think I needed to apologize.ddddddddddddSolo said she didnt mean to accuse the Swedish players and coaches of being cowards, but she stood by her critique of their strategy.I wasnt enraged, I was

SALT LAKE CITY -- Becoming road warriors marks the latest sign that the Utah Jazz are evolving into a true NBA playoff contender this season.The Jazz wrapped up a five-game eastern road swing with a 4-1 mark, capping it off with an impressive 102-91 victory over Miami on Saturday. Utah never trailed in the second half and handed the Heat their fourth consecutive loss.Once again, Gordon Hayward is a big catalyst behind the success. Hayward scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting against Miami -- his fifth consecutive 20-point outing since returning after missing the teams first six games with a broken finger. The 26-year-old forward averaged 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists during the road trip.Im trying to help us win games, Hayward said. Its a huge road trip for us. Its been a while weve been this successful going out east.Utah (7-4) looks to continue that momentum at home when it hosts the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. If the Jazz can keep up their recent level of defensive play, it shouldnt a problem. They have allowed just 92.4 points over their last five games and 93.1 points over the entire season. Only the Los Angeles Clippers are allowing fewer points than the Jazz.With a 99.4 defensive rating (based on points per 100 possessions), Utah is emerging as one of the top 5 defensive teams in the entire NBA. It will present a stiff challenge for a Memphis team struggling to generate offense.The Grizzlies (4-5) scored 100 or more points just once in their last six games and won twice in that stretch. They are averaging just 97 points per game, the fewest of any Western Conference team. Mike Conley (18.8 points), Marc Gasol (18.1) and Zach Randolph (13.8) are not getting much help in the offensive production department.A 106-96 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday offered a microcosm of whats gone wrong for Memphis on offense this season. The Grizzlies shot 20 percent (6-of-30) from the perimeter and endured several cold shooting spells each time they rallied to get back in the game with the Bucks.We had a lot of really rushed possessions with no detail, Memphis coach David Fizdale said after the game. We were kind of sporadic and scattered. I was proud of the way we fought back like we always do but at the end, we just didnt execute at a high level.Both teams have had to deal with the injury bug early in the season. Tony Allen (groin) and Chandler Parsons (knee) have both seen limited action early in the season for Memphis. Utah has been without George Hill (thumb) and Boris Diaw (leg) for several games and Derrick Favors missed the final three quarters of the Miami game with knee soreness.The Jazz won the season series 2-1 over the Grizzlies last season. Utah won both games played in Salt Lake City.Cheap Real Air Max . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Wholesale Air Max . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Cheap Air Max For Sale . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Cheap Air Max . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session.U.S. womens national team goalkeeper Hope Solo said she immediately apologized to Swedens captain for calling them cowards after their quarterfinal match at the Olympics this summer.Sweden eliminated the U.S. on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw, and Solo made international news for criticizing the Swedes defensive tactics during the match.But Solo said on Swedeish talk show Skavlan that opposing captain Lotta Schelin was not offended by her comments.I said to her, You know, Lotta, I said something. I used the word cowards when talking about you guys, and I didnt mean that. Im so sorry, Solo said. And she was like, Oh, I know you, dont worry about it. Dont worry about it.And shes like, Look, the American team has been in the last five championship games in the Olympics. Five championships! And shes like, For us to beat a better-skilled team like Brazil and like America, we had to drop back defensively.And she knew it, but for the most part, we just hugged and we laughed and she accepted my apology. She didnt even think I needed to apologize.ddddddddddddSolo said she didnt mean to accuse the Swedish players and coaches of being cowards, but she stood by her critique of their strategy.I wasnt enraged, I wasnt emotional, I wasnt angry, Solo said. I just had this conversation with all of the journalists in the room after the game, and we were talking about the style of play.I didnt mean to come across that the players were cowards or the coach was a coward. I meant that the style of play was not very Olympic-spirited.I think Lotta Schelin is one of the best players in the world -- one of the best attacking players in the world. So it was really difficult to watch her drop back defensively, and I saw her most of the time in the 18-yard box in her defense.And I wanted her to attack me, I wanted to play against Lotta. I wanted to try to stop her shots. I love the competitive nature between America and Sweden. ' ' '