When 6-foot-10, 240-pound Minnesota Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng flattened 5-9 Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas with a moving screen, the fiery underdog popped right up and got right in Diengs face to let him know he wasnt about to be pushed around.Thomas has never let his smaller frame hold him back from excelling in the land of giants. In his sixth season in the league, Thomas is playing bigger than ever.The Boston Celtics guard is averaging a career-high 26.1 points and has helped the Celtics stay afloat while Al Horford and Jae Crowder missed big chunks of time with injuries. Thomas is averaging more than nine free throw attempts per game, using that fearlessness that turned him into an All-Star to drive the Celtics offense.He puts pressure on the defense just because he is in constant attack mode, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. Hes always live. Hes always a threat and hes got great explosion in his drives.Diengs screen on Thomas, and the fiery guards reaction, woke the Celtics up in the second half and helped spark a rally from 13 points down to start the fourth quarter to a 99-93 victory.I mean, Im already little, man, Thomas said of his reaction to Diengs screen. You dont need to hit me that hard to get your man open. But when they try to take me out, thats when I get a little (angry).Now that Horford has returned from nine games off because of a concussion and Crowder is working his way back from a sprained left ankle, the Celtics are positioning themselves to start taking off. They play at Miami on Monday, host Detroit and Sacramento on Wednesday and Friday and finish the week at Philadelphia as they try to work their way up the Eastern Conference ladder.And even though Horford got the big payday over the summer, the green still revolves around the smallest guy on the roster.Hes a tough cover, Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. Hes got a great hesitation. Hell throw his body into you. He can sell it. Hes clever. Hes got a lot of different ways he can finish.---WELCOME BACKThe New Orleans Pelicans appeared lost through the first three weeks of the season as star Anthony Davis languished in the middle of a banged-up roster with little talent around him. One of the biggest issues was the absence of point guard Jrue Holiday, who missed the first 12 games to be by his wifes side while she underwent brain surgery.The Pelicans were 2-10 in those games before Holiday returned and 4-0 in his first four games back in the lineup. Coach Alvin Gentry brought him off the bench to provide some balance and scoring punch while he worked his way back into playing shape.New Orleans has dropped two in a row following that streak, but Holidays presence has the teams confidence rising.In my eyes, hes one of the top point guards in the league and it showed, Davis said.---THE WEEK AHEADSome games to note this week:Washington at Oklahoma City, Wednesday: Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks brings his struggling Wizards to Oklahoma City for the first time since he returned to the sideline.Houston at Golden State, Thursday: The Warriors steadily improving defense will get one heck of a test from James Harden and the Rockets.Los Angeles Clippers at Cleveland, Thursday: Two of the best teams in the league through the first month of the season meet.Detroit at Atlanta, Friday: Its always a party when Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard are in the same building.Cleveland at Chicago, Friday: Bulls star Dwyane Wade gets to collect on his World Series bet with friend and former teammate LeBron James.---STAT LINE OF THE WEEKKevin Love, Cavaliers: 11 of 14 FG, 8 of 10 3s, 34 points. Nice game, right? Try quarter. Love conjured his stat-stuffing days with the Timberwolves when he exploded in the first quarter against Portland on Wednesday night. It was the highest-scoring first quarter in NBA history and just three off of Klay Thompsons record for most points in any quarter. Cheap Nike Blazers Wholesale . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Cheap Nike Blazers China . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. http://www.cheapnikeblazer.net/ . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Wholeale Nike Blazers . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Nike Blazers Cheap Online . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Four days before the season opener, Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offered a blunt assessment of first-round draft pick Leonard Floyd.Overall his camp was kind of choppy, Fangio said of the outside linebacker Wednesday. First, early on, he had an illness that kept him out a couple days. Then he came back. Then he dinged his shoulder a little bit. It kept him out a couple days. Then he tweaked the hamstring, which kept him out.So I think the best word has been choppy and inconsistent, more from an availability standpoint to where he could have [had] a large chunk of good, learning practices in a week playing in a preseason game.Fangio stressed that he is not upset with Floyd, the ninth overall pick, but is concerned about the rookies development, or lack thereof.Im disappointed that, yes, he got sick and missed a few days of practice, Fangio said. Im disappointed he dinged his shoulder and missed a few days of practice and then tweaked a hamstring and missed four or five days of practice. Yeah, Im disappointed that happened, but Im not mad at him. He didnt do it on purpose. But it has retarded his development a little bit.Floyd did not react much when informed of Fangios comments.I think Im ready as I can be, when my number is called, to go out there and do whatever it takes and help us win, Floyd said.I dont feel much pressure at all. Because I know me, and Ill go out there and give it the best I can, and thats all I can do.Bears general manager Ryan Pace cited Floyds rare combination of height (6-foot-4), athleeticism and speed as justification for trading up two spots to get him in the draft.dddddddddddd Floyd, who had 17 sacks in 38 careers games in college, tested extremely well at the NFL scouting combine in February.However, Floyds playing weight is an ongoing concern. The Bears put him on a special nutritional program to pack on pounds over the summer. Listed at 240 pounds in Chicagos official Week 1 roster, Floyd played much lighter than that at Georgia. But Floyd, who refused to disclose his exact playing weight, said he is only 2 pounds away from his target goal.Fangio said the manner in which Floyd handles himself physically will determine the amount of playing time he receives.The only reason you take him in and out [of games], is one, like I said, because of those things I mentioned in training camp. I dont think hes in the greatest condition right now, Fangio said. And I think for a young guy like himself, playing 60 to 70 plays in an NFL game, hes going to find it vastly different than the 80 plays he might have played in college. OK? Hes up against men now. And hes found that out quickly.Some ways its not a bad way to break in. When we had Aldon Smith [whom Fangio coached in San Francisco] in his rookie year he only played about 50-some percent of the time. He was in and out, too.[Floyd] is athletic. He can run. I think hes got good instincts. He just has to learn what to do and how to do it more consistently. ' ' '