OKLAHOMA CITY -- The first part of the NBA season continues to be a roller coaster for the Oklahoma City Thunder. From winning six of their first seven games to dropping seven of their last 10, the revamped team has been anything but predictable.Coming off Friday nights overtime victory in Denver, the Thunder (9-8) completed a three-game road trip, their longest of the season so far. And they return home looking for answers for a variety of issues that seem to be hurting the team.One of those is Oklahoma Citys inability to defend the 3-point line with any tenacity. In their last 10 games, they are allowing teams to shoot 42 percent from deep, which is the worst in the NBA during that span.Thats the next step that we have to take from a defensive perspective -- the awareness, the understanding and the decision-making, Thunder coach Billy Donovan told NBA.com. Were doing a much better job of being in the right spots, but once were in that spot and have to get out to the 3-point line, there have been times weve been slow getting there or weve lost our man on the back side with exchanges. There have been times where weve given too much help.On Nov. 20, the Thunder allowed the Indiana Pacers to shoot 11 of 22 from 3-point range. Two nights later, the Los Angeles Lakers also knocked down 11 from behind the arc. Even in a win over the Brooklyn Nets, the Thunder allowed them to hit 11 3-pointers.Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, who has given up his share of uncontested 3-pointers, says it comes down to focus.Its just being focused on when to help and when not to help, Westbrook said, having a real sense of urgency on that aspect to not give up so many threes.When Oklahoma City faced Detroit earlier in the month, 3-point shooting was not a problem. The Pistons won despite knocking down only 5-of-16.In the Nov. 14 matchup, Detroit was also without the services of center Andre Drummond. When the Thunder and Pistons meet in Oklahoma City, Drummond will be in the lineup with his 14.9 points, 14 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.5 steals.However, Detroit will not have guard Reggie Bullock after he suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee during Wednesdays win over Miami.Reggies a pretty even-keel guy, so hes fine outwardly, coach Stan Van Gundy told Mlive.com. But I know hes frustrated, because he wasnt ready to go at the beginning of the year and that cost him some time. And then he had worked his way back in the rotation. Its just really unfortunate for him.The Pistons have already been missing guard Reggie Jackson with a fracture in his foot. The loss of Bullock weakens an already depleted Detroit backcourt.The one piece of good news is that the Pistons expect to get Jackson back in early December. However, that doesnt help them when Van Gundy looks down the Detroit bench to find a defender to put in front of Westbrook, who had another triple-double Friday.But Van Gundy wants to see what type of mindset his Pistons can take on the road as they face a new round of adversity.Thats the kind of resilience we had a year ago. We havent necessarily had that all the time this year, Van Gundy said. It was really good to see. Now the challenge is to bring that same mindset and effort on the road. Weve got four in a row on the road, all against good teams, all of them .500 or better. Its going to be a really tough week -- four games in seven days -- its going to be difficult, so weve got to bring the same mindset and energy on the road. Swell Bottle Uk Liberty . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. Swell Traveler Sale . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.ukswellbottle.com/swell-traveler-sale-uk.html . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Swell Bottle Liberty Of London . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Swell Bottle Wood Collection . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn States athletic department on Thursday announced plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paternos first game as coach, a move that sparked backlash on social networks by people critical of Paternos role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.The university announced plans Thursday to mark the anniversary when the Nittany Lions football team hosts Temple on Sept. 17.Athletic department spokesman Jeff Nelson told The Associated Press that Penn State plans to announce specifics of the commemoration to ticket holders during the week of the game. He declined further comment on the plans.Paterno coached at Penn State for 46 seasons, becoming college footballs winningest coach. But the coach was fired by the schools board of trustees shortly after Sandusky, who was his defensive coordinator, was arrested in November 2011 for child sexual abuse. Paterno died in January 2012 of lung cancer.The announcement to honor Paternos first game was met with disdain on social media sites from those who partially blame Paterno for the scandal.In May, unsealed court documents said an alleged Sandusky victim said he complained to Paterno about Sandusky in 1976 and was rebuffed. The universitys president, Eric Barron, has said the allegation was not substantiated in court or tested by any other process. Paterno was never charged with a crime related to the scandal.Sandusky was convicted on 45 of 48 charges in June 2012 and is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence.Moving forward from the scandal has proven a difficult challenge for Penn State, reequiring leaders to balance distancing the university from the scandal while juggling the wishes of ardent Penn State supporters who credit Paterno for giving the university an identity to be proud of.ddddddddddddDepending on their position people may look at him differently, but it doesnt change that he created that here. Or helped to create that here, Athletic Director Sandy Barbour told the AP in August.The Paterno Foundation had already scheduled a private celebration of the 50th anniversary of Paternos first game as head coach with a Football Lettermens reunion on Sept. 16 at Lubrano Park in State College. Penn State alum and university trustee Anthony Lubrano has been part of a group of Paterno supporters that have been pushing for the school to officially recognize the anniversary.The statue of Paterno was removed from outside Beaver Stadium on July 22, 2012 and highly visible, university sponsored signs of him are mostly hard to find. Paternos name is still on the campus library, which was built in part by his donations.In May, the Penn State Alumni Association sent a letter to Barron, the Paterno family and the board of trustees encouraging all sides to reconcile before the 50th anniversary of Paternos debut.It noted that 91 percent of respondents to an alumni survey felt the university should publicly honor Paterno for his contributions to Penn State.The alumni association did not immediately respond to a call from the AP. ' ' '