Greece, Japan eye improvement - 6pm et/3pm pt (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) Natal, Brazil - Two teams hoping to rebound from tough opening-game losses will meet when Greece clashes with Japan in Group C action Thursday at Estadio das Dunas. James Rodriguez Bayern Munich Jersey . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. The Elephants picked up serious momentum in the second half, though, scoring in the 64th and 66th minutes to pull ahead and grab a 2-1 victory. Both teams will be looking to hang onto their hopes of pushing through to the knockout stage with a crucial three points. Greek midfielder Georgios Samaras insisted there was reason for his side to remain positive moving forward after being held without a goal. "We have more to give at this tournament, but I think we showed something today," he said. "It was a strange game. For the first five or six minutes, we didnt seem to be 100 percent in it and we conceded a bad goal. But after that, we had a lot of possession, a lot of pressure, and created some quite good chances." Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni claimed his men gave their all but were not quite cohesive enough. "We werent aggressive enough and we need to improve on that because weve been playing better than that," he said. Honda had his own take on where things went wrong, believing that Japan didnt have enough possession. "Possession, that is our strength," said Honda. "When we have the ball we just need to keep the ball and not give it away easily. When we do lose the ball we should press immediately. That is our philosophy. The last game we lost the ball too easily so that is how we spent a lot of energy in the first half, that is the point. That is why we must concentrate on keeping the ball." Given the defensive lapses that contributed heavily to these teams opening- match defeats, Greece will be looking to build on those aforementioned positives, while Japan will be hoping to stay composed for a full 90 minutes and do better on the ball. Both teams will also be hoping for a draw in the match between Colombia and Ivory Coast, the two teams looming overhead at the top of the group. Bayern Munich Jerseys . LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. Sebastian Rudy Bayern Munich Jersey . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. http://www.soccerfcbayern.com/kids-mats-hummels-bayern-munich-jersey/ .Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield.OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant did the expected. And for a change, Oklahoma Citys defence came along for the ride. Durant scored 33 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 17 rebounds and the Thunder snapped a two-game skid by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 101-85 Saturday night. Oklahoma City was coming off two poor defensive efforts. On Tuesday, the Thunder let the Jazz shoot 59 per cent from the field on their way to a 112-101 win. Two nights later, Denver led 89-66 after three quarters before holding on for a 101-88 win over the Thunder. This time, the Thunder held the Bucks to 40 per cent shooting and sent them to their fifth consecutive loss. "All we wanted to focus on was defence," Durant said. "We told the guys before the game, Dont worry about making shots or missing shots, just worry about locking in on defence, and I think they did a great job of that." Durant took care of much of the offence, though much of his damage came after a hard fall. He went up to block a shot in the second quarter, hit the floor and remained there for a few minutes. He got up and walked to the bench on his own as the crowds cheers broke a concerned silence. Moments later he made his first 3-pointer of the game. He made 7 of 9 shots from the field after the fall. "That fall woke me up," said Durant, who missed his first eight shots from the field. "One of my friends texted me after the game and said as soon as I fell, he dropped to his knees and prayed for me. I guess that helped, too." Jeremy Lamb added 17 points for the Thunder, who had lost four of six. Oklahoma City scored just 14 points in the first quarter and 38 in the first half before heating up and hitting 63 after the break. O.J. Mayo and Luke Ridnour scored 16 points apiece and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 13 points and 11 rebounds and five assists for the Bucks (7-29), who have the leagues worst record. Milwaukee coach Larry Drew was impressed with Antetokounmpos effort. The 19-year-old was matched up with Durant for much of the night, and he bothered him early. "I thought he took the challenge," Drew said. "Its great to put him in that situattion so he can learn. Custom Bayern Munich Jerseys. . He has to feel good about how he played tonight." With the score tied at 54, Mayo was issued a technical foul for arguing with the officials. Durant made the free throw, then Lamb made a 3-pointer on the following possession. Lamb then made a layup to give the Thunder a 60-54 lead. Oklahoma City rolled from there. Durant was fouled on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the third quarter. He made all three free throws to give the Thunder a 77-62 lead. Durant scored 14 points in the period. It would have been worse had Brandon Knight not found his shooting stroke. Knight, held without a point in the first half, scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter. Oklahoma City made just 12 of 42 shots in the first half, but hit 13 of 24 in the third period. "It got away in the third quarter," Drew said. "I thought defensively, we had some breakdowns." Milwaukee didnt go away. Back-to-back 3s by Mayo cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 81-72 and forced the Thunder to call timeout with 9:20 remaining. The Thunder regrouped and controlled the rest of the game. Durant and Ibaka left with 1:45 remaining and the Thunder leading 99-85. Durant said it was good to be able to win ugly. "It shows we can win different ways," he said. "We can play fast-paced, slow it down, win a sloppy game or a low-scoring game. Tonight, we didnt get down on ourselves and let it affect our defence. Everybody played hard." NOTES: Milwaukee went scoreless for the final 5:09 of Friday nights 81-72 loss to Chicago and then missed its first 10 shots against Oklahoma City. ... The Thunder allowed 10 points in the first quarter, the fewest in a first quarter since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. It also was the fewest the Thunder have allowed in any quarter this season. ... Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he never addressed Durant or the team about the incident involving Durants Twitter account. Durant has said his account was hacked on Thursday and a photo of him smoking a hookah was sent out without his knowledge. ... Milwaukees Larry Sanders was ejected for elbowing Steven Adams. 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