INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George spent much of Friday worried about whether hed be suspended for Game 7 against Atlanta. Not a chance. Less than an hour after wrapping up practice, an NBA spokesman confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that league officials reviewed the tapes from Thursday nights altercation and determined none of the players who stepped onto the court would be punished for the decisive game of this first-round series. It was no surprise to the Pacers. "Were planning for him to be here until were told hes not going to be in there," coach Frank Vogel said shortly before the decision was made public. "I think he stayed in the vicinity of the bench." Players who leave the "vicinity" of the bench during a fracas can be suspended under league rules. Few, including Stu Jackson, the leagues former disciplinarian, expected that to happen with George, who took two slow, short steps onto the court before he was pushed back by assistant coach Popeye Jones. Jackson wrote on Twitter that he didnt expect the league to suspend George, Indianas best player and an All-Star starter. Losing George would have been a major blow to the Pacers comeback hopes. George has topped 20 points in all six games, has double-doubles in five of them and has been the one Pacers defender able to slow down quick, shifty Hawks guard Jeff Teague. And it was George and David West who saved the Pacers season with a late Thursday night in Atlanta, too. All the leagues best regular season home team must do now to reach the second round and avoid the distinction of becoming the sixth No. 1 seed in league history to be eliminated in the first round is protect its home court. Lately, thats been a problem. "My thing is that three of the last four times weve played these guys (in Indy), they built 20-point leads and beat us pretty good," Vogel said. "So I dont think anyone from this team can think were going to be OK just because were back home." The eighth-seeded Hawks understand. They had a chance to wrap up the best-of-seven series at home and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter to take a five-point lead late in the fourth. Yet they still lost. "Weve responded well all year when weve been in difficult situations," coach Mike Budenholzer said Friday. "Part of our response is going to have to be better execution. I think we have a lot of positive reference points from all year. Our group has been very good and very resilient. I have a lot of confidence in our group." But this is going to be different. The Pacers, who spent all season chasing the Eastern Conferences top seed, expect a raucous crowd for the first Game 7 to be played at home in the franchises NBA history. Plus, they appeared to find a defensive solution to Atlantas spread offence by going small in Game 6. The Hawks, meanwhile, have only a day to adjust to Vogels new rotations and are on their own historic quest. A win Saturday would give Atlanta the distinction of having the fewest regular-season wins (38) of any second-round team since Detroits 36-win team beat Milwaukee in the first round of the 1976 playoffs, according to STATS. "Weve won on that floor before, so we know we can do it," Teague said. "We just have to go out there and do what we do and play our style of basketball, and it will take care of itself." George has plenty of motivation after a stressful week that included ceding home-court advantage for the second time in the series, losing his 2014 All-Star ring in a burglary that took place while he was playing Game 5, two elimination games and speculation that his 24th birthday celebration might be marred by the announcement of a one-game suspension. Theres only one thing that really would help him relax -- getting a second straight win and setting up Adidas Stan Smith Rea . Born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, where he later pitched for the As, Ross beat the Giants for the first time in six career appearances by throwing eight scoreless innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 2-1 victory Friday night. Adidas NMD Rabatt .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. http://www.nmdsverige.com/falcon-adidas-skor.html.Y. - Major League Soccer is prepared to start its season this weekend even if there isnt a labour deal with its referees and other on-field officials. Adidas Falcon Rea .com) - Driphus Jackson had three touchdown passes, including two in a 19-second span in the opening quarter, to guide Rice to a 30-6 rout of Fresno State at the Hawaii Bowl. NMD Dam Rea . "Its way better than running gassers, thats for sure," the inside linebacker said Monday, when the Chargers started their third and final week of organized team activities, which are practices in shorts, jerseys and helmets.(SportsNetwork.com) - One team will be getting a superstar back and another will still be without one Friday night when the New York Knicks visit Chesapeake Energy Arena to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder will get at least one integral part back on Friday. All-Star guard Russell Westbrook will return to play versus the Knicks. He practiced all week after a broken hand has sidelined him for close to a month. It feels great. I am rested, happy to be back and to go out and try to get a win, said Westbrook. Reigning MVP Kevin Durant also participated in practice this week, although hes not expected back until next week. This week, I dont know what day, theyll get evaluated and well go from there, head coach Scott Brooks told the Oklahoman. Theyll continue to go through this process and when theyre ready -- 100 percent ready -- theyll play. The third superstar surrounding these two teams is most likely out on Friday. Carmelo Anthony injured his back Monday night and missed Wednesdays overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks. I dont think it will be too long, Anthony told the New York Post. I think the spasms will go away. But Im not going to play with spasms. Against Dallas, New Yorks J.R. Smith hit a jumper with less than a second remaining in regulation to force overtime. The Mavs won the extra session, 14-7, and earned a 109-102 victory. Dallas used a 9-0 run and forced six Knicks turnovers to pull away in thhe extra session.dddddddddddd We made some mistakes down the stretch you cant make on the road, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. Jose Calderon tallied 21 points, 10 boards and four assists for New York, which has dropped four of its last five games. Samuel Dalembert registered a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Smith finished with 15, Pablo Prigioni netted 12 and Amare Stoudemire chipped in 10. Fisher played 125 games with the Thunder, including all of last season. The Knicks return home Sunday to face the Miami Heat and will play three straight in Madison Square Garden. Reggie Jackson poured in 22 points and Jeremy Lamb scored 21 off the bench in Oklahoma Citys 97-82 home rout of the Utah Jazz Wednesday night. Serge Ibaka registered 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Thunder, who snapped a six-game losing streak and gained just their fourth win in 16 tries this season. It was a good team win, said Brooks. Weve been close so many times and I told the guys we have a lot of things to be thankful for this week. Anthony Morrow was the only other Thunder player in double figures with 12. The OKC bench outscored Utahs second unit, 44-3. The Thunder head out on a three-game road trip, starting Tuesday in New Orleans. The Thunder swept both meetings last season and are 11-3 in their last 14 against the Knicks. OKC has taken six of the last seven home matchups with New York. ' ' '