f hell be ready by Sunday.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

NEW ORLEANS -- The 15-5 Los Angeles Clippers have one piece of unfinished business before closing out their taxing, six-game road trip Friday night against the resurgent New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center.The good news is the Clippers played one of their most complete games of the season on Thursday night in routing the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-94, to snap a season-high, three-game road losing streak.With a victory over New Orleans (7-12) on Friday night, the Clippers would finish their six games on the road at 3-3, quite a salvage job after coach Doc Rivers was tossed from a double-overtime loss, his teams third straight, against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.Rivers was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Thursday for his verbal abuse of referee Ken Mauer, and he accepted the consequences.Obviously, I should have gotten fined, just from the actions afterwards, Rivers said. I had no problem with that at all. Im good with it.On Thursday night, the Clippers forced the Cavs to empty their bench midway through the fourth quarter by moving the ball with ease, recording a season-high 33 assists on 42 made field goals. Blake Griffin had a season-high 11 assists to go with 13 points, and J.J. Redick scored 23 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.The Pelicans have rallied from a horrendous 0-8 start to win seven of their last 11 games, largely based on the spectacular play of forward Anthony Davis, who leads the NBA in points (32.1) and blocked shots (2.8) and ranks seventh in rebounds (11.2).But just as important in the Pelicans recent success has been the return of guard Jrue Holiday, who missed the first month of the season while caring for his wife, Lauren, following her surgery to remove a benign brain tumor.The Pelicans lost their first five home games and were outscored by an average margin of 9.0 points. With Holiday back on the court, the Pelicans have gone 5-0 at home and won by an average margin of 11.2 points.During the five-game home winning streak, Davis is averaging 37.4 points, 13.4 points and 2.4 blocks. He has shot 57.1 percent in the last seven games. Before Holiday returned, Davis shot just 48.5 percent from the floor.When Jrues on the floor, it changes the dynamics of our entire team, Davis said.The Pelicans also are about to get healthier. Guard Tyreke Evans, a slasher who can penetrate and dish, has missed the entire season rehabbing from knee surgery. Evans has been practicing with few restrictions and likely will return for spot duty next week, but not against the Clippers on Friday night.New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said although Evans knee is sound, he is still working through a calf injury.When hes healthy enough to get on the floor, well incorporate him into what were doing, Gentry said. The guy hasnt run up and down the basketball court for the last six to eight months. Hes not going to step out and be who he is. What weve got to do is put him in a position where hes not playing long stretches of minutes.The Clippers won three of four from New Orleans last season, but the Pelicans defeated them 109-105 at home on March 20 and took the Clippers to overtime at Los Angeles on Jan. 10. Paul Krause Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Davion Davis Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. http://www.cheapvikingsjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap-fran-tarkenton-jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Sean Mannion Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Khari Blasingame Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. PITTSBURGH -- LeVeon Bell stood at his locker, his face covered in sweat and his eagerness to kickstart his stalled NFL career palpable.His three-game suspension for a second violation of the leagues substance abuse policy over, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back is ready to get back to work, particularly after spending Sunday afternoon watching his teammates get clobbered across the state in Philadelphia.It sucked, Bell said.Pretty much. The team that looked borderline unstoppable at times during wins over Washington and Cincinnati was a mess against the Eagles. DeAngelo Williams, who filled in so brilliantly for Bell during the opening two weeks, slogged for just 21 yards. The offense posted its lowest point total in five years and the defense spent the afternoon futilely trying to make Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz look like a rookie.Enter Bell, limited to six of Pittsburghs last 22 games thanks to knee injuries and run-ins with the leagues drug policy. An All-Pro in 2014 when he emerged as one of the best all-around backs in the league, Bell believes hes a better player than the one last seen being carted off the field in a loss to the Bengals last November with a torn MCL in his right knee.Im a lot smarter, Bell said. So many things I did my (in 2014) were good things. But I look back at my film now and Im like, `What am I doing on this play? What am I doing on that play?Sunday nights visit from Kansas City (2-1) marks Bells first appearance in a game that matters in 11 months. He insists his surgically repaired right knee is fine. So, too, is the desire to prove that hes all the way back. The faster the better.Ive always felt like I had to prove something to somebody, Bell said. That is never going to go away. Im always going to have this personal chip on my shoulder.Even if one of Bells biggest enemies the last two years has been himself. He sat the first two games of the 2015 season as part of the fallout for his arrest on DUI and drug possession charges in August, 2014. Another four-game suspension (eventually reduced to three) came down in August after Bell says he overslept and missed a drug test.Im not a perfect person, I never will be, he said. I know there are some things I can get better (at).dddddddddddd.Probably a good idea as Bell enters the final year of the rookie contract he signed after the Steelers took him in the second round of the 2013 draft. He appeared on the verge of stardom in 2014 when he put up a combined 2,215 yards from scrimmage and proved just as dangerous catching passes as he was patiently setting up his blockers following a handoff.Over the last 330 days hes released his own hip-hop mixtape (under the pseudonym Juice) and collaborated with rap legend Snoop Dogg on another track. What he hasnt done, however, is score a touchdown or participated in a Pittsburgh victory. He made a token appearance in the first half of the Steelers third preseason game in August but otherwise hes been a bystander.For the majority of Bells absence, Pittsburghs offense hardly looked like it missed him. Williams was steady and occasionally spectacular over the second half of the 2015 season and led the NFL in rushing through the first two weeks of 2016 before the team-wide pratfall in Philly.Bell believes theres a chance for the Steelers to go to a two-back system, though Williams himself has said repeatedly he expects to go back to a secondary role once Bell is ready to go. Bell understands there may be some rust, which is why he wont shy away from contact during practice this week.For me not to be hit as much since last November, Im obviously going to want a little contact, blitz pickup, just to get ready for it, he said.Bells teammates are certainly ready for his familiar No. 26 to join them, particularly after a three-hour reality check at the hands of the Eagles.He brings a lot of energy to the huddle, left tackle Alejandro Villaneuva said. Were just happy he can recover from this incident and get his career back because thats what matters to him and matters to us as well.Game notes S Robert Golden underwent an MRI on Monday to have the hamstring he injured against Philadelphia examined but is uncertain if hell be ready by Sunday.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL