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OKLAHOMA CITY - Thunder general manager Sam Presti is aware of coach Scott Brooks critics. An NBA Finals appearance in 2012 fueled expectations, so when San Antonio beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City this season to close out the Western Conference finals, it didnt go over well with some locals in this era of winning coaches getting fired. Naysayers also believe Brooks offensive strategy gives point guard Russell Westbrook too much freedom at the expense of MVP Kevin Durant. Presti did his best to squelch the talk on Thursday. After all, he said, the Thunder finished with the second-best record in the NBA this season, despite numerous injuries to key players. "Scotty, I think, did an excellent job," Presti said. "I understand, we all have a tendency to look at the last game and the last series. I respect it. Thats part of sports. I cant do that." Brooks took over for P.J. Carlesimo during the 2008-09 season and led the team to a 22-47 record. The team has won at least 61 per cent of its games each season since. Brooks has a 293-170 record with the Thunder. "Hes stacking successful seasons on top of each other, increasing our odds to take a really unique amount of time that weve been successful and extend it to a very, very unique amount of time," Presti said. Durant said this week that he feels Brooks is the man to keep things moving. "Thats our guy," Durant said. "Im riding with him." Brooks has praised Westbrook while often publicly pointing out his three-time All-Stars need to find a balance between shooting and passing when he attacks. Westbrook also spoke highly of Brooks this week. "Hes done a great job of having confidence in me personally," Westbrook said. "Theres times when things have gone south and hes the only one that always — regardless of what happened — always had my back. Regardless if people were saying I was doing this or doing that, I was being selfish, he always was the first person to step up and have my back and support me regardless of whats going on." Brooks will have plenty to work with. Durant is signed through 2015-16, and Westbrook and defensive ace Serge Ibaka are signed through 2016-17. Backup centre Steven Adams figures to be a prominent part of the future. The 20-year-old from New Zealand improved dramatically late in the regular season while Kendrick Perkins was out with an injury, then continued to get better in the playoffs. Presti sees Adams talent, but says he has work ahead. Perkins is still a solid defender, but his offensive limitations allow defences to pay more attention to Durant and Westbrook. When Presti was asked about the amnesty clause, which allows a team to waive one player without his salary counting against the cap or luxury tax, he hesitated before offering perspective. He said though Adams was solid against the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio, Perkins played a key role in the grueling seven-game series against Memphis. Presti said he wouldnt consider waiving or trading Perkins unless it could help the team strategically long term. Shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha is an unrestricted free agent who lost his starting job during the playoffs. Caron Butler, a mid-season pickup, is an unrestricted free agent. He had his moments, but was out of the rotation by the end of the playoffs. The team has the option to keep Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 backup centre. Thabeet played little, even while Perkins was injured. Presti was non-committal in each case. Presti seemed uncertain what unrestricted free agent Derek Fisher will do, but said he will be successful whatever he decides. The 39-year-old guard has been connected to the New York Knicks head coaching job. "We have absolutely no reason to expect Derek to keep us informed of his plans," Presti said. "The only thing we have a right to do is to support him because hes left an impact here in a positive way." __ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP Air Max 97 Vapormax Canada . According to various reports, the striker is about to sign a five-and-a-half year extension with Manchester United worth a reported 300,000 pounds a week that would see him at Old Trafford until 2019. Vapormax 2020 Canada . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/air-vapormax-plus-canada.html . According to a report from ESPN, the Green Bay Packers have re-signed the cornerback to a four-year, $39 million deal with a $12. Vapormax Cheap Sale . In a matter of days, he went from unwanted to wanted, from fired to hired, from discarded by the Philadelphia Eagles with reputation tarnished to rock star treatment and a new fat contract from the Washington Redskins. Vapormax 95 Canada . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Between a three-day layoff and a quirk in the schedule, the San Jose Sharks were concerned about getting off to a slow start. They did, yet still found a way to pull out a road victory, something that had been hard to come by recently. Patrick Marleau scored in regulation and in the shootout, Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, and the Sharks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 on Friday night. "They had a little more jump and much better execution than we did early in the game, in fact off the opening faceoff," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "But I was pleased with the way our guys stuck with it and fought through it." San Jose had to fly out Friday morning because the new NHL labour agreement requires teams to take three full days off for the holiday break. The Sharks were flat early, and the Coyotes jumped on them, creating numerous good scoring chances in the first period to go up 1-0. The Sharks found their rhythm after they fought back. In regulation, Brent Burns had a goal and an assist, and Joe Thornton had two assists. Once San Jose hit the shootout, Logan Couture and Marleau scored, and Antti Niemi stopped Radim Vrbata and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the Sharks second win in their past seven road games. "Its been tough for us on the road, so for us to go out and get the two points was nice," Marleau said. The Coyotes were much better in their own end than previously against the Sharks, allowing 28 shots in regulation after giving up 101 combined in a pair of games in San Jose earlier this season. Phoenix pulled out a victory in one of those first two games, but couldnt earn the extra point Friday after struggling in the shootout. David Moss had two goals, and Vrbata scored late in the third period to help Phoenix earn a point in its fourth straight game -- all after regulation. "The last time we got two points on San Jose, we probably didnt deserve those two points," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Tonight, I thought that game was a toss-up. Unfortunately, we didnt get the extra point, but we put the work in to get the two points." With their early travel, the Sharks seemed a step slow in the openingg period, and the Coyotes jumped on them, generating several good scoring chances.dddddddddddd San Jose gave them an extra one midway through the period, when Sharks forward Matt Nieto flipped an errant pass right to Moss, who whirled around in the slot and beat Niemi. The Sharks nearly scored early in the second period when a shot by Justin Braun hit the left post, bounced off a stick and hit the right post before being cleared away. They did get one through after a Coyotes turnover. Thornton ended up with the stray puck, skated up the middle and found Pavelski, who beat Smith over the glove shoulder from the left circle. The next two goals came quickly. Phoenix answered 68 seconds after Pavelskis goal when Moss fought off Nieto and redirected a shot from David Schlemko past Niemi. San Jose responded on a power play two minutes after that, tying it when Marleau gathered a pass from Tommy Wingels and beat Smith with a wrist shot from between two defenders. The Sharks made a big push to start the third period, and Burns scored midway through, one-timing a feed from Pavelski behind the net that went through Phoenix defenceman Derek Morris legs. Phoenix again had an answer, scoring with just over 6 minutes left on a power play when Mike Ribeiro sent a pass through traffic to Vrbata, who scored his 11th of the season from the left circle to tie it at 3-all. Smith made a big save on Burns after a turnover right in front in overtime, but couldnt stop Couture or Marleau in the shootout. "Theyre such a good team, those first two lines have really good players," Vrbata said. "We played much tighter defensively and didnt give them much. Obviously, (they scored) three goals, but its a good team." NOTES: Friday night was the 10th anniversary of the Coyotes first game at Jobing.com Arena -- a 3-1 loss to Nashville. ... Thornton, the NHL assists leader with 37, has five in his past two games. ... Coyotes captain Shane Doan missed his ninth straight game because of Rocky Mountain Fever. He skated Friday morning, but no timetable has been set for his return. ... Couture has gone seven games without a point, leaving him stuck on 99 goals and 98 assists for his career. ' ' '