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After months of optimism surrounding a potential new collective bargaining agreement that would allow the NBA and the players union to avoid another work stoppage, the momentum has slowed a bit as a critical date approaches.Both sides have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday to opt out of the current deal. If that were to happen, they would have until the end of June to negotiate a new contract. Neither the owners nor the players believe it will get to that point, with both sides seeking a deal to ensure the league keeps enjoying skyrocketing revenue and rising television ratings.Were working tirelessly, union president Chris Paul said this weekend.Many of the major parts of the deal have been addressed, including keeping the basketball-related income split the same as it is in the current agreement. There was a belief in early November that an accord could be struck by Thanksgiving, but the complex negotiations have carried on well into December.There remain a few issues for the sides to settle before a deal can be voted on, and the owners overseeing the leagues side of the negotiations planned to meet on Monday for a progress report. If the two sides do not agree to a deal by the deadline, they could implement an extension to give them extra time.While union vice president Carmelo Anthony told ESPN that he was skeptical that a deal would get done by Thursday, there remained a healthy amount of optimism from both sides of the negotiating table that a deal will eventually be reached.We still got a few days, union vice president LeBron James told reporters in Cleveland on Saturday. Obviously, our game right now is the best its ever been, from where it is right here domestically to all the way around the world, so hopefully both sides come to an agreement.---GRIZZLIES ROLLINGWhen Mike Conley was diagnosed with a back injury that was expected to keep him out at least six weeks, the consensus was that the Memphis Grizzlies would have a difficult time remaining in the Western Conference playoff picture. But Grit `n Grind has always been much more than just a catchy slogan for the Grizzlies, who have once again refused to give in when misfortune strikes.Memphis (17-8) has won six straight since Conley went down, climbing to fifth place in the West, just a half-game behind Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers. First-year coach David Fizdale has inserted little-known Troy Williams into the starting lineup for Conley, while veterans Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph have all stepped up their games to pick up the slack.The Grizzlies are also missing free agent prize Chandler Parsons (knee) and veteran Vince Carter (hip), but they thumped the Golden State Warriors on Saturday by 29 points, the first time they won a game by more than five points during this streak.---THE WEEK AHEADA look at some games to watch this week:Memphis at Cleveland, Tuesday: The red-hot Grizzlies face the rolling Cavs in a home-and-home back-to-back starting at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night.Minnesota at Chicago, Tuesday: Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau coaches in Chicago for the first time since he was fired by the Bulls in an acrimonious split two years ago.New York at Denver, Saturday: Its been six and half years since the trade, but its always worth watching when Carmelo Anthony returns to face the Nuggets.Oklahoma City at Portland, Tuesday: The human triple-double against Damian Lillard? Sign us up.---STAT LINE OF THE WEEKKlay Thompson, Golden State Warriors: 60 points, 21-33 FG, 8-14 3s, 29 minutes. The Splash Brother may be the most explosive player on Golden States star-studded roster, and proved it with an incredible scoring binge in just three quarters of work. Had coach Steve Kerr played him in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryants 81 points were certainly in jeopardy.---This story has been corrected to show CBA deadline is Thursday.Air Max 270 Mens Sale . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Nike Air Max 270 Discount .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-react-bauhaus-sale.html . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Nike Air Max 270 Womens Clearance . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Off-White x Nike Air Max 270 Black . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans.ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Running back Latavius Murray isnt concerned about the Oakland Raiders suffering through any type of hangover after their six-game winning streak ended last week in Kansas City.With a chance to secure a playoff spot Sunday against San Diego, Murray said, the Raiders have moved on and are focused solely on the Chargers.Were looking forward to everything that we have in front of us Murray said Tuesday. Our goals . theyre still right in front of us. Thats how we re-focus. We want to be playing postseason so we can give ourselves a chance to play for the big one. It starts Sunday.The 21-13 loss to the Chiefs dropped the Raiders out of sole possession of first place and into a tie with Kansas City in the AFC West.More critically, Oakland fell from the No. 1 seed in the AFC to No. 5, meaning that unless the standings change the Raiders will be playing all of their postseason games on the road -- provided they get there.The breakdown is simple: A win against the Chargers and the Raiders (10-3) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. A loss and they could still get in this week, though theyll need help from a handful of other teams to do so.When the Raiders edged the Chargers earlier this season at the Coliseum on Oct. 9, Murray did not play because of a toe injury. His absence was glaring as Oakland was held to just 89 yards on the ground while rookies Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington filled in.Murray is completely recovered now and coming off his second 100-yard game of the season. He is also tiied for second in the NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns and has a 5.dddddddddddd5 yard per-carry average in four career games against San Diego.Yet Murray was not involved in one of the biggest plays of the game last week against the Chiefs when Oakland offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave called for a deep pass that fell incomplete. A false start penalty on fourth down forced the Raiders to pass again and that was also incomplete.Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said earlier this week that he wished the team had run the ball in that situation, though Murray defended the call.I know everybody wants to talk about what we maybe should have did, Murray said. Maybe its one of those things that Jack wishes he would have done differently but I trust in everything that he does and every call that comes from downstairs. If it did work then everybody wouldnt be talking about what we should have done. Thats how the game goes.Oakland is expected to have left guard Kelechi Osemele back in the lineup after the 6-foot-5, 336-pound offensive lineman had to be hospitalized in Kansas City due to a kidney stone.Osemele said he was awakened in the middle of the night by the pain and was eventually sent to the hospital where it took 12 hours to pass the kidney stone.It was very frustrating, Osemele said. Its pretty painful. I wouldnt wish that on anybody.----Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '