An die SV » The bounces began going Oklahoma Citys way

PRETORIA, South Africa - The chief defence lawyer in Oscar Pistorius murder trial sought on Wednesday to undermine the prosecution testimony of a couple who say they heard a womans screams and gunfire the night the athlete fatally shot his girlfriend. Lawyer Barry Roux said telephone records will show that the banging sounds the neighbours heard were instead a distressed Pistorius hitting a toilet door with a cricket bat to get to fatally wounded girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Charl Johnson and his wife Michelle Burger have testified to hearing a sequence of events in the pre-dawn hours of Valentines Day last year that involved a woman screaming, a man shouting for help and then the sound of gunshots. Cross-examining Johnson on the third day of the blockbuster trial, Roux says call records will show Pistorius called an estate manager at around 3:19 a.m. and soon after he bashed in the door with the bat. In Johnson and Burgers testimony, they say they heard what they described as shots straight after making a call to security at 3.16 a.m. The similar times show the sounds were the bat on the door, Roux argued. "There is only one thing you could have heard, because it coincides precisely," Roux said to Johnson. "That was the time that he (Pistorius) broke down the door (with the bat)." Johnson replied, addressing the judge: "My lady, I am convinced the sound I heard was gunshots." "I understand," Roux said in the exchange, suggesting Johnson had convinced himself they were shots. Throwing doubt on the witnesses recollection of the sequence is crucial for Pistorius defence after the state maintained there was a loud argument on the night he shot Steenkamp through a door in his bathroom and screams and shouts before a gun was fired. Pistorius team wants to show the screams were Pistorius calling for help after the accidental shots. After a break, prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked for permission to stand down Johnson until Thursday to get more records. The judge agreed and the case moved on to its fourth witness. Pistorius, 27, has said he shot 29-year-old Steenkamp by accident, fearing she was a dangerous intruder in his home. The case has transfixed people around the world, and the proceedings are being broadcast on television, adding to the scrutiny of South Africas criminal justice system as well as the character of a globally admired athlete whose career peaked when he ran in the 2012 Olympics. Pistorius was born without fibula bones because of a congenital defect and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He has run on carbon-fiber blades and was initially banned from competing against able-bodied peers because many argued that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. He was later cleared to compete. He is a multiple Paralympic medallist but he failed to win a medal at the London Olympics. Lawyer Roux earlier attacked the testimonies of Johnson and Burger by also saying similarities in their accounts indicated that they had aligned their versions at the expense of truth. In his testimony Johnson told the court in Pretoria, the South African capital, that he heard the cries of a terrified woman and shooting around the time that Pistorius killed Steenkamp. Johnsons wife, Burger, had given similar testimony and at one point broke down in tears because of what she said was the memory of the terrified screams of a woman. Roux said there were differences between the statements that Johnson and Burger had given to police after the shooting, and testimony that they gave in court. Both the statements and the testimony shared similarities, Roux said, implying that the couple had contaminated their evidence by talking through what they were going to say. "You could just as well have stood together in the witness box," Roux said. "What do you say to that?" The tart assertion drew a caution from Judge Thokozile Masipa, who told Roux he had gone too far. Roux contended that crucial elements in the testimony of the couple were missing in their earlier comments to police, including the statements that they heard a womans screams rising in anxiety and intensity and that they heard the womans voice "fading" after the last in a volley of gunshots. Johnson suggested that he and his wife were more expressive while testifying in court than when providing information for a police document. "I would venture a guess that its the way you verbally tell the story," he said. "Theres a lot more emotion involved ... whereas the statement is more factual." At the beginning of proceedings on Wednesday, prosecutor Nel said Johnsons telephone number had been read out in court a day earlier. Johnson then said he had since received a "large amount" of missed calls. He described one voicemail message as saying: "Why are you lying in court? 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Nike Air Vapormax China . 1 goaltender tonight when they conclude a four-game road trip versus the Winnipeg Jets.Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - The Thunder may be the odd team out in the current playoff picture, but they proved Friday they can still beat the NBAs best. Russell Westbrook recorded a monster triple-double, Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Serge Ibaka added 27 as Oklahoma City rolled past the Golden State Warriors 127-115 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Westbrook finished with 17 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds the Thunder, who were coming off Thursdays loss in Houston and entered play 3 1/2 games behind the Phoenix Suns for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Our mindset was a little different. We didnt take losing as an option, said Durant. We came out with a lot of energy on both ends, our crowd was great, and it was a good win for us. Plenty of time remains before the postseason, and a win over a Warriors squad that came in 31-5 will surely give them confidence going forward, especially since they led the entire second half. Klay Thompson paced Golden State with 32 points, but the Warriors, who played without Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala, were beaten handily on the glass 54-43 en route to having their eight-game winning streak snapped. They were great tonight, said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. We knew they were going to come after us. They needed this win, and they deserved it. They were brilliant. Both teams shot over 60 ppercent in a 68-point opening quarter.dddddddddddd Thompson led all scorers with 13, and the Warriors held a 35-33 lead after 12 minutes. The bounces began going Oklahoma Citys way in the second, most notably when Westbrook missed a dunk that caromed high off the back of the rim and somehow still found its way through the hoop. The basket was part of a 15-2 run that gave the Thunder a 62-53 lead. A Westbrook tip-in just before the buzzer yielded a 69-60 cushion at the break, and even though the Warriors clawed within a possession several times in the third, they never went ahead. Anthony Morrows 3-pointer beat the third-quarter buzzer, and the Thunder took a 98-91 advantage into the final frame. Ibaka came alive with 14 fourth-quarter points, including a 3-pointer that put the Thunder in front by double digits, 114-103, for the first time. The margin was never closer than nine the rest of the way. Game Notes Westbrooks triple-double was the ninth of his career ... The Thunder have won five straight at home ... The Warriors have dropped three of their last four road games ... Stephen Curry logged 19 points with six assists and six turnovers for the Warriors, who also got 20 points from Marreese Speights and 18 from Harrison Barnes ... Dion Waiters scored 21 points off Oklahoma Citys bench. ' ' '