Sonstiges » one of the teams first-round draft picks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - C.J. Miles wasnt too happy with his play this preseason and was eager to gain some positive momentum heading into the regular season.Mission accomplished.Miles came out shooting Thursday night and scored 23 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Hornets 88-79 in the preseason finale for both teams.Miles made six of his first seven shots and from the field, and Luis Scola had 15 points and 12 rebounds. David Sloan added 11 points and eight assists.As a team and an individual, I felt like we needed a game like this to get some rhythm, Miles said. Ive been kind of off a little bit.The Pacers played without George Hill (knee), Rodney Stuckey (foot), David West (ankle) and, of course Paul George, who is recovered from a gruesome leg injury this summer.Coach Frank Vogel offered no timetable for their returns, saying he would know more next week.I feel like I want to get guys healthy, but Im also excited about getting the regular season started, Vogel said.Indiana (3-4) limited Charlotte (3-5) to 37 per cent shooting from the field.Brian Roberts started for the injured Kemba Walker and led Charlotte with 19 points. Al Jefferson had 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist chipped in with 13 points.The Hornets are limping into the regular season as well.Wallker (foot), Lance Stephenson (groin) and Gerald Henderson (hamstring) and forward Noah Vonleh (ankle) sat out with injuries.The Hornets trailed by 14 to begin the fourth quarter but cut it to 75-73 with 5:13 left behind rookie P.J. Hairston, who had a fast-break dunk off a steal and a 3-pointer.But Miles made a driving layup sandwiched in between a pair of free throws and a baseline jumper from Solomon Hill to help the Pacers squash the rally and pull ahead for good.Hairston, one of the teams first-round draft picks, finished with 11 points.Charlotte clearly lacked firepower with Walker and Stephenson on the bench.Coach Steve Clifford wasnt happy with his teams overall effort, calling in unacceptable after the game.We had guys just show up and get a workout in, Clifford said. Thats not an approach you can have in this league. We dont have a ton of talent. If we dont have the intensity of last year we will have a hard time winning.TIP-INSPacers: Roy Hibbert said he spent time Wednesday night with Stephenson and made his ex-teammate buy him dinner after signing a three-year, $27.4 million contract with the Hornets this off-season. I had to call him and tell him he was going to pay, Hibbert joked. ... Chris Copeland had 11 points off the bench.Hornets: Gary Neal has been one of Charlottes best players during the season, but he had a rough night. Neal was 1 of 11 from the field and was ejected in the fourth quarter after picking up two technical fouls for arguing with officials.PLAYING DefenceHairston is a guy wholl be able to help the Hornets on the offensive end, but the concern may be if he becomes a defensive liability. He has to understand how to learn how to play better defence, but thats normal for a rookie, Jefferson said. I think hes much better off now though than when we first started training camp.MKGS JUMPERMichael Kidd-Gilchrists jump shot has improved to a certain extent as his shooting elbow no longer flails to the side. Kidd-Gilchrist worked with former NBA star and Hornets assistant coach Mark Price extensively during the off-season to alleviate the hitch in his motion. Its a work in progress, but so far things are looking better.UP NEXTIndiana hosts Philadelphia in the regular-season opener Oct. 29.Charlotte hosts Milwaukee in the regular-season opener Oct. 29. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale .com) - Novak Djokovic captured a mens Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title on Sunday by defeating rival Andy Murray in the final in Melbourne. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online . -- ETwaun Moore had 14 points in 30 minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 87-86 on Sunday night. http://www.cheapadidassale.com/. -- Raiders wide receiver Jacoby Ford made it through a third straight practice without any setbacks and expects to play in Oaklands regular-season finale against San Diego. Cheap Wholesale Adidas Shoes . 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. Adidas Shoes Cheap Sale .S. Basketball Writers Association. McDermott, who finished his career at Creighton as college basketballs fifth-leading scorer, accepted the honour from Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson at AT&T Stadium, site of the Final Four.World record holders Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov won the gold medal in pairs figure skating in Sochi on Wednesday, and their Russian teammates Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov took the silver. The heavily favoured duo put in an almost flawless performance to the delight of the crowd. Their score of 152.69 was only two points off of their own world record. Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov took the silver. Bronze went to the German duo of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the silver medallists four years ago in Vancouver. Two Canadian teams put in strong performances but finished just off the podium. Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch finisshed in fifth with a score of 131.dddddddddddd18, and their Canadian teammates Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford came in seventh with a seasons best score of 127.32 for them. But the night belonged to Russia and Russian skating fans, with the world champions Volosozhar and Trankov adding to Russias medal haul from figure skating events. "This is a very special moment in our lives, to be skating in a Russian Olympics," Trankov said after their short program performance. Canadians Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers, both from Saskatchewan, skated earlier and put up a score of 103.01 after a few small missteps. With files from The Associated Press ' ' '