Regeln » issed Sundays overtime loss against Golden Stat

Shinji Okazakis overhead kick sent Leicester City five points clear at the top of the Premier League table as Rafa Benitez suffered a 1-0 defeat in his first game as Newcastle manager on Monday. The Premier League leaders went in front through Okazakis acrobatic finish on 25 minutes after Jamie Vardy, who appeared to be standing in an offside position when the cross came in, nodded across goal for his strike partner. Okazakis acrobtaic finish sealed the points for Leicester Newcastle had missed the chance to go ahead when Ayoze Perez dragged his shot wide early on, while Moussa Sissoko and Siem de Jong both spurned promising opportunities to equalise after the break. The visitors had 13 shots to Leicesters 10 in an improved performance under new boss Benitez, and had a penalty claim turned down when Sissokos shot struck Wes Morgans arm, but the defeat leaves them second bottom with Sunderland to come in the Tyne-Wear derby next Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Leicesters Wes Morgan and Danny Drinkwater say they had to dig in to beat Newcastle As for Leicester, who scored with their only shot on target at the King Power Stadium, the win means they will definitely stay top through to April with a visit to Crystal Palace up next.Benitez made two changes for his first game in charge as Aleksandar Mitrovic and Vurnon Anita replaced Paul Dummett and Emmanuel Riviere, and the visitors started the stronger. Rafael Benitez suffered defeat in his first match in charge of Newcastle They went close through Perez after just four minutes as the Spaniard flashed his shot just wide, before his teasing cross almost found Sissoko at the back post.But Leicester edged in front when Okazaki found the bottom corner with a stunning piece of improvisation for his fifth league goal of the season. Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri praised his sides spirit Steven Taylor could only help on Marc Albrightons cross to the back post, and when Vardy headed back across goal, Okazaki was on hand to fire an overhead kick past Elliot. Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports after the game Vardy was correctly ruled onside because Taylors header was unchallenged, deeming it a football action, and leaving the Leicester man free in phase two to legitimately play the ball.Albrighton had the chance to double the hosts lead immediately, but the winger flashed his shot wide of the far post. Okazaki celebrates the only goal of the game at the King Power Stadium Newcastle responded well to going behind and quickly settled back into their rhythm, but Sissoko and Mitrovic collided as the latter looked to pull the trigger in the box.And, with a sell-out King Power in full voice, Benitezs side struggled to carve out another opportunity before the break. Vardy battles Anita in the first half The Newcastle boss responded with his first change 10 minutes after half-time, and Andros Townsends introduction made a difference.Sissoko wasted their clearest opportunity to level when he failed to pick out a team-mate after breaking past the Leicester defence on the hour mark, but Newcastle midfielder then set up Perez, whose low drive deflected narrowly wide of Kasper Schmeichels near post. Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez focused on the positives following his first game in charge Mitrovic and Danny Simpson clashed as the visitors frustration threatened to boil over, but referee Craig Pawson did well to defuse the situation.The Magpies continued to grow into the game as the final 10 minutes approached, and they had a penalty appeal ignored when Sissokos powerful shot came back off Morgan with eight minutes to play. Monday Night Football guest Ronald Koeman believes Manchester City and Arsenal are now out of the Premier League title race Their final chance to salvage a point fell to substitute De Jong, but the Dutchman could only skew his shot tamely to Schmeichel as Leicester saw out the final stages to secure their second consecutive 1-0 win.The victory puts them five points ahead of Tottenham with eight games remaining, while Newcastle have now lost their last seven league matches on the road.Team line-upsLeicester: Schmeichel (6), Simpson (6), Huth (7), Morgan (7), Fuchs (6), Mahrez (6), Kante (8), Drinkwater (8), Albrighton (6), Okazaki (7), Vardy (6).Used subs: Schlupp (6), Ulloa (6)Newcastle: Elliot (6), Colback (7), Lascelles (6), Taylor (6), Janmaat (6), Sissoko (6), Anita (6), Shelvey (6), Perez (6), Wijnaldum (6), Mitrovic (6)Used subs: Townsend (6), De Jong (5), Doumbia (6)Man of the Match: Danny Drinkwater (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden and the Houston Rockets attempt to join the 20-win club when they open a three-game homestand Thursday versus Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans. The Rockets will also entertain Atlanta and Portland at the Toyota Center, and have a 9-3 record in Space City. Houston is 19-5 this season and has won three straight and 10 of the last 12 games, including Wednesdays 115-111 overtime triumph versus the Denver Nuggets. Harden continued his scoring touch with 41 points and scored eight straight in overtime to lead the way. Harden leads the NBA with 26.9 points per game and is averaging 35.8 ppg in his previous four contests. I couldnt throw a rock in the ocean in those first 40-plus minutes of the game, Harden said. But I just have the confidence. I work on my shot every day. Confidence is a big thing. My teammates have confidence in me to shoot the basketball and I shot it. Dwight Howard added 24 points and 16 rebounds in his second game back from a knee injury for the Rockets. Patrick Beverley posted 12 points and 12 boards. The Rockets are third in opponents scoring at 95.9 points and third in opponents field goal percentage (29.4). New Orleans went 2-1 on a recent homestand and won foor the fourth time in six tries with Tuesdays 119-111 victory over the Utah Jazz.dddddddddddd Ryan Anderson scored 13 of his 28 points in a decisive fourth quarter and New Orleans posted a 41-22 advantage in the final period. The Pelicans made 14-of-21 from the field in the fourth quarter, while the Jazz connected on just 7-of-24 shots. Davis, who missed Sundays overtime loss against Golden State with a bruised chest, scored 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds for the victors. His three blocks all came in the fourth quarter. I thought their energy gave us a bit of a jolt tonight, Pelicans head coach Monty Williams said. Williams reserves scored a 52-27 advantage and the entire team made 59.5 percent for the game. The Pelicans are 12-0 when outshooting the opponent and 12-5 when scoring 100 or more points. That could be a tough mark to reach against Houstons improved defense. The Pelicans have a 4-9 road record. New Orleans and Houston will play the first of four meetings this season, and the Rockets went 3-1 in the 2013-14 series. Pelicans center Omer Asik spent the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons with Houston. The Rockets are unbeaten in the last six games as the host in this series. ' ' '