-105 victory on

PHILADELPHIA -- The crowd greeted Jrue Holiday with a warm ovation in the All-Stars first trip back to Philadelphia since the 76ers traded him to the Pelicans over the summer. Nike Free 5.0 v4 Femme . Holiday returned the favour by putting on a show with 20 points and 13 assists, leading New Orleans to a 121-105 victory on Friday night. "Its fun being back and the crowd showing me a little bit of love," Holiday said. "I didnt hear too many boos, so thats a little surprising, but definitely a good thing. "Just cause its Philly, anything can happen, especially with the boos. You just never know. Im glad it was a good quote-unquote welcome back." Eric Gordon scored 26 points and Holiday added seven rebounds as the Pelicans (7-8) snapped a four-game road skid. Holiday, an All-Star last season for the Sixers, was sent to New Orleans in a deal that netted Philadelphia No. 6 overall pick Nerlens Noel and a future first-rounder. "Its great Jrue did well," said Sixers forward Evan Turner, a teammate of Holidays for three seasons. "Obviously we wanted a win. A guy like Jrue, you want him on your side, but once again, I wish nothing but success for him and for him to keep growing as he is." Tony Wroten scored 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting off the bench, and Spencer Hawes contributed 12 points and nine boards for the 76ers (6-11). Wroten (lower back) and Hawes (knee) both played for the first time in three games, but Philadelphia lost for the ninth time in its last 11. "Theyre a good team," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "Theyre a hard team for us to guard. I think at times when we tried to extend the defence and press, they went through it and they had success at the back end, even when we went through the press." Missed opportunities plagued the Sixers. On one possession in the third quarter, James Anderson missed three straight open 3-pointers after Thaddeus Young grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds. After the third miss, Young pulled down another offensive board and drew a foul going back up, but he missed both free throws. The Sixers were a miserable 9 for 21 (43 per cent) at the free throw line. Conversely, the Pelicans were 11 for 14 (79 per cent) on free throws. "We still gave up 105 points," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "From my standpoint, you give up 30 points in the first quarter, theres a lot to be desired. But it is a lineup that can cause problems, we just have to learn how to defend and share the ball better." New Orleans took a 12-point lead late in the second quarter on Anthony Davis fast-break layup after a steal by Holiday to cap off a 15-2 run. The Sixers responded with a pair of 3-pointers and an 8-2 run of their own to end the half down 61-55. Gordon and Ryan Anderson led the Pelicans at the break with 11 points apiece. Turner also had 11, including three of the Sixers nine first-half 3-pointers. They went cold in the second half, making just three from beyond the arc. New Orleans shot 55 per cent from the field, including 8 for 20 (40 per cent) on 3-pointers. Just two weeks ago, the Pelicans clobbered the Sixers in a 135-98 affair in New Orleans. Fridays game marked the final of two meetings between the clubs this season. "Im gonna be for real, Im glad we beat em twice," Holiday said. "Obviously its good to see old teammates, its great to come back here and feel the love from the fans, but it feels good to beat them." NOTES: The Sixers allowed their opponent triple-digit points for the 15th time in 17 games. ... Hawes double-double streak ended at three games. ... Sunday, the Sixers face the Pistons in Detroit and the Pelicans play the Knicks in New York. Nike Air Max 90 Pas Cher . Johnson, 34, appeared in three games for the Baltimore Orioles last season after being acquired from the New York Yankees organization on Aug. 30. The six-foot-two, 210-pound native of Coon Rapids, Minn. Nike Free 3.0 v4 Homme . - The Chicago Cubs say they have agreed to one-year contracts with pitchers Jason Hammel and James McDonald.PITTSBURGH -- The playoffs must be coming. The Los Angeles Kings are starting to look like the Los Angeles Kings. Drew Doughty broke a tie 3:51 into the third period with his ninth goal of the season, and the surging Kings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 Thursday night for their franchise-record tying eighth straight road win. "To be hitting our stride at this point and beating some very good teams we had to play in the East right now, thats a confidence booster," Doughty said. Alec Martinez and Jeff Carter also scored for Los Angeles, and Martin Jones made 35 saves. The Kings, who have won five straight overall, tied the club road record set from Dec. 18, 1974-Jan. 16, 1975 by earning one-goal victories during a three-game swing through Philadelphia, Washington and Pittsburgh. "All three teams are in different places in their standings, so if you can get six points you take it," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. The Penguins rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it on goals by Chris Kunitz and Taylor Pyatt. Jeff Zatkoff stopped 29 shots but couldnt get a handle on Doughtys booming slap shot early in the third. A potential tying goal by Penguins forward Brandon Sutter midway through the third was waved off due to goaltender interference following an extended scramble around the Kings net. Sutter eventually poked it by Jones while getting cross-checked from behind just before the net came off its moorings. After a brief conference, the call stood. While that galvanized the Penguins, it didnt exactly rattle the Kings. "I didnt have much of a view, but I just felt the puck under me," Jones said. "I just honestly saw the replay, but I felt like I got pushed in. Its the refs judgment there, so Im happy we got the call there." Los Angeles escaped by stifling Pittsburghs top-ranked power play. The Penguins went 0 for 7 with the man advantage as the unit continues to struggle without centre Evgeni Malkin, who is out for at least two weeks with a foot injury. Pittsburgh is 0-2 without Malkin and has dropped three straight overall. Though the Penguins remain in firm control of the Metropolitan Division, they failed to earn a point, postponing their eighth straight trip to the playoffs. "We did some good things," Pittsburgh centrre Sidney Crosby said. Nike Air Max 90 Femme Pas Cher. "It just couldnt go in. Its disappointing when you have that many opportunities. Its not common when you get that many. You want to make sure you try to make them count. We didnt do that." The Kings have spent most of the season muddling in the middle of the loaded Western Conference but are peaking as the post-season nears. They pulled out a 5-4 shootout win in Washington on Tuesday, roaring back from two goals down in the third to earn the victory. There would be no heroics necessary this time. Despite the series of penalties, the Kings looked every bit the stingy bunch that won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and made it to the conference finals last year. "Our penalty kill was unbelievable," Jones said. "Everybody who was out there was awesome, blocking shots. Thats a pretty good power play to do it against, so we did a good job all night." The Penguins took the day off on Wednesday, cancelling practice after a lacklustre 3-2 loss to Phoenix the day before. Pittsburgh held a brief players-only meeting after the loss, which dropped the team to 6-6-2 since the break. It was hard to tell whether the rest helped early, as the Kings sprinted to a 2-0 lead. Carter deflected Marian Gaboriks slap shot past Zatkoff for his 26th goal of the season 15:23 into the game. The Kings made it 2-0 on a similar play 6:59 into the second as Tyler Toffoli was parked in front of Zatkoff and provided a perfect screen for Martinezs shot from the point. Pittsburgh responded 34 seconds later when Kunitz poked in a rebound for his 33rd goal. Pyatt added his fourth of the season to tie it. His knuckling wrist shot hit Jones in the blocker pad and flipped over the goalies shoulder and rolled into the net. No matter, Jones responded with a no-look blocker save on defenceman Matt Niskanen moments later that kept the game tied long enough for Doughty to win it. NOTES: Penguins C Marcel Goc left in the second period after injuring his left leg while getting checked into the boards behind the Los Angeles net and didnt return. ... The Kings are 33-8-4 when scoring first. ... Carter has 13 points in his last 17 games. ... The Penguins play at Columbus on Friday. ... The Kings begin a three-game homestand on Saturday against Winnipeg. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '