ERST LESEN! » s 4 for 19 (.211)

METAIRIE, La. -- As long as Jrue Holiday is on the court in the critical final minutes, hes not terribly concerned with whether he starts, or how much playing time he gets, in his first games back with the New Orleans Pelicans.I dont think our record shows how good we are, said Holiday, who was back at practice Thursday with a team that has started 2-10 without him. Obviously, there are some games where we were there at the end of the game and we had it won, but (there are) some things that we have to clean up at the end of the game to seal the deal.Down the stretch, I do think I could help with some directing and just tightening it up, Holiday added.The guard has spent the past three months on leave because his wife, retired international soccer star Lauren Holiday, needed brain surgery to remove a benign tumor last month, just weeks after giving birth to their first child, a daughter.Holiday, who is slated to make his season debut against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, said he came back now because my wife said I could.Lauren Holiday is doing well enough now to take care of herself and my daughter, Jrue Holiday said. She can take care of me, too. Obviously thats big, especially from somebody whos a mother now and somebody that went through what she went through.Jrue Holiday said learning that his wife had a brain tumor when she was about five months pregnant with their first child was nerve-wracking, and affected his perspective on life considerably, making him grateful for each day.He said he also feels blessed for how his family has come through it, and for how much support both he and his wife received from basketball and soccer fans worldwide.Every day people are always saying theyre praying for her, Holiday said. So many people since Ive been back, they dont even ask how Im doing; they ask how my wifes doing. And to me, thats awesome. That just shows how great people are around us.Now, he can get back to the thrill of playing basketball, at a time when the Pelicans could really use some help.Obviously he was an integral part of what we try to do offensively and defensively, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. For him, its just really good to be back. This is one of those times where it wasnt a physical injury, so hes been dying to get out there to play. Its going to be fine. Obviously its going to take a little while for him to get his timing back from a basketball standpoint. I think hes in really good shape conditioning-wise.A former Eastern Conference All-Star with Philadelphia, Holiday was traded to New Orleans in 2013, but missed most of his first two seasons because of a lower leg injury. Holiday began last season on minute restrictions, got progressively healthier, and wound up playing in 65 games with 23 starts before missing the last nine games because of a broken eye wall from an inadvertent elbow to the head.Holiday averaged 16.8 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 28.2 minutes per game last season, scoring 20 or more points 25 times.Tim Frazier has started New Orleans first 12 games this season at point guard, averaging 10.8 points and 7.5 assists. Gentry said he can envision Holiday and Frazier playing together in stints.Jrue can play off the ball or on the ball, Gentry said. Thats what makes him so good. I think hes a versatile player. We need his shooting also.Pelicans forward Anthony Davis said that while he didnt get to work with Holiday much at Thursdays practice, he assumed the teams top guard will be effective right away.When youre that good, it kind of stays with you, Davis said.Game notes Davis, who sat out Wednesday nights loss at Orlando with a bruised right quadriceps, practiced on a limited basis Thursday and sounded optimistic about playing Friday. It felt better, so hopefully it stays this way, Davis said. Terrell Brandon Cavaliers Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Tyrone Hill Cavaliers Jersey . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. https://www.thecavalierslockerroom.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. John Henson Cavaliers Jersey .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Brandon Knight Cavaliers Jersey . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. TORONTO -- Five games. Eight runs. Two shutout losses.A power-laden Toronto Blue Jays lineup fizzled against Cleveland, finishing off a five-game AL Championship Series wipeout with a 3-0 loss Wednesday.Bidding to return to the World Series for the first time since 1993, the Blue Jays lost in the ALCS for the second straight year, following last years six-game defeat against eventual champion Kansas City. Toronto was held to six hits by rookie Ryan Merritt and three relievers in the Indians second shutout of the ALCS.We never really had a big inning, never were able to really string some hits together and get a rally going, Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin said. You can point the finger at us and say we didnt do a good job, or you can point the finger at those guys. To get us out, you have to pitch well. You have to, and they did.No Cleveland pitcher was tougher than ALCS MVP Andrew Miller, who struck out 13 in 7 2/3 scoreless innings.Its not easy to go through lineups like this, Miller said. Still, the lefty sure made it look simple against the Blue Jays, who struck out 50 times over the five games.An offense led by Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki produced seven extra-base hits in the series -- three doubles, two triples and two solo home runs. The Blue Jays hit just .201; Cleveland was even worse at .168.Im sure there will be some disappointments and grumbling and complaining about how you fell short again, but thats not coming from me, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. I know what these guys did, and I think its a pretty good accomplishment. The key is we want to take that next step one of these days. Hopefully its next year.Bautista , who turned 36 Wednesday, and the 33-year-old Encarnacion may have been playing for the Blue Jays for the final time. Both are eligible for free agency, a subject neither wanted to address in a somber clubhouse.I dont think its the right time to be taking about that, Bautista said. We just battled through a tough series. I dont want to make this about myself,, and I dont really feel like Im in the proper state of mind to be taking about that.dddddddddddd I know its a possibility but well see what happens.Gibbons said his two sluggers helped put this team back on the map after Toronto went 22 years between postseason appearances.We were staring at a playoff drought for a lot of years around here, Gibbons said. And they came through for the team last year, the organization, and then repeated it this year. And they really -- both of them -- made their name here in Toronto.Toronto slugged past Baltimore in the wild card game, winning on Encarnacions 11th-inning home run. The Blue Jays swept Texas in the Division Series, outhomering the Rangers 8-2 and outscoring them 22-10.Bautistas two hits in the finale left him 3 for 18 (.167) with no RBI in the series, while Encarnacion was 4 for 19 (.211) and drove in two runs. Tulowitzki was 2 for 18 (.111) with no RBI and Donaldson 6 for 18 (.333) with two RBI.I know that Im capable of doing a lot more, Bautista said. They pitched great. It was tough. They seemed to make the right pitches at the right time and got us out.Martin, who chased Merritt with a one-out bloop single in the fifth and advanced on pinch-hitter Michael Saunderss hit, was Torontos only runner to reach scoring position. Reliever Bryan Shaw fanned Ezequiel Carrera and Kevin Pillar.Torontos offensive funk was remarkable given the shaky state of Clevelands starting pitching. Carlos Carrasco (broken hand) and Danny Salazar (forearm) have missed the entire postseason, and right-hander Trevor Bauer left Game 3 after four batters when blood began dripping from his right pinkie, sliced open last week while he repaired a drone.The Blue Jays hit .120 (3 for 25) with runners in scoring position.They never let us string base hits together, Bautista said, and when we had men in scoring position they seemed to turn it up a notch and go to another level of execution. ' ' '