LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Phil Macks penalty kick with no time remaining completed a remarkable comeback Sunday as Canada defeated Samoa 22-19 to finish third at the USA Sevens — its best ever finish at an IRB Sevens rugby event. Down 19-0 early in the second half, the Canadian men reeled off 22 straight points to secure the win. "It showed a lot of character," said Canadian coach Geraint John. "The players at halftime were composed. Everybody was composed. We knew what we had to do and they executed. "Thats what I liked about the whole weekend. When we executed I thought we were a very very good side and we showed that we deserved to be in that top bracket. Now the hardest part is weve got to continue and move on from here." Canada stood 13th in the standings after the first three stops on the nine-event HSBC Sevens World Series. But it showed grit throughout the three-day tournament at Sam Boyd Stadium, staging one rally after another, and moved up to 11th spot. It marked the first time since 2000 and only the second time in IRB Sevens play that Canada had reached the semifinals of the top-tier Cup competition. South Africa, appearing in its third straight final, beat New Zealand 14-7 to win its second tournament. The Springboks downed the All Blacks 17-14 last time out in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The victory moved South Africa ahead of New Zealand atop the series standings. England held on to edge Australia 26-24 in the consolation Plate final and place fifth. Fiji finished ninth in thumping Kenya 35-0 in the Bowl final and the host U.S. blanked Spain 31-0 to win the Shield and finish 13th. Going into the third-place game, Samoa had gone 31-3 against Canada in past matches. And the Pacific Islanders were rampant early on as Fomai Ah Ki scored two tries to give the two-time tournament champions a 12-0 lead at the half. Reupena Levasa scored soon after the restart to extend the Samoan lead to 19-0. Then the Canadian comeback began. Conor Trainors try cut the deficit to 19-7 before captain John Moonlight bulled his way over the goal-line to make it 19-14. Mack then crossed the line in the corner only to see his conversion attempt hit the post, leaving it knotted at 19-19 with 30 seconds remaining. Mack completed the comeback, slotting his drop goal through the posts after Samoa was penalized some 20 metres in front of its posts as time ran out. Mack finished with 12 points on a try, penalty and two conversions. "Once we got that roll going in the beginning of the second half, I dont think there was really any stopping us," said John. The fine Canadian showing came despite a string of injuries that kept captain Nathan Hirayama, Sean Duke, Ciaran Hearn, Mike Fuailefau, Lucas Hammond, Adam Kleeberger and Pat Parfrey out of the lineup. Canada opened the day with a 26-7 loss to New Zealand in the Cup semifinal. The semifinal against New Zealand was a tough ask for Canada. The All Blacks career record against Canada was 23-0 going into the game, with New Zealand outscoring the Canadians 726-151. Canada got a break with suspensions to New Zealands George Tilsley (one match) and Sam Dickson (eight) for foul play in its last pool match against Fiji. The underdog Canadians opened the scoring against New Zealand with a converted Mack try after an attack by Moonlight. But the All Blacks, capitalizing on Canadian defensive mistakes, responded with a try by Scott Curry before Bryce Heem scored on the stroke of halftime for a 2-7 lead. New Zealand continued to dominate possession in the second half and the Canadians found themselves on the back foot after Australian referee Matt OBrien called a string of penalties at the breakdown. Tim Mikkelson and Heem added New Zealand tries to make the final score 26-7, with Gillies Kaka adding three conversions. "Theyre a good team," New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said of Canada. "A tough semifinal." On Saturday, Canada rallied from 14-0 down to beat France 17-14 in the Cup quarter-final after recovering from a 12-0 deficit to defeat Wales 21-19. On Friday, Canada downed Kenya 17-15 and lost to South Africa 29-0. A Canadian womens development side called the Maple Leafs defeated the Aptoella Angels 17-5 to win the companion Las Vegas Invitational tournament. Air Force 1 Alte Liberty . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. Air Force 1 Sp Italia . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory. http://www.airforce1outletitalia.it/scontate-lunar-force-1.html . Manager Ryan Nelsen has confirmed Brazilian No. 1 Julio Cesar will be rested for Wednesdays first leg of the semifinal. That opens the door for Bendik, who started 33 games for Toronto last season. Air Force 1 Alte Graphic . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Air Force 1 Alte Hand Wash Cold . According to Tony Barrett of The Times, the Liverpool captain is set to announce that he will leave the club at the end of the 2014-15 season.Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Ty Lawson scored 14 of his 22 points during a dominant third quarter, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 118-108 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. Arron Afflalo added 22 points for the Nuggets, who have won four in a row. Jusuf Nurkic and J.J. Hickson each had 16 points, with Nurkiic also pulling down eight boards and blocking three shots.dddddddddddd Denver outscored Sacramento by a 36-15 margin in the third. DeMarcus Cousins ended with 32 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and three steals for the Kings, who got 22 points from Rudy Gay. Darren Collison contributed 15 points and seven assists. ' ' '