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PRETORIA, South Africa - Oscar Pistorius murder trial enters a critical phase Monday as his defence team attempts to recover from a faltering start and reinforce the disabled athletes claim that he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake because he was overwhelmed by a long-held fear of violent crime. Pistorius mindset when he stood on his stumps in a bathroom and pulled the trigger on his 9 mm pistol in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013 remains the crux of the South African trial that has captured worldwide attention and is about to start its seventh week of globally televised proceedings. It was initially scheduled to run for three weeks. Judge Thokozile Masipa will analyze thousands of pages of testimony before she reaches a verdict, but ultimately must ponder the pivotal question: Did Pistorius fire his gun with the intention to kill or out of a misplaced belief that his life was in danger from a perceived intruder? South Africa does not have trial by jury, meaning Masipa will decide, with the help of two assessors, if Pistorius overall account is believable and whether the apparent inconsistencies in his testimony count against him or are unimportant in the bigger picture. If Pistorius defence, which will resume calling witnesses Monday after a two-week trial recess, can show that his story of a tragic error is a reasonable explanation, even the double-amputee runners shaky testimony would be rendered irrelevant and the judge should acquit him of murder, legal experts say. While testifying, Pistorius sometimes contradicted earlier testimony and other times said he did not remember details. "The test doesnt end there," former state prosecutor Marius du Toit said of Pistorius testimony. "Its not over. They (the defence) can still show there is another plausible scenario." Du Toit has over 20 years experience in South Africas criminal justice system and is following the trial closely. He said it must be shown that Pistorius had the "sole intention" to kill Steenkamp to be convicted of murder. Pistorius, 27, doesnt dispute that he shot 29-year-old Steenkamp through a toilet door. He claims the killing was accidental and he fired four times in quick succession without thinking and while terrified, believing that an intruder had climbed up a ladder and through a bathroom window of his Pretoria villa in the pre-dawn hours and was about to come out of the cubicle and attack him. Prosecutors charge that the story is an intricate lie designed to cover up a murder. They say the couple fought, Steenkamp fled to the toilet screaming and Pistorius followed her and shot her through the wood door while they were arguing. She was hit in the hip, arm and head. Charged with premeditated murder, the first amputee to run at the Olympics faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He was once widely admired for overcoming the amputation of his lower legs as a baby to earn the right to run against the worlds top able-bodied athletes. The prosecutions case appeared to be bolstered as holes in Pistorius story were exposed when the athlete was on the stand for a fierce five-day cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel. Nel also succeeded in undermining the evidence given by the defences first two expert witnesses, a pathologist and a former police forensic scientist. But defence lawyers have only presented three of up to 17 witnesses they say they may ask to testify. At the outset of the defences case, lawyer Barry Roux said Pistorius actions on Valentines Day last year centred on his "disability" and "vulnerability" and Pistorius team will likely seek to rebuild the overall argument that his actions were guided by fear and not anger in a country with a high rate of violent home invasions. Roux said he will also show that a crucial thread of the prosecutions case is not true; that neighbours heard a woman screaming before and during the shots fired by Pistorius at around 3.17 a.m. on the fatal night. The lawyer said neighbours who live closer to Pistorius house in an upscale gated community in the suburbs of South Africas capital never heard a woman scream. Instead, it was Pistorius high-pitched shrieks for help after realizing his terrible mistake, the defence argues. Marco Estrada Jersey . -- Dane Fox scored his 61st and 62nd goals of the season and Brendan Gaunce had a goal and three assists as the Erie Otters downed the Kitchener Rangers 7-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Roberto Osuna Jersey . 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Globo TV and other news outlets said early Monday that Scolari will not remain as coach after the national teams failure to win the World Cup at home.LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin entered the back half of his 20s with a birthday serenade from the crowd and another dynamic demonstration of why hes only getting better with age. The Los Angeles Clippers winning streak also gets a whole lot more impressive with every passing week. Griffin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on his 25th birthday, and the Clippers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-80 Sunday night for their 11th consecutive victory. The Clippers high-flying forward threw himself a nice little party: Griffin has scored at least 20 points in 26 consecutive games, a mark exceeded only by Kevin Durant this season. "This stretch of games that weve played and weve been successful has been a huge team effort," Griffin said. "Guys have stepped up and really done their part. With our team, I dont think its one guy thats making us go. I genuinely believe its been a total team effort." Yet Griffin is a clear driving force with his rapidly evolving all-around game. So is Chris Paul: The point guard had 15 assists and scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 6:04 for the Clippers, who havent lost since Feb. 21. The fans sang "Happy Birthday" to Griffin during a dead ball in the second quarter, and he gave a sheepish grin and a wave while waiting to inbound the ball. He had already received a pregame song from rookie Reggie Bullock, who scored a career-high 14 points on his own 23rd birthday. "Its probably like the 10th time hes had to do it this year, and he seems like hes getting worse," Griffin said dryly. "No enthusiasm. Its really bad. ... Hes got a great personality. He just cant sing at all." Luol Deng scored 23 points and Dion Waiters had 15 for the Cavaliers, who lost Kyrie Irving in the first quarter to a left biceps injury. Cleveland had won on its first two stops of a three-game West Coast road trip, but never led while Los Angeles matched the longest streak in the NBA this season, equaling 11-game runs in November by Portland and San Antonio. "Theyre a great team," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "Theyve got a chance to win it all. I mean, you look how deep their roster is. They have playoff experience, theyve got NBA All-Stars coming off the bench, and Doc is a great coach." Irving, Clevelands leader in scoring and assists, went to the Cavs locker room late in thee first quarter and didnt return.ddddddddddddThe All-Star Game MVP missed all five of his shots against the Clippers and was injured shortly before he left the game. Jarrett Jack scored seven straight points during a 12-0 Cleveland run early in the fourth quarter, trimming the Clippers former 21-point lead to seven. But Paul shook off a rough shooting night with three jumpers in quick succession, and the Clippers closed out their sixth straight home victory. "We just cant start games like that," Jack said. "We had a lull period for almost a quarter and a half, and we just didnt go out and compete. Then the game kind of started to turn in our favour, but fighting an uphill battle against a team like that is a very tough task." DeAndre Jordan added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who matched the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. Los Angeles won 17 straight games during its unbeaten run through December 2012. Jamal Crawford missed his fourth straight game with a strained left calf, and fill-in starter Darren Collison was ruled out 15 minutes before tipoff with a stomach virus. Los Angeles already is without J.J. Redick, who hasnt played since early February. "They dont use an excuse," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We have three of our top four guards out today, and no one talked about it (in the locker room). They still feel like every night, we have a chance to win the game." Los Angeles scored the games first 11 points and jumped out to a 17-3 lead just 6 minutes in when Cleveland missed nine of its first 10 shots. Griffin somehow scored while Spencer Hawes flagrantly fouled him in the final minute of the first half, muscling the ball home in a remarkable display of strength. His three-point play put the Clippers up 52-38 at halftime. NOTES: Hawes got his second technical foul and an ejection with 1:19 to play while standing by Clevelands bench. Hawes, who scored 14 points, sarcastically waved goodbye to referee Scott Wall as he left. "Im given up enough money tonight, so I wont say anything more beyond that," Hawes said afterward. ... Metta World Peace watched the game from a baseline seat next to the Cavaliers bench. The erstwhile Ron Artest won a ring in this building in 2010 with the Lakers, who let him go last summer. ' ' '