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NEW ORLEANS - Anthony Davis had 25 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, and the New Orleans Pelicans pulled away from the reeling Los Angeles Lakers for a 109-102 victory Wednesday night.Tyreke Evans had 19 points and 11 assists for New Orleans. Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday each added 17 points.Kobe Bryant scored 33 on 10-of-28 shooting, one night after setting the NBA record for most missed field goals in a career.Carlos Boozer had 16 points and Jeremy Lin 15 for the Lakers, who dropped to 1-7.The Lakers were as close as 63-60 in the middle of the third quarter, but the Pelicans closed the period on a 22-12 run that included nine points from Holiday.New Orleans outscored Los Angeles 60-34 in the paint and shot 54.9 per cent compared to 41.7 per cent for the Lakers.ROCKETS 113, TIMBERWOLVES 101MEXICO CITY (AP) — Dwight Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, James Harden scored 23 points and added 10 assists, and Houston beat Minnesota in the NBAs first regular-season game played south of the border since 1997.Howard, who missed the Rockets only loss of the season Saturday against Golden State, came back strong. He was 9 of 16 from the field and blocked four shots in 33 minutes.Trevor Ariza had 19 points and Kostas Papanikolau scored a career-high 14 for the Rockets (7-1), who tied Memphis for the best record in the Western Conference.With point guard Ricky Rubio sidelined indefinitely after spraining his left ankle last Friday, the Timberwolves lost their third in a row. Corey Brewer scored 18 points for Minnesota.The teams played without a problem nearly a year after a game between the San Antonio Spurs and Timberwolves was cancelled because a short circuit in a generator room sent smoke and fumes inside the Mexico City Arena during warmups.PACERS 81, HEAT 75MIAMI (AP) — Chris Copeland scored 17 points and put Indiana ahead to stay on a layup with 43 seconds left, and Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 15 rebounds to help the undermanned Pacers beat Miami.Donald Sloan added 15 points for Indiana, which has won two straight after a 1-6 start.Dwyane Wade scored 20 for Miami, which trailed by seven in the fourth quarter before tying the game twice but never recapturing the lead.The Pacers outrebounded Miami 53-28, and the Heat missed 10 of 18 free throws. Chris Bosh was held to a season-low nine points on 3-for-13 shooting.Miami had three late shots at the lead, but a jumper by Luol Deng missed, Hibbert blocked a dunk attempt by Deng, and Bosh airballed a 3-pointer.Indiana was missing six players, including four-fifths of its starting lineup from the last Pacers-Heat meeting — that being Game 6 of last seasons Eastern Conference finals. Hibbert was the lone returning first-stringer from that rivalry.TRAIL BLAZERS 130, NUGGETS 113DENVER (AP) — Damian Lillard had 27 points and a season-high nine assists as Portland used a huge first half to hand skidding Denver its sixth straight defeat.The Trail Blazers led 84-50 at halftime, one basket from matching the team record for points in a half (86) set against Golden State on Jan. 5, 1986.Portland showed no signs of fatigue, despite expending plenty of energy the night before in coming back from a 23-point deficit to hold off Charlotte at the buzzer.Robin Lopez scored 15 of his 19 points in the decisive first half. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 12.Ty Lawson had 32 points for the Nuggets, who went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter and still trailed by 21.WIZARDS 107, PISTONS 103WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall had 27 points and 11 assists as Washington held off Detroit.The teams traded the lead on five consecutive baskets before Walls jumper with 1:11 to play put the Wizards ahead 101-100. Marcin Gortat, who had 13 points and 14 rebounds, dunked with 38 seconds to play, giving Washington a three-point lead.Rasual Butler had 18 points for the Wizards. His two free throws with 4 seconds to play put Washington ahead 107-103. Butler made seven of his eight field goal attempts.Detroit lost for the third straight time and fell to 2-6. Brandon Jennings scored 16 of his 32 points in the first quarter.THUNDER 109, CELTICS 94BOSTON (AP) — Reggie Jackson had 28 points and eight assists, and Anthony Morrow scored 28 to lift injury-riddled Oklahoma City over Boston.It was the second win in six games for the Thunder, who are missing stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.Jackson, a standout at nearby Boston College from 2008-11, posted his big game a night after scoring a career-high 29 in a loss at Milwaukee.Rajon Rondo just missed his second triple-double of the season with 20 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Avery Bradley added 17 points for Boston, which had won its last two.The Celtics went 9 for 33 from beyond the 3-point line.MAGIC 97, KNICKS 95NEW YORK (AP) — Evan Fournier scored a career-high 28 points and Orlando bounced back from a poor finish with a good one, handing New York its sixth straight loss.Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who led by 11 after three quarters in Toronto a night earlier, only to lose 104-100. This time, they trailed 85-84 midway through the final period before taking control.Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points for the Knicks, who were held to 19 in the fourth quarter and still havent reached 100 this season.New York had a chance at the end, but J.R. Smith was nowhere close on a potential winning 3-pointer. Smith finished with 19 points.Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak in New York.HAWKS 100, JAZZ 97ATLANTA (AP) — Paul Millsap had 30 points and 17 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 17 points to help Atlanta beat Utah.Kyle Korvers 3-pointer from the left wing with 58 seconds to play put the Hawks up 100-97 and marked the games 18th lead change.Alec Burks finished with 22 points and Derrick Favors scored 20 for the Jazz.Utah led by eight with 4:34 remaining, but the Jazz failed to score again, missing their final seven shots.Korver had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, which has won three straight. The only other points scored in the final minute were a pair of free throws from Teague with 5.7 seconds remaining.SUNS 112, NETS 104PHOENIX (AP) — Gerald Green came off the bench to score 28 points and Phoenix erased a 19-point deficit to beat Brooklyn.Isaiah Thomas added 17 points in a reserve role for the Suns.In addition to his scoring, Green came up with a steal that led to a fast-break layup and three-point play by Goran Dragic for a 106-99 lead.Joe Johnson had 21 points for the Nets, who led 63-49 at halftime. Jeffrey Springs Jersey . So far, so good: Gonzalez has allowed one run through 12 innings this season. His second start came Tuesday night, when he gave up only three singles over six innings to lead the Nationals to a 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. David Clyde Jersey . "That was a great lift for the staff," Padres manager Bud Black said. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Chase Headley drove in three runs, as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Friday night. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/2152h-luke-farrell-jersey-rangers.html .com) - After Tom Brady added to an already illustrious legacy, Malcolm Butler established his by leaving the Seattle Seahawks, well, deflated. Steve Buechele Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Nolan Ryan Rangers Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest.TORONTO – What a difference three and a half weeks makes. At about this point last month the Maple Leafs were embarrassed, disillusioned, and broken after the second serious drubbing in a matter of days. “It can’t get worse than that can it?” Phil Kessel wondered a day after his team was pumped for nine goals at the ACC. Completely unforeseeable then, the Leafs have emerged almost unscathed from that point, now pushing Tampa, Detroit and Montreal for a share of the Atlantic Division lead. They won for the ninth time in 11 games Sunday night (9-1-1) – fifth straight – edging past the defending champs in a shootout on the second end of a back-to-back. “I think we’ve definitely come a long way,” Cody Franson said after the 4-3 win over L.A., the 13th for Toronto in 20 home games. “We’ve paid attention to the details that make us successful and we’re becoming more consistent with it.” They’ve won in all kinds of ways since that low-point, but the Leafs have mostly relied on the league’s hottest offence, solid special teams and, of late, very fine goaltending. It’s not always been pretty or consistent in the manner conducive to long-term success, but this group has managed to stack chips in an unforeseen way since they were booed off the ice in mid-November. On this night Toronto built up a two-goal lead, fell back in a middle frame owned by the Kings, lost control of the lead and then rebounded to win on the strength of a power-play goal and perfect shootout effort by James Reimer. They did this just one night after outplaying the equally hot Red Wings in a game that showcased the kind of structure they’ve strived to play with more consistently. “I think it shows we’re growing as a team,” said Stephane Robidas, credited with 12 hits against the Kings. “We always talk about playing the right way and we want to do it for 60 minutes. And obviously playing two games in two nights you’d need to play the right way, you just can’t show up.” L.A.’s size presented a whole whack of challenges for the Leafs and they dominated the possession battle as such. But the home side stuck with it even after Marian Gaborik pushed the Kings ahead early in the third frame, tying the score on a James van Riemsdyk power-play goal. What’s maybe most impressive about this stretch for the Leafs is how little they’ve really gotten from van Riemsdyk and some of their top players. Power-play theatrics aside, the Leafs top line of Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak has done little in the past month. Not only is the trio not producing offence at even-strength, but they continue to spend shift after shift in the defensive zone. The line held less than 30 per cent possession on Sunday and has been under 40 per cent for the past three-plus weeks. Instead it’s those like Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik and Nazem Kadri who continue to make contributions in their place. That trio not only produced two of the three goals on this night, but held L.A.’s top line of Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown off the board entirely. “I think this is probably the best our team’s been playing,” said Kadri. “These aren’t easy games to come out and play, especially off back-to-backs.” The Leafs have beaten a slew of quality teams during this hot streak, topping the Lightning, Canucks, Wings (three times) and now the Kings. They’ve outscored the opposition 44-25 in that span, the goaltending picking up steam along the way. Reimer, who made 33 saves Sunday, and Jonathan Bernier have combined to post a .957 save percentage in the past five games. “We’d like to keep this ball rolling in our direction and not allow it to go in any other direction,” Carlyle said. Five Points 1. Top Line in Name Only Continuing one of the better all-around stretches of his NHL career, Kadri led Toronto forwards in ice-time Sunday, also out-pacing Bozak in that department for the seventh time in nine games while adding his 10th point in the past 10 games. He and linemates, Winnik and Santorelli, were the Leafs most productive at playing in the offensive zone, thereby forcing the Kings top trio, whom they were matched up with, to defend. “They’re able to play their game and they’re able to create chances and possitive possession time and positive zone time,” Carlyle said.dddddddddddd “So I think those are the three things that you look at. If you’re playing in the other team’s zone it’s pretty hard for them to score on you.” On the opposite end of that spectrum were Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Bozak. They were the Leafs worst at possessing the puck and have been for the past month. 2. Unsustainable Only Kessel has more points at even-strength among Leafs than Santorelli, who celebrated his 29th birthday with his sixth goal of the year and an assist. Santorelli has an unlikely 18 even-strength points and is on pace for 60 points overall, a mark that would smash the career-high 41 points he managed as a Florida Panther in 2010-11. It’s unlikely though that he continues to produce offence at such a potent rate. The B.C. native entered the game against the Kings with an on-ice shooting percentage (which measures team shooting percentage when a player is on the ice) approaching 13 per cent, an inflated level that’s higher than the career mark of Sidney Crosby. Kadri thrived with such luck during the lockout campaign. He posted 44 points in 48 games on the strength of a league-best on-ice shooting percentage of nearly 15 per cent. That number tumbled to a more reasonable level of nine per cent last year and a dip in production followed; Kadri posted a respectable 50 points, not close though to the near point-per-game mark of that fortunate season. Likely offensive cool-down aside, Santorelli has nonetheless been a valuable find at $1.5 million for the Leafs. He was recently added to both the penalty kill and power-play units. 3. More Santorelli Daniel Winnik offered this assessment on Santorelli. “I think probably the most unique part of his game is his cutbacks,” Winnik said. “I don’t think I’ve played with a guy with quicker turn-backs than him.” That’s an area of the game – quickly changing directions along the boards – Santorelli targets daily after practice and during the offseason. 4. 48 Hours Sunday’s affair against the Kings completed the Leafs seventh back-to-back set of 18 this season. They improved to 5-1-1 in the second game of those sets, an impressive mark. Robidas, on the road to 1,000 NHL games, says two games in 48 hours should be no big deal. “You’ve just got to go out there and play,” he said. “We’ve done it in the past. You play in the minors [and] you play three games in three nights. For me it’s not an excuse.” The early 5 p.m. start time required some adjustments to routines, though, including the always important pre-game nap. “You address your schedule accordingly,” said Winnik beforehand. “Just push everything back two hours pretty much.” 5. Mumps Sidney Crosby’s positive mumps diagnosis dragged the issue into the NHL’s forefront, even pushing Carlyle to get his shot Sunday. “They dragged me in,” he said with a chuckle. “I was the last one. I thought that I had it 58 years ago so I didn’t think I’d need another one, but I guess there’s a new strain out...” Players have been offered the shot and advised to take precaution where possible. Crosby was the 13th NHL player diagnosed with the mumps this season, Rangers centre, Derrick Brassard joining that list later in the day. Stats-Pack 20 – Points combined in the past 10 games for Nazem Kadri and Mike Santorelli. 12 – Hits credited to Stephane Robidas on Sunday. 7 – Number of times in the past nine games that Kadri has gained more ice-time than Tyler Bozak. 5-1-1 – Leafs record on the second game of back-to-back sets. 6-2-1 – Leafs record vs. the Western Conference. 13-0-0 – Leafs record when scoring first. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3 Season: 20.7% PK: 2-2 Season: 83.6% Quote of the Night “Looking back at that that was definitely a time of a little bit of soul-searching. We knew that’s not going to be acceptable, especially on home ice. The way we lost that game was very disheartening, but we took it the right way and were able to learn from it and it turned out to be a good thing I guess.” - James van Riemsdyk, on the Leafs response to a 9-2 home loss last month. Up Next The Leafs host the Ducks on Tuesday night. ' ' '