hed Friday, Baker said he wouldnt -- but hi

The 2016-17 season couldnt have started better for the San Antonio Spurs, who began the post-Tim Duncan era with impressive back-to-back wins on the road.Now the Spurs open their home schedule Saturday night at the AT&T Center against the New Orleans Pelicans, who dropped their first two games, both of them at home, despite two superstar performances from forward Anthony Davis.San Antonio has been led in its first two games by forward Kawhi Leonard, who had 35 points in the Spurs surprisingly easy 129-100 win over defending Western Conference champion Golden State on Tuesday and 30 points in a 102-94 come-from-behind victory over Sacramento on Thursday.Leonard was hitting shots over two guys, Sacramentos DeMarcus Cousins said after Thursdays game. I heard he was working with Kobe (Bryant), and there were some flashes of Kobe tonight. Hes really good.But Leonards early-season success story has been as much about his defense (he is the two-time defending NBA defensive player of the year) as his scoring prowess.Leonard, who always seems to get to the correct spot in the passing lanes and outworks most opposing players, had five steals in each of the first two games, in the process becoming the first player to put together back-to-back 30-point, five-steal games since Miamis Eddie Jones in December 2002.Its also the first time a Spurs player has achieved that stat line in consecutive games since Alvin Robertson did so in 1986.In the win on Thursday, San Antonio went on a 16-2 run and held Sacramento without a basket for the final 7:20 of the third quarter, with the Kings missing nine straight shots in that stretch, as the Spurs rallied to take a 76-71 lead into the fourth quarter.San Antonio led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter before fending off a final Sacramento surge and rolling in the end game.Sometimes things are not going to be as pretty, but the bottom line is we dug in and found a way to get it done, Spurs center Pau Gasol said. Experience is the heart of this team and were resilient and kept fighting. It was a good win.Its the flip side for the Pelicans. New Orleans lost at home to Golden State 122-114 late Friday night despite another video-game-like performance by Davis (45 points and 17 rebounds in 39 minutes).That showing came on the heels of Davis 50-point, 16-rebound, seven-steal, four-block performance in 41 minutes of court time in New Orleans season-opening 107-102 loss to Denver on Wednesday. It was only the third 50-point performance in an NBA season opener since 1963-64.Point guard Tim Frazier has been New Orleans second leading scorer each game, scoring 15 and 21 points, respectively.Im going to have to bring, probably not 50 every night, but get somewhere along those lines every game to give ourselves a chance to win, Davis said after the loss Wednesday. Thats the bottom line. I just got to keep finding guys and trust those guys that theyre going to make shots.The Spurs were 2-1 against the Pelicans last season, losing early in the Crescent City before winning in February in San Antonio and then in New Orleans in March. Jackie Robinson Jersey . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Kenley Jansen Jersey . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. http://www.dodgersteamproshop.com/Dodgers-Joc-Pederson-Kids-Jersey/ . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Yasiel Puig Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Andre Ethier Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. WASHINGTON -- Never too early to start workin the umps, apparently.Before a single pitch was thrown in the NL Division Series between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers, managers Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts stirred things up a bit Friday with some balk talk -- indicating they might try to plant a seed with the umpires about opposing pitchers windups with men on base.It all began hours before Game 1, when out of the blue, Nationals skipper Baker raised the notion that Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw might be doing something he shouldnt when there are runners aboard.Quite frankly, Im hoping that ... we get some baserunners, and the umpires might call a balk or two on him, because he kind of rolls through the set position, which they dont call. But I heard that really upsets him if they do call one, Baker said with a grin. So Im hoping that they call maybe a couple of them.Asked whether he would lobby the umpires before Kershaw pitched Friday, Baker said he wouldnt -- but his first base coach, Davey Lopes, would.Davey always alerts the umpires, said Baker, in his 21st season as a manager in the majors.dddddddddddd.When that was relayed to Roberts, the Dodgers rookie manager, he smiled and offered this initial response: I didnt know Dusty wanted to play that game.Roberts continued: Its a little gamesmanship. Clayton has been around a long time. His moves been the same. I think hes been called for a balk a couple times.Turning his attention to some Nationals pitchers, Roberts said, Yeah, you know what? Theres a couple guys that I might put a bug in the umpires ears (about), as well.He then referenced Game 3 starter Gio Gonzalez, closer Mark Melancon and relievers Shawn Kelley and Marc Rzepczynski.So does it work when managers try to get a message to umpires before a game?Well, I think Dusty is going to try, Roberts said. Yeah, it does, and I think that theres a little bit of banter with ... home plate umpires. But I think that you might see it from both sides of the dugout this series.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '