tournament favorites -- the French had never won an Olympic medal and Russia was emerging from a prolonged rebuilding effort. That all changed when Russia toppled two-time defending gold medalist Norway and France upset the Netherlands in the semifinals.We knew we didnt have the right to lose. We got fired up, prepared very seriously, Russias Ekaterina Ilina said. (Trefilov) told us the French were happy to be playing us (instead of Norway), and that got us really angry.The team took the message to heart, grinding out a 22-19 victory at Future Arena that was the lowest-scoring final in Olympic womens history.Russia held a small lead for much of the game, and would have scored more if not for some spectacular saves by the French goalkeepers. Russias Anna Vyakhireva was the top scorer with five goals. France had several key players struggling with injuries.Trefilov led Russia to four world championship titles between 2001 and 2009, but Olympic gold eluded his team, with only a second-place finish in 2008. The team declined sharply after he left, but Trefilov returned in 2013 to turn things around. That meant a fifth-place world championship finish last year, but Olympic gold never seemed in the cards.Movement was the key for Russias miniature team against physically stronger France, he said. If youre small, you need to run away.Trefilov has drawn attention for his colorful outbursts during the Olympics.After one tight win in the group stage, Trefilov said he had wanted to hang everyone in the Russian dressing room at halftime. He was more relaxed following Saturdays win, but it didnt take long for him to return to his usual eccentric style, with praise for Brazilian food and a tirade against foreign coaches in Russian soccer.They wont fight for Russia, he said. In Russia we need a Russian coach.For France, the final was an unexpected success, and center-back Tamara Horacek said she hoped it would plant a seed of future growth.It was an exceptional game. We are happy. Of course we wanted the gold medal, she said. This arena is called the Future Arena, and regarding our future, I think nothing can stop us now.Earlier, Norway recovered from its semifinal loss to win the bronze medal, cruising to a 36-26 win over the Netherlands in a repeat of last years world championship final. Tournament top scorer Nora Mork had seven goals to take her total in Rio to 62.France plays Denmark in the mens final Sunday, after a bronze medal game between Germany and Poland.Basket Air Max 270 Pas Cher . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Air Max France Pas Cher . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Air Max 96 Noir et Blanche . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Air Max 270 Pas Cher Chine . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook scored 14 of his 35 points in overtime and posted his fourth consecutive triple-double to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Washington Wizards 126-115 on Wednesday night.Westbrook added 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double 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.Bradley Beal scored 31 points, 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.KNICKS 106, TIMBERWOLVES 104MINNEAPOLIS -- Kristaps Porzingis had 29 points and eight rebounds in a thrilling duel with Karl-Anthony Towns, helping New York beat Minnesota.Carmelo Anthony capped a quiet night with a game-winning 18-footer over Andrew Wiggins with 2.3 seconds to play, helping the Knicks avoid what would have been an epic collapse in the fourth quarter.Towns had a career-high 47 points and 18 rebounds for the Wolves, who tied the game in the final minute after trailing by 17 with 7:30 to play.But Porzingis threw Gorgui Dieng aside for a putback slam and Anthony tipped the inbounds pass on Minnesotas final possession to thwart the comeback.LAKERS 96, BULLS 90CHICAGO -- Julius Randle made a strong move against Nikola Mirotic for a tiebreaking layup with 45.1 seconds left, and Los Angeles held off Chicago for a gritty victory.Randle had 13 points and matched a career high with 20 rebounds as Los Angeles bounced back from an ugly 105-88 loss at New Orleans on Tuesday night. Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points apiece, and Larry Nance Jr. finished with 12 points and 11 boards.Randles drive and layup gave Los Angeles a 92-90 lead. After Jimmy Butler missed on the other side for Chicago, Williams went 1 for 2 at the line with 20 seconds to go.SPURS 94, MAVERICKS 87DALLAS -- Patty Mills scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and Kawhi Leonard added 21 points, helping San Antonio rally over Dallas.San Antonio became just the third team to start the season 11-0 on the road, following last years Warriors (14-0) and the 1969-70 Knicks (12-0).ddddddddddddWesley Matthews had a season-high 26 points for the Mavericks, and Harrison Barnes added 17.Dallas had a 60-47 lead in the third quarter after a 13-0 run in which the Spurs went 13 consecutive possessions and nearly seven minutes without a point.The Mavericks still led by eight with seven minutes to play, but Mills hit his first of three huge 3s in the quarter to start an 11-2 run.RAPTORS 120, GRIZZLIES 105TORONTO -- Kyle Lowry had 29 points and eight assists, DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Toronto ended Memphis six-game road winning streak.Cory Joseph added 16 points off the bench for the Raptors, who defeated Memphis for the third straight time and for the sixth time in their last seven meetings. It was the fourth straight victory overall for the Raptors, their longest winning streak of the season.Andrew Harrison had 21 points and Troy Daniels added 19 off the bench for the injury-riddled Grizzlies, who were missing six regulars. Among the absent is star Mike Conley, who was ruled out for at least six weeks Tuesday with fractured vertebrae in his lower back.PISTONS 121, CELTICS 114BOSTON -- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points and Tobias Harris had 21 to lead balanced scoring that carried Detroit over Boston.Andre Drummond added 20 points and 17 rebounds, one night after he was ejected in the second quarter of a victory at Charlotte for a flagrant-2 foul.Isaiah Thomas paced the Celtics with 27 points, and Kelly Olynyk scored a season-high 19. Boston had won five of seven.Marcus Morris had 20 points and Ish Smith 19 for the Pistons, who had lost eight of their first nine road games before winning away from home on consecutive nights.76ERS, KINGS, PPDPHILADELPHIA -- A scheduled game between Sacramento and Philadelphia was postponed by the NBA because of condensation on the court at the Wells Fargo Center.The game, which was slated to start at 7 p.m., was called off at 8:03 p.m. A makeup date was not immediately announced.The Philadelphia Flyers hosted an NHL game at the arena Tuesday night and the ice surface remained under the basketball court -- standard procedure at the Wells Fargo Center. However, Wednesday was an unseasonably warm, humid day for late November in Philadelphia, and it likely affected the surface. ' ' '