many strikes if youre hitting the white part of the plate," Lacke

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. Wholesale Salomon Australia . - The New Orleans Saints have re-signed receiver Joseph Morgan for one year and have agreed to a four-year deal with free agent fullback Erik Lorig. Salomon Shoes Clearance Australia . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week. http://www.wholesalesalomonaustralia.com/ . Osasunas Alvaro Cejudo drove the ball onto the crossbar in the fifth minute and his team squandered several long-range strikes before he was denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez in the 50th. Buy Salomon Shoes Australia . The Nuggets leading scorer, Lawson is characterized as day to day by the team. Hes averaging 17.9 points and 8.9 assists. Lawson suffered the injury late in Denvers win Sunday at Sacramento. Wholesale Salomon Shoes . The 22-year-old Spanish midfielder recently signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea, and after spending last season on loan with Valencia in La Liga, Romeu will move to the Bundesliga for the 2014-15 campaign.BOSTON -- The pine tar on Michael Pinedas neck was a stain for the New York Yankees. General manager Brian Cashman was "embarrassed." Manager Joe Girardi called it "poor judgment." And Pineda was "sad" and vowed not to do it again. The Yankees right-hander was ejected for using pine tar less than two weeks after appearing to get away with using a foreign substance in another game against Boston, and the Red Sox beat New York 5-1 on Wednesday night. The previous time, Pineda said he used "dirt" on his right palm to get a better grip in cold weather in a 4-1 win over Boston on April 10 in New York. This time, he said he decided to put pine tar on the right side of his neck after allowing two runs in the first inning on another chilly night so he could use it to grip the ball. "Ill learn from this mistake," a downcast Pineda said. "It wont happen again." He was thrown out in the second inning when plate umpire Gerry Davis found the substance on the right side of Pinedas neck after Red Sox manager John Farrell asked him to check. Pineda walked from the mound without protest. "When its that obvious, something has got to be said," Farrell said. "Our awareness was heightened, given what we had seen in the past." Davis said he found pine tar and Pineda gave no explanation as he left the mound. Cashman said that in a similar situation, "I would want my manager to do what John Farrell did." He said the issue was discussed with Pineda after the game on April 10 and again after he was ejected. Now he expects Pineda to be suspended. "He did what he did, but were also responsible that somehow he got out of our dugout and was on the field in that manner," Cashman said. "That never should have happened." Pineda (2-2) had nothing on the right side of his neck in a photo of him on the mound in his tough first inning, when four of the first six batters reached on hits. Another photo taken in the second showed a shiny horizontal substance on his upper neck below his right ear. After Pineda struck out the first two batters and had a 1-2 count on Grady Sizemore, Farrell talked to Davis. The umpire went to the mound, looked at the ball then touched the substance on Pinedas neck with his right index finger. Then he gestured with that same finger, indicating Pinedas ejection. "He had a hard time gripping the baseball. Unknown to us, he put it on and went out there," Girardi said. "Its a young kid. I dont think hes trying to do anything, cheat. I think hes just trying to go out there and compete." Rule 8.02(b) says a pitcher shall not "have on his person, or in his possession, any foreiign substance.dddddddddddd For such infraction of this section the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically." "We will talk to the umpires tomorrow and review their report before taking any action," Major League Baseball spokesman Michael Teevan said. In recent suspensions of pitchers for pine tar, Tampa Bays Joel Peralta was penalized eight games in 2012, the Los Angeles Angels Brendan Donnelly 10 days in 2005 and St. Louis Julian Tavarez 10 days in 2004. The suspensions of Donnelly and Tavarez were cut to eight days after they asked the players association to appeal, and Peralta dropped his challenge with no reduction. In Pinedas previous start against the Red Sox, Farrell didnt see a photograph of Pinedas hand until the fourth inning; when Pineda came out to warm up for the fifth, his hand was clean. On Wednesday, with the game time temperature at 50 degrees, Sizemore started the first with a triple and scored on Dustin Pedroias single. With one out, Mike Napoli singled Pedroia to third. After Mike Carp flied to left, A.J. Pierzynski singled up the middle, scoring Pedroia. After Pinedas ejection, David Phelps came in and completed the strikeout of Sizemore. John Lackey (3-2) allowed one run and seven hits in eight innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks. Koji Uehara struck out three in the ninth in a non-save situation. "There is such a thing as too many strikes if youre hitting the white part of the plate," Lackey said. "I was fortunate enough tonight to be hitting the corners more times than not." Napoli had three hits and Boston scored two runs in the first and two more in the third. The Yankees scored on Alfonso Sorianos sacrifice fly in the sixth. NOTES: Girardi pushed a television camera focusing on Pineda in the tunnel. Girardi called it a "private area" and said "the camera is meant for the dugout and not the tunnel," adding "all I did was turn it." ... Boston Marathon mens champion Meb Keflezighi threw out the ceremonial first pitch wearing a Red Sox jersey with the name "MEB" and the number "26.2" on the back, the mileage distance of the race. ... Ortiz played in his 1,643rd game as a designated hitter, matching Harold Baines major-league record. ... Boston sent OF Daniel Nava to Triple-A Pawtucket and recalled RHP Alex Wilson. ... Mark Teixeira struck out four times. ... Derek Jeter was 0 for 4, ending his 11-game hitting streak. ... In the finale of the three-game series Thursday night, New Yorks CC Sabathia (2-2) pitches against Felix Doubront (1-2). ' ' '