side beat Aston Villa earlier in the season Certainly we wil

Al Horford might finally be hitting his stride for the Boston Celtics, who open a three-game road trip against the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.Horford signed a four-year, $113 million free agent contract with the Celtics in the offseason and on Friday scored a season-high 26 points as Boston held off the Sacramento Kings 97-92.Horford, who spent his first nine seasons with Atlanta, made 10 of 18 shots from the floor (including 4-of-7 from 3-point range). He added eight rebounds and six blocked shots, another season high. It was also one shy of his career high.The biggest of the six came on a 3-point attempt by Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins in the closing seconds. The Kings trailed just 95-92 at the time, and Cousins attempted to bait Horford into a foul, to no avail. He swatted the shot, recovered the loose ball and hit the two clinching free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining.I know he tried to draw something there, Horford told the Boston Globe, but I just stayed solid and did not let him get a shot off.Horford has appeared in just nine games this season for Boston (11-8). He missed nine others while in the concussion protocol, and also skipped Mondays victory over Miami so he could be with his wife, Amelia Vega, as she gave birth to the couples second child, a daughter named Alia.Horford managed just five shots while scoring nine points in more than 31 minutes of Wednesdays loss to Detroit but asserted himself Friday.He wanted to come out and be aggressive, Celtics forward Jae Crowder told the Globe. We wanted to give him the ball, get him some touches early.Crowder has appeared in 11 games to date, having missed eight with a sprained left ankle.With the lineup in a state of flux most of the season, Bostons guards have excelled. Isaiah Thomas is averaging 25.7 points per game, including 20 on Friday against Sacramento, and Avery Bradley is generating 17.6. He scored 16 against the Kings.Philadelphia (4-15) shot just 37.9 percent from the floor in Fridays 105-88 loss to Orlando, the Sixers fifth straight defeat. They had not played since losing Monday night in Toronto but trailed by as many as 29 points in losing to the Magic, who the night before frittered away a 13-point lead in the last 6:12 while losing in Memphis.Sometimes you read so much into back-to-backs, Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. You assume people are tired or depressed, because they lost at the buzzer. I give them credit. They came in and played with great energy. I dont know how to explain that.Embiid, the rookie center, piled up 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers. He will not play against the Celtics, however. The team is not using him in back-to-back games, as he is playing his first season after missing two after two foot surgeries.Veteran guard Jerryd Bayless also missed his third straight game with a sore left wrist Friday, and forward Robert Covington left in the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee. The status of both is in question for Saturdays game. Cheap KD Shoes Free Shipping . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Discount KD Shoes . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. http://www.wholesalekdshoes.com/ . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. Cheap KD Shoes Wholesale . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Cheap KD Shoes Online . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff.Stoke boss Mark Hughes insists there is no cause for concern regarding the recent injury problems experienced by Ryan Shawcross. Shawcross has been a virtual ever-present performer at the heart of the Potters defence for some time, but the club captain has been restricted to 16 appearances this season.The 28-year missed the start of the season having undergone back surgery over the summer, and after returning to action in October, he suffered another back problem towards the end of last month which is expected to rule him out for three to four weeks. Speaking ahead of Saturdays match against Aston Villa, Hughes said he hoped Shawcross might be able to return in another weeks time.When asked if he had concerns over Shawcross in the long-term, Hughes said: Hes not that old, is he?This is a completely different injury to the previous one, and I just think it was a consequence of the period we went through after he came back before.We came through a lot of really high intensity games in a short period and I think that compromised him. But I dont think long-term theres any concern in terms of managing his game time. I think he will always have a good number of games in any given season. Stoke boss Mark Hughes watched his side beat Aston Villa earlier in the season Certainly we will be more mindful if he gets twinges - it would be silly not to register them or put him in situations where he might be compromised again.dddddddddddd.But I dont have any real concerns in that regard. He wants to come back making sure he is available for all the games through to the end of the season. That is his goal, and we fully support him on that.Stoke have not played since their 3-1 Premier League victory at Bournemouth on February 13, with Hughes taking his players to a training camp in Dubai in between.They return to action against a Villa side in dire straits, lying eight points adrift of safety at the foot of the table with 12 matches to go.Asked if he thought Villa are doomed, Hughes said: I think its very difficult - you get to a point where you end up running out of games, even if you have had a big swing in form or momentum.It may be theyre coming to point where theyll feel like that. But they are not out of it and while they still feel they can stay in the league, they will have a go. Also See: Stoke v Villa preview Wilkinson announces retirement Mersons predictions Imbula is the new Vieira ' ' '