Der Fremde » Dragic hit a 3-pointer

PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain is on a five-match winning streak without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, though none of the victories was entertaining and the side still looks poorer without its talismanic striker.So there was relief on Thursday when Ibrahimovic returned to training following a nagging heel injury, increasing speculation he could play against Marseille on Sunday, when a win would move second-place PSG to within one point of its bitter rival.Should PSG lose its unbeaten start to the season, however, resurgent Lyon could move into second place with a home win against struggling Guingamp.Here are some things to know about this weekends French league games:___ZLATAN CLOSE TO RETURN: PSG coach Laurent Blanc is optimistic Ibrahimovic may return to play a part in the table-topping clash against league leader Marseille.Ibrahimovic has not played since the 1-1 home draw against Lyon on Sept. 21, and his heel injury has kept him out for much longer than was first expected.Things have been evolving very well over the last few days. Were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now, Blanc said. He has started joining in training and hes been doing some running. He hasnt lost that much fitness in cardiovascular terms. If things continue to improve over the next few days anything is possible.Even if Ibrahimovic does not recover, PSG is well off in the forward department, with striker Edinson Cavani scoring in each of his past four games.DEFENDING CABAYE: PSG captain Thiago Silva has leapt to the defence of midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who has been in and out of the side since joining from Newcastle in January.Cabayes poor performance in last weekends gritty 2-1 win at Lorient saw him heavily criticized in the French media.Although a regular in midfield for France, Cabaye has struggled for PSG, scoring only one league goal in 25 games. He has not played a full 90 minutes so far, and was hauled off after one hour against Lorient.PSGs problem isnt Cabaye, Silva said. The problem was the match against Lorient and especially the first half, because none of the players did well.BARREN SPELL: Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac is the leagues joint top-scorer, but he needs to end a barren run at Paris Saint-Germains stadium to add to that tally on Sunday.Gignac has never scored at Parc des Princes in eight previous outings with Marseille and his former clubs Toulouse and Lorient.The France forward has made his best start to a domestic season with 10 goals in 12 games, putting him level with Lyons Alexandre Lacazette.But Gignac has looked slightly jaded in his last two games, failing to score in the 1-0 loss at Lyon and the 2-1 home win against Lens.Two seasons ago, he scored two superb goals as Marseille drew 2-2 at home to PSG, with Ibrahimovic netting twice for the visitors.ANTONETTIS RETURN? Frederic Antonetti is in talks with Bastia over the vacant coaching position after former France midfielder Claude Makelele was fired on Monday.The Corsican club is 19th going into Saturdays game against mid-table Montpellier.Antonetti, who is Corsican, held long talks on Tuesday with Bastia president Pierre-Marie Geronimi.The 53-year-old Antonetti started his coaching career with Bastia in 1994, and had a second spell with the club.I need to take the time to think. There are a lot of things to take into consideration and I know Bastia only too well, Antonetti said. Its not an easy situation, and Bastia is the club of my heart, but I will give the directors my answer very quickly.He also coached Rennes from 2009-2013, and had spells managing at Nice and Saint-Etienne. Nike Air Force 1 Clearance . The Red Sox maintained a share of the AL wild-card lead Tuesday night, using four home runs to beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 and set up a dramatic conclusion to the regular season. The skidding Red Sox were 6-19 this month before rebounding to edge the last-place Orioles. Cheap Vapormax China . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/who...rance-sale.html. - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. Cheap Yeezys Fake . The team announced that it exercised the options on 15 players including goalkeepers Evan Bush, Maxime Crepeau and Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari, Karl W. Discount Vapormax . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. INDIANAPOLIS -- As one of the NBAs elite teams, the Indiana Pacers have a target on their backs. The Phoenix Suns came out firing in the first half and held the Pacers off in the second to hand Indiana just its second home loss of the season. "This year theyre not the underdogs anymore," Suns forward Channing Frye said. "Teams come out and give it their best shot. For them to expect us to come in and lay down, for any team to lay down, its not going to happen." Goran Dragic had 28 points and seven assists to lead Phoenix to the 102-94 win over the Pacers on Thursday night. Gerald Green and Marcus Morris scored 16 points apiece to help the Suns win their fourth straight game. Markieff Morris, who finished with 15 points, hit a 3-pointer with 2:58 remaining to give the Suns a 98-92 lead and Dragic dunked to give the Suns a 100-94 lead with 44 seconds left to put the game out of reach. The Suns (28-18) seemed to have the game put away by halftime. Dragic scored 21 of the Suns 66 points in the first half -- the most given up by the Pacers (35-10) in a half this season since the Suns scored 62 on Indiana a week ago in a 124-100 win. "We are at our best when we start the game well," Dragic said. "We played an up-tempo game, so I think they were a little bit tired." The Pacers rallied after trailing 66-49 at the break, but never retook the lead. Roy Hibbert had 26 points and David West added 18 for the Pacers, who have lost three of five games. Indiana went on an 8-2 run early in the second half with shots by David West, Paul George, Lance Stephenson and George Hill to get within 70-53. Later, George was fouled on a layup and converted the 3-point play to make it 71-61 with 7:01 left in the third. Miles Plumlee missed a dunk and Hibbert scored on a putback to get Indiana within eight. Frye answered with a basket and then HHibbert scored Indianas next six points to get the Pacers within 73-69.dddddddddddd "We came out, got ourselves back in it in the second half with defence, but couldnt get up over the hump," Hibbert said. "They outplayed us." The Pacers got within a point when Hill hit two free throws to make it 91-90 with 4:20 remaining, but Green extended the lead with two free throws. Hill made a layup before Green hit a jumper to put the Suns ahead 95-92 and Markieff Morris 3-pointer to give the Suns a five-point lead. "In the end, that third quarter cost us a little bit," Dragic said. "They came really strong. They made some open shots and that made it a little bit of a different game." It was much different from the way Phoenix played in the first half. They took a lead right away in the first quarter. They went on a 9-0 run early in the game when Dragic tied the game on a layup and later hit a jumper to give the Suns a 6-8 lead. Then Green hit a 3-pointer and another basket to make it 13-6 with 6:24 left in the first quarter. The Suns went on a 15-2 run to close out the first quarter with a 36-19 lead. Stephenson, who left the game in the first quarter after getting hit in the right eye, scored 12 second-quarter points. West added 10, but the Pacers were never able to put together a run or cut into the deficit. Even when George hit a jumper falling out of bounds that went over the corner of the backboard and through the hoop, it didnt matter. Dragic hit a 3-pointer to take back the lead and to give the Suns a 62-45 lead. NOTES: In four halves against the Pacers this season, the Suns have scored 62 points or more in three of them. . Stephenson recorded his fourth triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. . Hibbert and George become the first Pacers teammates to earn All-Star honours in the same season since Jermaine ONeal and Ron Artest in 2004. ' ' '